Halloween II (Theatrical Edition)

 

 

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to say i was disappointed in Rob Zombie's followup to his 2007 Remake of Halloween would be an understatement.this thing is no nowhere near as good as that film was.for one thing,its about as exciting as watching paint drying or grass growing.it also goes straight into bizzaro land on more than one occasion,which doesn't really belong in the movie.it doesn't really fit,in my opinion.Zombie really had something going with his first attempt at breathing some much needed life into the franchise and putting his own spin on things.maybe he should have have just left it at that.all i know is he took several steps back with this misfire.for me,Halloween II (2009)is a 2/5

I am reviewing the Theatrical Cut of Halloween 2.

I'm a big fan of Rob Zombie's films, but let's face it: The guy has his own unique style, artistic and not at all run of the mill. Not everybody likes it, and those who do "get it" will enjoy Halloween 2 more than those who don't.

I found Halloween 2 to be weaker than the original, and actually quite boring at times. Here's why:

The movie begins with a brief flashback scene to young Michael. Young actor Daeg Faerch has been recast, and the new kid didn't look quite right to me. Anyway from there, we go straight to pick up the action when Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) shot Michael Myers at the end of the first film. Laurie is wandering around in a daze, then she's hysterial, then she's running.... The problem here is that unless you watched both films directly in a row, you have no connection to her at all. You don't have a sense of why she's running, why she's hysterial. You know it intellectually, but you don't feel it. The viewer doesn't care. Zombie should have backed the film up a bit further because otherwise you just have a blood soaked girl running around.

Another thing that I felt is weak is that Zombie cheats the viewer with too many dream sequences that he tries to pass off as real until the dreamer wakes up. They are long and involved, and it happened more than once. Oh, and speaking of dream sequences, we get several visions from Myers too. Apparently he's been dreaming about his mother and a white horse his whole adult life. This feels tacked on just for the sake of the sequel. It does however enable Zombie to use "Knights In White Satin" by the Moody Blues twice in the film.

Anyway, the movie rolls on, it's now a year later and the body of Michael Myers has never been found. Apparently, nobody noticed the 7 foot guy wandering around the countryside killing everybody and everything he runs into. Nope, everybody thinks Myers is dead and Laurie is safe. Including Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell, whose acting was embarassingly over the top and bad this time out).

Things I liked:

As always, Zombie has assembled a great rock soundtrack. The Moody Blues, as mentioned, Captain Clegg, a cover of a Diamond Head song...very cool. There are also nods and winks to Alice Cooper and Ace Frehley. And, while Dr. Loomis is on the talk show circuit, Weird Al Yankovic appears as himself. Weird Al provided the only laughs of the entire movie. Anybody who has seen The Devil's Rejects recalls that Zombie's movies usually have some kind of humour in them. (Although somebody does get to say the line, "Did I stutter?" echoing Cap'n Spauldin').

Zombie's visuals are, as always, stunning. I won't go into details but if you watch the movie just for the visuals, there's a lot to be seen here. I also like the way he ripped Myer's mask this time, and you get to see a bit of Tyler Mane's face. Some of the more horrifying dream sequences felt supernatural, right out of House of 1,000 Corpses.

Brad Douriff, as always, was great, returning as the Sheriff with a secret. If anyone is the hero figure this time, it's Douriff. Scout Taylor-Compton was great as well, bringing Laurie on an interesting journey. Lil' Laurie isn't quite right in the head after what happened last time. I also liked Brea Grant (Heroes).

However, bottom line for me, I found the film boring. The characters just like motivation this time, and the story was weighed down with too many dream sequences that cheat the viewer into thinking something was really happening. The door was left open for what could be a really interesting sequel, but don't count on the studio to follow that route, it's just too different.

I can only give Halloween 2 a pair of stars. There's a lot that could have been better.

This was absolutely THE worst Halloween.... i am a huge fan of the series and i have to say Zombie has ruined it for me. A little to sadistic for me...Michael is supposed to kill ya and stalk ya...not stab you 30 times and them stomp on you head! We made it through the first hour...i had enough when he killed and ate a dog....ABSOLUTLEY HORRIBLE.....watch at your own risk

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2.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed the Original Rob Zombie Remake But Not This One
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