Halloween II [Blu-ray]
Evil has a new destiny. Michael Myers is back in this terrifying sequel to Rob Zombie’s visionary re-imagining of Halloween which grossed almost $80 million worldwide. It is that time of year again, and Michael Myers has returned home to sleepy Haddonfield, Illinois to take care of some unfinished family business. Unleashing a trail of terror that only horror master Zombie can, Myers will stop at nothing to bring closure to the secrets of his twisted past. But the town’s got an unlikely new hero, if they can only stay alive long enough to stop the unstoppable.Rocker turned writer-director Rob Zombie returns to the horror field with this visually ambitious and aggressively brutal follow-up to his 2007 reinvention of John Carpenter’s seminal slasher Halloween. The 1981 sequel to the Carpenter film is completely ignored here (and for good reason) in favor of an extension of the central focus of Zombie’s Halloween, and all of his films, for that matter: the corruption at the heart of the nuclear family. Here, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor Compton) is attempting to heal the psychic wounds from her previous encounter with brother Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) by bonding with Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif, a pleasure to watch as always) and his daughter Anne (Danielle Harris, herself a vet from the original run of Halloween sequels). Her previous surrogate father, Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) has forsaken his connection to Laurie by exploiting his connection to Michael with a tell-all book; meanwhile, Michael himself roams the lonely outskirts of Haddonfield, driven by visions of his mother (Sheri Moon Zombie) and a single-minded urge to bond with his sister at any cost.
Aesthetically, H2 is striking, thanks largely to the ashen color scheme by cinematographer Brandon Trost (Crank 2: High Voltage), which underscores the doom-laded spiral track each of the main characters seem to travel in the film. And Zombie is to be commended for venturing outside of his comfort zone–the grimy, pop-culture ironic, white trash environment his characters frequently inhabit–with the scenes between Michael and his mother. But again, his ambitions don’t meet with his abilities–Moon looks impressive, but her apocalyptic mutterings ring more silly than spectral, especially when she’s forced to play opposite an enormous pale horse (insert heavy-handed Biblical imagery here). Most fans will find these moments more tedious than inspired, and a distraction from the murders, which retain Zombie’s preference for mayhem. He succeeds in this department, but if the end result is a menu of ugly killings, the point of revamping the Halloween franchise is somewhat moot, since the threadbare follow-ups to the Carpenter original already achieved that goal. Zombie’s knack for offbeat casting remains his most inspired talent: Haddonfield is filled with cult icons like Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Margot Kidder, and Daniel Roebuck, who jostle for space with rough-hewn character players like Duane Whitaker, Mark Boone Junior, and Dayton Callie (Deadwood) and left-field cameos by Howard Hesseman and “Weird Al” Yankovic. –Paul Gaita
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars ROB ZOMBIE ROCKS Sherri Moon-Zombie aint bad either
I don’t understand how anyone can not LOVE this movie! Thanks Rob Zombie for once again totally kicking a**! Anyone who thinks this movie is anything less than FANTASTIC obviously isn’t a true horror movie lover! He just gives a diffrent take on the whole Michael Myers sceen! How cool to see it from Rob Zombie’s brilliant mind I love the original Halloween, part 2 is good but not as good as the original Halloween, but add an amazingly talented writter/director [Rob Zombie] and a classic horror film and you’ve got yourself one hell of a good time! Plus his wife [Sherri Moon-Zombie] as Michael’s mom MIND BLOWING!!! There’s not enough stars to even rate this it’s off the charts! Keep ‘em coming Rob! They just get better & better this is coming from a spookshowbaby who has seen house of 1000 corpses at least 1000 times and that was only the begenning Let’s hope there isn’t an end to his movie making magic or should i say madness!
1 Stars HALLOWEEN II [Blu-ray]
What HELL Rob????!!!!The Worst of the Halloween movie series!!!Grainy 70’s look,White horses and director’s wives killed one of the Greatest screen villains.The whole dreamy flashbacks were an excuse to put your wife in the film.Totally unnecessary.You’ve KILLED MICHAEL MYERS.John Carpenter where are you??!!
1 Stars WORST HORROR TO REACH THE BIG SCREEN
I GUESS I CANT LEAVE ZERO STARS SO I HAVE TO GO WITH ONE.POSSIBLY THE WORST HORROR FILM TO REACH THE BIG SCREEN.DID SOMEONE SAY HEY WE NEED A SCRIPT HERE, DONT THINK SO. I WOULDNT EVEN RENT IT. SOMEONE ELSE SHOULD TAKE OVER BEFORE THE MYERS NAME IS RUINED, OR POSSIBLY ITS TOO LATE . SAD WAY TO GO OUT ON MIKE
5 Stars WOW!
If you go by the theatrical cut of the movie then its just not good, way better than the first, but falls short nevertheless. I have to say this director’s cut is not the same movie released in theatres. In fact its a ten fold better one. Zombie really put on his filmmakers cap on this one and it shows. Scenes are extended to give us more context. And the acting all around has improved dramatically. Its a shame he didn’t get the chance to release his cut of the film, but I sincerely believe once people give this one a shot they will be pleasantly surprised at the depth and feeling this movie has, and I have to say in a morbid way I was quite moved by the finale. There’s actually a point to all the mayhem in this one that I did not expect. One of the best slashers I’ve seen. The best movie Zombie’s made.
1 Stars ……theres no creativity anymore!!!!
The only reason i spend time and money was because this was the only decent movie that was out…SO I THOUGHT!….i was hoping to be surprised with a twist or something NOTHING!!!…this movie is just straight forward…with no surprises…and style of killings that has been seen to many times before.
and Where the hell is the Halloween theme to this movie…i think i heard it once at the end of the flick…i know R.Z. is fairly new..to this saga…but common dude..THE THEME..This movie has now replay value …TWO thumbs in the dirt for this one.
Filed under: Blue Ray Movie Reviews