October 20th

Halloween II: Unrated Director's Cut (2009) directed by Rob Zombie
Picks up right where part 1 left off, with characters dealing with the direct aftermath of Michael's first rampage.  I thought this introductory section of the film was a great idea on Zombie's part.  He shows us in sickening detail the results of Myer's violence.  We see Laurie and Annie having their cuts stitched up, being intubated, and having their bones set as they scream in pain on the hospital gurney.  I don't recall a slasher sequel ever quite going this far in showing us the real damage the survivors of a masked killer suffer in these types of films.  This also, of course, invites comparisons to the original Halloween II, in which Laurie merely has a few scraps and a sprained ankle taken care of at the hospital.  Overall, a clever beginning to the film.

The rest, I'm not so keen on.  I hate what became of Loomis.  In the original series, Loomis is my favorite character by far.  He's a man with an unstoppable missing to stop an unstoppable monster.  Here, he's turned into a completely unlikable asshole.  It's hard to imagine the Loomis of II ever caring enough about people to have been a psychiatrist in I.  Like most people, I also don't care for Myers imagining that he sees his mother and younger self.  I'm not so offended by the idea, I suppose, but I just don't want to know what's on Myers' mind.  I prefer him as a blank slate... a boogeyman, if you will.  With his crazy visions of mom and bitchin' hobo beard, Myers in this film just seems like a really tall and violent vagrant.  He's not a monster, he's just a nutball.

Again, I love Zombie's casting.  For geeks, he puts together great casts for all of his movies.  I particularly liked seeing Margot Kidder getting some work again. We also get Duane Whitaker, Howard Hesseman, Richard Riehle, Dayton Callie and Weird Al (!).  Obviously, the returning Malcolm McDowell, Brad Dourif and Danielle Harris are great, too.

I'm glad to have read the Zombie has pulled out of The Blob remake.  I want more Devil's Rejects and less re-imagined classics, please. (6/10)