Original vs. Remake Review - HALLOWEEN

It’s been said that Hollywood is running out of ideas and this hubber can’t help but agree. The proof is in the amount of remakes made in the past decade. While some of these “re-imaginings” aren’t necessarily the worst films ever made, most are just a blimp on the radar. However, there are a few that do occasionally stand out.

In 1978, writer/director John Carpenter created a monster that would go on to haunt viewer’s October 31^st festivity for the rest of their lives. That said monster was called Michael Myers and that festivity was Halloween. It’s hard to forget that iconic creepy piano melody or the empty expression on young Michael’s (Will Sandin) face when his parents removed his clown mask moments after killing his sister (Sandy Johnson). Carpenter, along with writing partner Debra Hill, created a killer who’s as silent as a mouse and as deadly as a viper. HALLOWEEN was a huge stepping stone for the “slasher” genre. It assisted in defining the rules that went on to set the tone for other films. One such example is the essential “survivor girl.” In Carpenter’s story she is Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). The poster child for good teens everywhere, Laurie is an upstanding student who doesn’t partake in the partying or sex that her two best friends, Annie (Nancy Loomis) and Lynda (P.J. Soles) do. She earns money by babysitting Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews) and even agrees to watch Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards) while Annie goes out with her boyfriend.

What is supposed to be a simple night of making popcorn and watching horror movies quickly turns into a nightmare as Laurie becomes the sole target for adult Michael (Tony Moran). Stalking her during the day then killing her friends at night before coming after her, the viewer is left in agonizing suspense while the heroine and killer play a deadly game of cat and mouse. Hot on Michael’s trail, though, is Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), who treated the young boy and was aware he needed to be locked away forever. With the assistance of Sheriff Brackett (Charles Cyphers)—Annie’s dad—the two men track down the killer before he can complete his massacre.

For being the movie that sort of ignited the slasher genre, HALLOWEEN does not have a splatter of blood in its frames. Instead, Carpenter relies on building the suspense, using his skills to place the camera exactly where it needed to be for maximizing the fear. And although things seem fine in the end, the franchise spawned countless sequels that questioned Michael’s mortality, yet managed to draw in an audience that would forever cheer—and dread—the masked killer.

Then in 2007 rock musician turned director, Rob Zombie, came out with his “re-imagining” of Carpenter’s story. Similar in plot, Zombie decided to go a little further into the psyche of the killer and created an entirely new back story. In the first half of the film, audiences are given a taste of how young Michael (Daeg Faerch) lived. The son of a stripper (Sheri Moon Zombie), who’s dating a low-life (William Forsythe), the best thing in 10-year-old Michael’s life is his baby sister. This sister turns out to be Laurie (played in this version by Scout Taylor-Compton), which Carpenter reveals in the sequels. As we see Michael slowly deteriorate into the psycho we know, the viewer—in this edition—can perhaps understand him a bit more thanks to Zombie. After murdering his sister (Hanna Hall), her boyfriend, and his mother’s boyfriend, Michael is shipped to a mental institution, where he is treated by Dr. Samuel Loomis (played this time by Malcolm McDowell). As the years pass, Dr. Loomis is nowhere near curing a now adult Michael (Tyler Mane) and his mother commits suicide. Before quitting, Loomis warns everyone that Michael is never allowed to be released. And so we get to the second half, which more so follows the original including Michael's escape and return to Haddonfield.

Since this HALLOWEEN was for a newer generation, Zombie lets the blood flow, though it’s not as much as people thought. By bringing the reveal that Laurie is Michael’s sister early gives the audience a stronger motive as to why he was particularly stalking her and her friends (Kristina Klebe and Danielle Harris, who fans might recognize as Jamie Lloyd from HALLOWEEN 4). Zombie also uses that as the center plot of his sequel, HALLOWEEN II in 2009. That one sees Laurie seeking therapy after the nightmare of the first film. She also discovers the truth about her family legacy.

During the second half of HALLOWEEN, Zombie utilizes some of Carpenter’s camera tricks, though he does bring his own artistic eye to the frame. Zombie’s film is also filled with veteran actors, most of which are popular from previous classic horror movies. Brad Dourif portrays Sheriff Brackett, the man who admits to delivering the orphaned baby Laurie to the Strode’s (Dee Wallace and Pat Skipper). Ken Foree (DAWN OF THE DEAD) makes a cameo as the man Michael retains his famous suit from. Udo Kier and Clint Howard make brief appearances as the owners of the institution Michael is sent to, and Danny Trego plays one of the orderlies. Actors from previous Zombie movies, Sid Haig and Bill Moseley also pop up.

Despite not being a fan of Zombie’s previous work (HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, THE DEVIL’S REJECTS), he does bring a certain flare that is distinctive to his directing style. It’s what mainly sets his edition apart from Carpenter’s. Zombie’s HALLOWEEN is not the worst remake to come out of Hollywood. In fact, this hubber rather enjoyed it, yet nothing will ever beat the way Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN haunted my dreams.