Halloween II (Unrated Director's Cut)
by Rob Zombie
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton, Sheri Moon Zombie, Tyler ManeDirector: Rob Zombie
Brand: SON
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 119 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2010-01-12
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Halloween II (Unrated Director's Cut)
Movie Review: A Different, Darker Kind Of Slasher Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Continuing on exactly from where 2007's excellent Halloween - Unrated Director's Cut (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) left off, the second chapter of this new incarnation of the Halloween legend takes the story into radically new territory, greatly building on elements hinted at in the 2007 movie or, in some cases, in the original continuity, and creating new facets from scratch. It also brings back in some elements that were mostly missing from the 2007 remake but were dominant in the original series, including edging Michael Myers back in the direction of being something more than a warped psychopath, something inhuman: it's doubtful, for example, that any mortal human could have survived the ending of the previous movie, let alone come back for more. There are other glimmers of elements which may or may not be supernatural. In contrast to these emerging elements, there's a gritty, uncomfortable raw-ness to both the movie and the character that were never present in the earlier entries. Whereas the original Michael Myers was so utterly unhuman and almost otherworldy - it was part of the ongoing subtext that Michael was really a physical incarnation of the 'boogeyman' - that his longtime psychiatrist Dr. Loomis refered to Michael as 'it' rather than 'he'; the Michael Myers in the current movies is, despite his preternatural strength and resistance to physical injury, at times all too human. As in the 2007 movie, the question of whether Michael is twisted and insane or just raw evil is answered: he's both. It's obvious the character's mind is warped, but it's just as obvious that not all the brutality, aggression and sadism of the character can be attributed to a damaged psyche: it's the real Michael.
We see the world through Michael Myers's eyes in certain scenes - where his dead mother is still present and directing his actions, where Michael's younger self is there and interacts with the older version, and where there's frequently the strange appearance of a white horse, which is said in psychological terms to represent vast amounts of inner rage when seen in a dream or vision.
Halloween II brings back almost all of the signifigant surviving characters from Halloween 2007 (and some of the dead ones, through visions and flashbacks), which is a welcome factor. Most of the characters have changed signifigantly in the wake of that movie's events. Among the most striking changes are those in Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), who's psychologically disturbed and whose character continues to darken in her own inner rage as the movie progreses. Anyone who saw the 2007 movie or is at all familiar with the Halloween mythos knows that Laurie is really Michael Myers's younger sister, and anyone who saw the movies in the original series (especially Parts 4-6) knows that the idea that there might be something 'wrong' not only with Michael but with other members of his bloodline was an evolving plot thread.
One thing that I found occuring in Halloween II that's occasionally been trotted out in other movies but has Never worked so well as it has here, is the recurring sensation that much of what we're seeing on screen may not be real, but happening in one of the character's heads. That's usually annoying; here it's frightening. The idea that it may not be 'real' but may actually be happening simultaneously in More than one of the character's heads is just plain eerie.
There are other unique factors at work too: it's rare that a movie, including a horror movie, can have so much brutal, gory violence on-screen and yet still leave the door open that there's much Worse happening offscreen. Unsettling. Another rarity to movies in general, although director Rob Zombie tends to work this into his own films on a regular basis: the movie will start off seeming to take place in such a nihilistic, ugly world, populated predominantly by unlikable, totally amoral characters. But then as it progresses, you meet other much more sympathetic characters, or you find yourself warming up to some of the originally unlikable ones (one of the returning characters has changed for the worse, but you find yourself starting to find more redeeming values in him as it goes along). An example of this dichotomy: in the opening of the movie, an ambulance carrying away the bodies of victims from the first movie has its driver and attendant discussing how much they'd like to have sex with the corpse of one of the female victims. From the rather nasty, unpleasant tone this little moment sets, you'd never expect elements to crop in like the 'adoption' of Laurie by Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif)'s family or the way they continue to try and help her even as she grows more abusive as her personality darkens. The ties of loyalty and extended family between the survivors are handled with great effect and even tenderness. Even Laurie, even as she's darkening, has those feelings: she doesn't want to be growing increasingly aggressive, but is losing control of herself. The way you get to know the characters makes the fates that befall some of them hit like sledgehammers.
All this talk of the emotional ties and loyalties between characters doesn't mean that this is a tv drama-of-the-week treatment of Halloween. It's a dark (the darkest in the series), psychologically disturbing, relentless horror movie. The thing that so many of horror's detractors (who usually don't seem to have actually watched that many of its movies) fail to get is that being a vicious horror movie doesn't preclude any other elements from also being part of the package.
Halloween II won't sit well with all fans. It's less of an 'awesome, fun horror thrill ride' than many entries in the slasher-type field; its horrendously brutal, coarse, and disturbs on a very emotional level. That said, it's just as great as the other kinds of slashers, just in a very different way. One thing that can inarguably said for the Halloween remakes at this point: they're not just repeating what the original series did so well. They're really forging their own identity, and it's a very dark, ruthless identity.
Killer ending to boot, setting the potential for the next chapter to develop and differentiate itself even further.
Summary of Halloween II (Unrated Director's Cut)
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
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