Part 2 of our special Halloween Double Feature is (you guessed it) none other than Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN II. It's also a remake too which is in keeping with the remake theme we've been having for the last few days. As far as sequels go the original 1981 Halloween II is highly regarded among fans and critics as a solid thrilling film, one of the best of the sequels. It follows directly after the first film and indeed occurs entirely on the same night. You can watch both films back to back seamlessly. Rob Zombie's Halloween ends before the night is through. The film ended strong with a fantastic second half of the movie.
To hear that Rob would be doing a sequel, the potential of having a whole film as good as the second half of the first, made my mouth water. If the first film had one major problem it was a terrible first half. The first half had nearly no likable characters. Sheri Moon Zombie is not a favorite of mine either. And Michael's origin took away the mystery surrounding the character and added a degree of sympathy to him, something his character has never had. But now Michael's grown up and Sheri Moon's character is dead. Prospects are looking good. Now it seemed like we were going to get a solid film from start to finish, one that would feel more like a Halloween film throughout.
The movie is split into two parts as was the first film. The first part follows immediately on the heels of the previous movie, despite a little flashback scene featuring young Michael and Sheri Moon setting up a White Horse mythology. Now we're back and Lauri is being taken to the hospital. They clean her up and take her into a very graphic surgery. When she wakes she finds the nurses dead. Michael emerges and stalks after her. He traps her in an out building and axes her in face!
Lauri springs awake from a nightmare. The scene in the hospital we discover was only a dream and we jump ahead two years (or one year if you're watching the theatrical cut versus the unrated). Lauri has become one troubled individual in the last few years, understandably. Dr. Loomis we find has survived as well and has become a bloodsucking sell-out, making millions off a book based on the horrible events of the first film. Michael returns, having lived like a hermit in the woods for the last few years. Michael has visions of his mother, younger self, and a white horse. They tell him to reunite the family. And that's exactly what he sets out to do.
Michael returns to Haddonfield in search for his sister. Lauri goes out on Halloween partying and drinking all the while unaware of Michael murdering all her friends. He grabs her and takes her to his desolate shack in the middle of nowhere. Dr. Loomis shows up feeling a little guilty. Michael kills him just before the cops gun him down. Lauri breaks down and goes insane. She grabs Michael's knife and delivers the killing blow. Then she puts on his mask and goes outside showing her new found psychotic side. She ends up institutionalized and seeing visions of a mother and white horse she never knew. I guess Michael's psychosis does run in the family.
The first half of the movie is excellent! Michael's siege on the hospital is brutal and terrifying. For a moment it appears like we're going to get a non-stop suspenseful gory film. Michael's attacks on the nurses are particularly intense. He shows an angry side as he stabs actress Octavia Spencer over and over. Caroline Williams (the lead actress in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part II) makes a cameo appearance in the hospital too, a great treat for the fans. Michael's look is similar to the last film save for a bloody gash along the side of his mask. It adds a harsher dirtier element that I like.
But alas it was not meant to be. We find out the hospital scene was just a dream. The second half of the film falls apart and into typical Rob Zombie territory. You end up hating Lauri and Dr. Loomis. Danielle Harris and Brad Dourif are still likable but that's about it. The second half leaves you with little to root for. Michael's look changes in this half too. He has a long beard and a hobo hooded jacket. In fact that was how people were referring to his look as Hobo Michael Myers. On the unrated version he even talks at the end. I'm not too disappointed but still, it's another change to the character that takes away some of the mystique.
There is also one major omission in this film. John Carpenter's iconic score, an element essential to the series and prevalent in every film (save Halloween III) is missing. It plays at the end credit roll but that is it. It's not noticeable in the first half because the first half is so gripping. And Michael still looks like Michael. But once we get to the second half there is very little that resembles a Halloween film. And Danielle Harris finally meets her bloody end too. It looks like only actor Donald Pleasence can survive more than 4 Halloween films.
I heard that Mr. Zombie agreed to make this film only if he could do whatever he wanted. It shows here and detracts greatly from the film. Aside from Tyler Mane, Danielle Harris, and Brad Dourif, there is nothing I like in the second half. Margot Kidder makes a cameo which is nice. Tyler Mane's performance is just as good as it was in the previous film but the look just isn't Michael Myers. If it was a film about a super strong hobo killer then it'd be okay. It's actually a very scary design but it doesn't feel like Halloween to me. I will admit that the idea of psychosis running through the family is intriguing but the film falls short of being an effective descent into madness film. I should also note that this idea isn't new to the series as it was already explored in Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers.
And Sheri Moon Zombie is back... ugh. I thought this would be the first film of his not to feature her. I was okay with the flashback of her at the beginning but I should have known better. Of course he'll find some way of bringing her back into the film. To be fair her ghostly apparition in this film is far more enjoyable than any of her previous performances. All in all this was the first time I ever came out of a Halloween film depressed and angry. I didn't hate the movie but I certainly didn't feel good either. That's another power of Rob Zombie's though. I hated Halloween H20 for trying to kill off Michael for good. This film just made me mad though.
Overall Ranking: 5 out of 10 (the first half brings it up from being a 4)
Nude-O-Meter: 4 out of 10
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