if you love the original’s mystique. Watch it if you want to see what happens when the boogeyman takes off his mask and says “die.”
Once Michael escapes Smith’s Grove (now a hulking, profane madhouse run by a lecherous Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Loomis), the film shifts into a greatest-hits reel of the 1978 original. Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) is no longer the quiet, smart final girl; she’s a screaming, emotional wreck. The stalking scenes are present, but Zombie replaces Carpenter’s suspenseful silence with loud, hulking brutality. The biggest misfire? The mask. Zombie’s weathered, grimy version strips away the eerie emptiness. And giving Michael (now a 7-foot Tyler Mane) a backstory of mommy issues ironically makes him less scary. The unknown was always the point.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5) or ★★★★☆ (4/5) depending on your tolerance for grit
if you love the original’s mystique. Watch it if you want to see what happens when the boogeyman takes off his mask and says “die.”
Once Michael escapes Smith’s Grove (now a hulking, profane madhouse run by a lecherous Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Loomis), the film shifts into a greatest-hits reel of the 1978 original. Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) is no longer the quiet, smart final girl; she’s a screaming, emotional wreck. The stalking scenes are present, but Zombie replaces Carpenter’s suspenseful silence with loud, hulking brutality. The biggest misfire? The mask. Zombie’s weathered, grimy version strips away the eerie emptiness. And giving Michael (now a 7-foot Tyler Mane) a backstory of mommy issues ironically makes him less scary. The unknown was always the point. halloween 2007
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5) or ★★★★☆ (4/5) depending on your tolerance for grit if you love the original’s mystique