Michael, you are really a changed person.

Halloween a.k.a. Hall9ween by Rob Zombie(USA)

a quickr pickr post

Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween delivers a whole new aspect of the making of Michael Myers, the notorious serial killer in the big screen. In this version, Michael was born in a family filled with violence and sex. Even though his mom, a stripper in a small town dance club, warmed him with great love, it could never make up for the abuse and discrimination he had received from others, including his classmates and family members. Thus, on Halloween night, the monster within him matured and unleashed itself, bathing itself in blood. Later on, the audience got to observe what had happened during Michael’s stay in the mental institution. It’s an important clue that leads to the mysterious mind work of the Halloween killer.

Beside the New Michael Myers, other characters also have different interpretations. Laurie Myers really looks like a girl next door, not to mention the sexually curious behavior of her age. Dr. Loomis, unlike the previous image of a holy priest who’s trying to exhaust the demon out of Michael, shows human weakness, making wrong judgment in his life.

Well, even though the story itself is concrete and convincing, it seems that the real Michael Myers is missing. The more details we know about the killer, the stranger he becomes. It seems that we’re watching a copycat killer, who has a sad childhood abuse story to share with others, mimicking Michael’s crime. After all, if Michael were really BORN EVIL, why did the director bother to spend lots of time making his image as a victim of child abuse? Michael Myers should kill for no purpose. He’s not the sort of man who revenges. This is the part that I doubted the most.

As a remake, Hall9ween seems fair and satisfying. The death counts are increasing, and the masks he wears are spooky, not to mention the sex scenes are grotesquely too much. It’s a pity that the tense of the boogieman is somehow lost in this film. It might have something to do with our familiarity with Michael Myers. After all, we audience have already been numbed listening to the at-first-spooky-but-now-okay theme.

This remake of Halloween may not be as scary as its original version and its ending may not be as shocking as H20, a.k.a. Halloween: 20 years later, but it still stands out from the rest of the series. It did add a new touch to the somehow aging series. Rob Zombie has done a fair job. Will there be any sequel to it?