(dir. Rob Zombie)
When I first heard the announcement that Rob Zombie would be remaking Halloween, I didn't really know what to think. On the one hand, John Carpenter's Halloween is quite simply a masterpiece - a classic "untouchable" of the horror genre (meaning, basically, that it's so good the first time, what could be better a second time?). On the other hand, though, Zombie had established himself as quite a talented director of horror films, especially after The Devil's Rejects. He wasn't reinventing the wheel - often borrowing heavily from the obscure 60s and 70s horror films he was trying emulate - but he proved a fine craftsman and a surprisingly good writer-director. (Listen to the commentary track for The Devil's Rejects and tell me that doesn't sound like any other articulate, erudite filmmaker trying to do something exciting and original.) So I had my reservations, but I was excited to see what he could do.
I'm sorry to say he was not able to do much. I don't know if he felt trapped by the original story or what, but the tactic seemed to be, basically, to treat the film as a half-prequel/half-remake. There are strong moments in each portion, but ultimately the story (and thus the film) comes up short. The main problem, for me, is Zombie's primary conceit. The "prequel" material is meant to show us how Michael Myers the boy became Michael Myers the monster. As such, we are treated to some particularly nasty scenes with an abusive father, a desperate mother, bullies at school, and an unhealthy fascination with animals and asserting power over them.
Enter a long-haired, hippie-dippie Malcolm McDowell as Dr Loomis, a stark contrast from the doomsday-crying, straight-laced Donald Pleasance. After Michael is involved in another fight with a bully (apparently one of many), Loomis is sired to come and recommend professional psychiatric help. Not for the fighting, but for some rather disturbing things found in the boy's locker. Michael catches wind of this and, naturally, decides to avoid the good doctor and go at it himself; and just like that, he commits the first of many grisly murders, his first target being the bully.
Now, this is the problem... the whole idea of the prequel material is to show us why Michael is the way he is - what extremes drove him to such madness. With the revelation that, apparently, Michael was hurting animals and taking matters into his own hands long before being the infamous stalk-and-slash hulk we know, the point is moot. I guess the explanation Zombie is trying to offer is what drove Michael to go from animals and other "lower" life forms to human beings, or perhaps what drove him to regard even people as lower life forms. The original Halloween offered no explanation - Michael Myers simply was that way. This film offers an explanation of sorts, but it basically comes to the same conclusion - he just is that way. Sure, the bully and his father treat him despicably, but his mother genuinely loves and cares about him, and even at the sanitarium he comes to call home, one of the guards kind of regards him as a surrogate son... But none of these things matter. Once Michael starts killing, he is completely indiscriminate, and oftentimes the reasoning is incomprehensible.
For all its faults, though, Halloween still remains a very watchable and fairly entertaining film. Zombie is able to craft some real drama and tragedy in the relationship of Michael and his mother, driven to desperation and hysteria as her baby boy becomes increasingly withdrawn from both her and reality. The scenes with her trying to save him are the most powerful in the film... As it must, though, Halloween eventually tips into full slasher territory. Years go by with Michael at the sanitarium, growing ever larger, ever quieter - ever more powerful. And then, as he must, he breaks loose, basically killing everyone and everything in his path, in increasingly grisly and sadistic ways, trying to get back home. Many of these scenes are startling and effective, a few genuinely thrilling and chilling, but at the same time they just feel so... inevitable. Zombie does his best to keep things interesting and change up the original material as much as he can, but I think in the second half he was simply too restricted. (You find yourself thinking, "Oh, well, he's going to go there next and do this because that's how the original goes." This doesn't come true all the time, but most of the time.)
Also, and I know this is a strange criticism, but I pretty much cringed any time the teenage girls were on-screen together. Zombie is known for giving his actors quite a bit of freedom for improvization, so with that in mind I guess he can't be blamed too much, but the conversations between the girls just sounded too... typical. Too "valley girl," almost. All these squeaks and laughs. I've heard girls talk to each other, and rarely do they sound like this. I'm not saying they should have went to the opposite extreme - without the girls and the occasional cutaway to their goings-on the film would just be oppressive - I'm just saying I didn't believe them as real people.
So in the end, I have to admit that the film is not bad. Despite all its faults, I kind of enjoyed it, and I would probably watch it again some future October; I was just hoping for more. Rob Zombie really impressed me with The Devil's Rejects - a thoroughly entertaining horror film, and a much more thoughtful one than most are willing to admit. I guess what I'm saying with this one is the "explanation" of Michael Myers just isn't good enough. If you want to take the time to try and make me understand the psychology of a monster, then it had better make sense; if you're going to spend all that time and essentially say nothing more than, "Well, he's a monster," then you haven't really said anything.
The only way to have really done it is to turn it into three films: a prequel, a remake and a sequel. Like you said, and like I said in my unfinished, essay length, never seen review, Zombie creates strong moments but never weaves them into a successful narrative. When we meet Michael, he is already quite disturbed. We can guess at what makes him that way, but Zombie doesn't show us his origin. He just shows us what happened earlier the day he snapped.
ReplyDeleteLikewise at the asylum, we see he is deteriorating, but don't bear witness to the process, only fragments. The strongest character in the movie is Deborah Myers by a long shot. Watching Deborah try and hold onto the only family she has left is heartbreaking. Her reaction to Michael's murder of the nurse and subsequent suicide are devastating and should have been the climax of the film in my opinion.
The second half goes through the motions of an abbreviated remake since they spent the first half with the not-an-origin story. I thought McDowell was fine, I did like his more compassionate take on the character, but only two characters who escape comparison with the first film are Sheriff Brackett and Michael himself. Brackett wasn't much of a character in the original, so Dourif takes what few scenes he has, and adds actually humanity to the role.
And I have to say, I feel that Tyler Mane is the first person to really view playing Michael Myers as an actor, and does some wonderful emoting with his eyes. There is also a brutality to his actions that hint at years of repressed rage (nothing compared to the fury of his kills in the sequel, however). His performance tells us more about Michael's reasoning then his supposed origin story.
Annie, Laurie and Linda are all shrill and vulgar (which I tend to blame on the writing after seeing H2). They almost feel like the same character played by three different actors.
I wonder if Zombie (or maybe the studio) didn't fear that the Halloween faithful would support the film if he went a way that was completely his own (and judging by the tepid reception to the sequel, they were right). Instead, we get tantalizing glimpses of what could have been a well done origin, and a competent remake hampered by only having half a film to tell its story, but still manages little moments of inspiration. It is both one film and two near misses.
Correction to my final paragraph
ReplyDeletedidn't fear that the Halloween faithful WOULDN'T support them if he went a way that was completely his own.
PS. I decided to follow your lead. Here is hoping I can actually keep myself writing.
ReplyDeleteCheck it out. You owe me for singlehandedly keeping your last blog afloat.
http://the-real-truth-pravda.blogspot.com/
I'm between classes, so I will be brief:
ReplyDelete(1) I didn't give Tyler Mane enough credit... actually, I don't think I gave him any credit. Obviously he's physically very intimidating, but even if you didn't know who he was outside of this movie, you'd know that this is a guy to stay away from. He did some exceptional work considering the limitations of the role.
(3) "Shrill" is the perfect description for the girls.
re: PS. Worry not - I will proudly be the lone consistent commentator on your blog.
Part II! PART II! PART II!
ReplyDelete