This past weekend I finally got around to watching the Rob Zombie version of "Halloween" that was released last year. The quick review: Bleh. Not what I would have wanted from a "Halloween" remake, mostly because it took away the mysticism of Michael Myers by giving him a more detailed past than the original film did. Without that mysticism, Michael Myers is not as scary as he was back in 1978.
The John Carpenter "Halloween" has been a staple of my regular Halloween viewing for a long time now. Last year, I had a making of video playing in the living room while my husband and I handed out candy. I don't think this new version will amount to that kind of fascination for me. But ever since I saw the original one Halloween weekend in a friend's room in college, I've been a huge fan of the original (don't get me started on the sequels).
So, what's got me so cheesed about this new version? Let me take it point by point. (Warning: spoilers ahead)
Michael's Orgins
Carpenter: On Halloween night, 8 year old Michael Myers kills his older sister Judith after she has sex with her boyfriend in her room. His parents come home and find him outside of the house, staring off into space.
Zombie: 10 year old Michael Myers is living at home with his stripper mother, her drunk, abusive boyfriend, his older sister Judith (known as the school slut), and his little sister Boo, whom he dotes on. Myers has a bad habit of performing his own autopsies on unsuspecting animals. The night before Halloween, he kills his bully in the woods. On Halloween night, after his sister refuses to take him trick or treating so she could have sex with her boyfriend and his mother's boyfriend harasses him over his affinity for masks, he kills all three of them in the home, waiting outside for his mother to come home while holding Boo in his arms.
Dr. Loomis
Carpenter: A psychiatrist who spends his life making sure that no one becomes a victim of Myers ever again by keeping him institutionalized. When he escapes, he makes it his mission to kill Myers and put an end to his reign of terror.
Zombie: A child psychologist when we first meet him, realizes after so many years that he can't help Michael. Sees Michael not only as a friend, but also his opportunity to exploit the young boy for a book and lecture circuit. After being told that Michael is loose, seeks him out to put an end to him once and for all.
Michael in the Institution
Carpenter: Although some was filmed for television, there was no indication as to what Michael was like while in the institution.
Zombie: We start out with a Myers who claims he doesn't remember what happened on Halloween night. Michael's mother pays him a visit in the institution. After he kills a nurse, he goes completely comatose, focusing more and more on his ever growing collection of homemade masks. Mrs. Myers, now having lost the last member of her family, commits suicide. This whole section makes up Act 2 of the film.
The Iconic Mask
Carpenter: Michael breaks into the hardware store, taking rope and knives along with a mask.
Zombie: Judith's boyfriend is the one who brings it into play, bringing it with him to have sex with her while wearing it. After he drops it in her bedroom and is killed, Michael picks it up when he enters her bedroom and uses it to replace the clown mask he's wearing.
Laurie Strode
Carpenter: The idea of Laurie being Michael's sister is not approched until part 2. In the first film, it just loks like Laurie is being randomly stalked by him. Laurie is "the virgin" of the film -- somewhat prudish, good student, not much of a love life.
Zombie: Baby Boo is Laurie Strode. The reasons for Michael stalking her are not completely clear -- is he trying to kill her or protect her? Laurie is less prudish in this film than she was in the previous incarnation -- in the commentary, Zombie said that if he had made her like she was in the previous film, she would have had to have been Amish.
The Gore Level
Carpenter: One of the things that made Carpenter's version effective was the lack of gore in the film. The only victim that gets stabbed in the film is Lynda's boyfriend, and you really don't see much when it happens.
Zombie: Gore level amped up, more gross than scary.
The Ending
Carpenter: "Evil lives on" ending. Basically, Loomis shoots Michael, but doesn't kill him.
Zombie: Loomis is not only killed, but it's Laurie that ends up killing Michael, shooting him in the head.
Maybe it's because I'm too much of a fan of the original, but Zombie's version just couldn't measure up to Carpenter's in my mind.
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