Revisiting Rob Zombie's "Halloween"

For anyone that knows me personally, I frown over and bitch about remakes. Especially horror remakes. In honor of the highest grossing labor day weekend movie, here's a short retrospect of a remake I did enjoy.

Let's go get in the way back machine about 6 years..........

I remember Labor Day weekend of 2007 very well. It was the first time I received holiday pay from work. Went to see Rush at Germain Amphitheater (it was one of the last shows at the venue). Got my first upgrade from Sprint. Oh, and Rob Zombie's "Halloween" was released in theaters.

Prior to the remake, I had bought a VHS copy of the original Halloween. I didn't make a habit of watching it over and over. For me, it was a seasonal watch. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the film and I think it's great. Aside from the first one, the other ones I remember seeing where II and H20. Needless to say, I wasn't a huge Michael Myers fan back in the day. My slasher of choice was Freddy Krueger.

To be honest, I was surprised that they where going to remake this. Why ? The first one, even after almost 30 years (at that point) is still legendary. I was divided to say the least. One part of me thought it was a bad idea. The other part of me felt the sequels weren't doing the original much just justice. Maybe a fresh take is what the legend of Michael Myers needed. 

I was still divided until I read Rob Zombie was going to direct. Not only that, but John Carpenter gave him his blessing. John Carpenter, you know the guy who did the original ! Now, I wanted to see this get remade.

 I remember the trailer left me a little puzzled. "What the fuck is he doing with this ?" I thought to myself. It didn't look like the original nor did it look like any of the sequels. 

The first time I seen the movie, was on September 1, 2007. 

In a nutshell; it was gorier than the original, the story dug a little deeper into the mythology of Michael Myers, and the dialogue sounded like it came from a exploitation film. He borrowed very little from the original. This looked nothing like the movie I use to watch every halloween since I was 12. 

Needless to say, I was deeply impressed. For me, I seen the film not as a competitor to the original but as a tribute to the original. I mean here's a guy who essentially grew up watching the original. In that time prior to the remake, he's examined it and thought deeply how he would've made the movie. Zombie's a film nerd, bottom line. He took one of his favorite films, and made his own. That's all anybody really needs to see when they watch the film. 

As of now, the film is still the highest grossing labor day weekend movie.