One of the classic horror film franchises is
Halloween.
Eric Hillis takes a look at each film from the classic debut in 1978 to
the most recent installment in 2009. Along the way, you get a sense of
how the story has evolved and how the quality has devolved at times.
For a look at the original film trailers for each film read our
original magazine story. It's a fascinating look at the Michael Myers story...
Halloween (1978)
While it can’t claim to be the first slasher movie, having been preceded by the likes of
Peeping Tom, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and
Black Christmas, John Carpenter’s
Halloween
is certainly the most influential. Laying down a new template for the
genre, it inspired countless imitations, none of which would come
remotely close to replicating its chilling atmosphere.
Carpenter
had been approached by producer Irwin Yablans to write and direct a
cheap horror movie, Yablans having been highly impressed with
Carpenter’s work on the low budget
Assault on Precinct 13.
Enlisting the aid of then girlfriend Debra Hill, Carpenter wrote a
script in a few days, originally with the rather uninspired title of
‘The Babysitter Murders’. It was Yablans who came up with the title
change, mainly as a marketing gimmick (October was traditionally a slow
month for cinema releases). Producer Moustapha Akkad stumped up the cash
and would become the guiding hand of the series once Carpenter lost
interest.
After being turned down by Peter Cushing and Christopher
Lee, Carpenter landed Donald Pleasence for the role of Dr Loomis (named
after a character from
Psycho), the psychiatrist on the hunt
for Myers. Pleasence is fantastic and it’s impossible to imagine the
original two choices being as effective. They lack the vulnerability he
brings to the role, too imposing for a character who is essentially the
most terrified person in the movie. The casting of Jamie Lee Curtis was
again somewhat of a marketing coup, being the daughter of
Psycho
star Janet Leigh (and Tony Curtis). This is not to undermine her, as
she gives a fantastic performance, which lead to her being cast in every
other slasher movie over the next few years. In fairness to the
actress, she’s always been quick to acknowledge the debt she owes to
this film and was happy to return to the role 20 years later.
The
real star of course is Carpenter himself, both as director and
soundtrack composer. In the latter capacity he recorded the score in
just three days, basing it on simple syncopated rhythms taught to him as
a child by his father, a music professor. It’s a perfect score,
flawlessly employed in the film. The main theme has become iconic, as
recognizable as those of Jaws and Star Wars. What Carpenter also
cleverly does, and a highly original idea at the time, was to
incorporate the music as a sound effect. Every time we see Myers jump
out from the darkness we get a stabbing sound, which varies in tone for
each situation. Like his earlier score for
Assault on Precinct 13, it was entirely composed on a synthesizer, a method which would become the norm for low budget films over the next decade.
Carpenter’s
direction is flawless, remarkable given the pressures of time and
budget imposed on the young film-maker. To give it a higher production
value, he took the decision to shoot the film in Panavision, a
widescreen format usually reserved for epics and blockbusters. Carpenter
uses the wide frame to create numbing tension, Myers often appearing
out of the empty space at the corner of the screen. The Panaglide, an
early form of Steadicam, was employed as a way of filming movement
quickly without having to lay down tracks. It often serves as Myer’s
POV, as in the brilliant opening sequence seen through the eyes of the
eight year old killer as he murders his sister. Later in the film
Carpenter messes with our heads by fooling us into thinking we’re seeing
the killer’s POV only for Myers to walk into the frame. This lack of
trust in the camera puts the audience on edge throughout.
There’s
clever use of color too. The movie’s first half occurs in daylight with a
predominantly green theme making us feel reasonably safe, and even the
color of Curtis’ sweater matches the immaculate lawns of suburban
Haddonfield. Later however darkness falls and a blue backlight (later to
become a cliche in 1980s’ horror) pervades. Tellingly, Curtis swaps her
green sweater for a blue one, shedding her innocence as the evening’s
horrific events plunge her into maturity. Kudos to the lighting of Dean
Cundey, who would go on to become one of Hollywood’s most in demand
cinematographers.
The character of Michael Myers is one of
cinema’s most iconic, but it’s a ridiculously simplistic costume. The
mask was actually a William Shatner mask found by production designer
Tommy Lee Wallace, who sprayed it white, cut holes in the eyes and
tousled the hair to give it the creepy look we know so well. Carpenter’s
friend Nick Castle played the killer, and his subtle movements add an
extra dimension of creepiness. Myers was also played by Debra Hill (the
hands of the eight year old Myers in the opening sequence) and Tony
Moran (the face revealed when the mask is eventually removed).
Unlike
the imitations which would follow, there’s nary a drop of blood spilled
onscreen. Despite this, or arguably because of this, the movie is
absolutely terrifying. The final 20 minutes, in which Curtis is stalked
by Myers through the normally safe environs of a suburban street, is for
me the highlight of a hundred plus years of cinema. There’s barely a
word of dialogue; it’s visual film-making at its finest. Never have
camera movement, framing, lighting and editing been combined in such a
chilling manner. If an alien landed and asked me what makes cinema
great, I would simply show them the shot of Curtis framed in a doorway
as Myers rises from the dead behind her. That’s cinema! That’s John
Carpenter! That’s
Halloween!
5 stars out of 5
Halloween II (1981)
Halloween
had become the most profitable independent movie ever so it didn’t take
a psychic to see a sequel would be on the way. Compared to today, when
we get a new
Paranormal Activity movie every October, a three
year gap seems like an age. In the intervening years, Carpenter’s
original had spawned dozens of imitations, most of them frankly
unwatchable. Thanks to the success of Friday the 13th, the elements that
made Carpenter’s film so effective (suspense, mood, tension and
atmosphere) had been replaced with gore and over the top death scenes.
Each new slasher flick attempted to outdo the competition by giving us
increasingly inventive death scenes. The simple act of stabbing a victim
with a kitchen knife had become passe; audiences now wanted to see
killings that utilized every household implement possible.
Presumably
this is the main reason Carpenter sets the sequel in a hospital;
there’s all manner of sharp implements lying around and plenty of long
corridors, ideal for stalking. Once again Debra Hill co-writes, though
their relationship had become platonic, Carpenter having married
Adrienne Barbeau, his star of
The Fog. The directorial reins
were passed to the relatively inexperienced Rosenthal, as Carpenter had
little interest in returning. As it turned out, the producers were
unhappy with Rosenthal’s work, feeling the kills were too generic, and
Carpenter was brought back for re-shoots. Most of the scenes involving
Myers doing what he does best are helmed by Carpenter. Despite
Rosenthal’s commendable attempts to imitate the style of his
predecessor, Carpenter’s scenes stand out in his use of the widescreen
frame, strategically placing Myers for that “He’s behind you!” effect.
All
this talk of re-shoots and Carpenter’s lack of enthusiasm may lead you
to believe the film is a mess, but that’s far from the truth. It never
reaches the high watermark of the original but as slashers go it’s
probably the second best entry in the sub-genre. Carpenter’s limited
input is enough to elevate it above the competition. It also gives us a
mythology, establishing a connection to the celtic roots of the
Halloween festival, and an
Empire Strikes Back style revelation
concerning Myers’ family connections. The character of Loomis is
brought to the forefront and Pleasence is given some great monologues,
which he delivers with manic gusto.
Carpenter returns on
soundtrack duties, this time recruiting the aid of synth wizard Alan
Howarth. Like the film itself, the score is amped up in a more
aggressive manner. Howarth would go on to take over from Carpenter as
the series progressed, ensuring the themes set down in the original
remained intact. Like the
Halloween imitations, the score has
something of a disco influence, the main theme now featuring a kick
drum. The slasher genre is in some ways the film equivalent of disco
music - both were kicked off by geniuses but ultimately ruined by
talent-less hacks seeking a quick buck.
Halloween II is best
viewed back to back with the original for the full ‘night he came home’
experience, but as a stand-alone slasher it’s still one of the very
best.
4 ½ stars out of 5
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)
After
Halloween II,
a controversial decision was made concerning the future of the
franchise. Feeling the slasher genre had burnt itself out, the producers
decided to adopt an anthology format. The idea was that each new
installment would tell a completely different story set around the
Halloween season. Michael Myers would no longer feature. It was a brave
move, but far from a wise one. The film was slaughtered by fans and
critics alike. As is so often the case though,
Halloween 3 has been reassessed, and is held in far higher regard by genre fans today.
As
a kid, this was actually the first film in the series I had the
pleasure of seeing. I was too young to have grown up with the first two
installments so I presumed every movie in the franchise spun a unique
yarn. Later, when I discovered the dubious joy of Michael Myers, it
soured my opinion of this film. Now I actually consider it second only
to the first movie as far as its series ranking goes.
Cult British
Sci-Fi writer Nigel Kneale was brought on for scriptwriting duties.
John Carpenter, still involved as producer, was a huge fan of Kneale’s
Quatermass
scripts for BBC television and Hammer Films. Carpenter would even pay
homage by adopting the pseudonym of Martin Quatermass for his Prince of
Darkness screenplay. Rumour has it Kneale’s script was loosely based on
an idea previously rejected by the BBC for being too disturbing, given
its infanticide theme. Director Wallace would ultimately rewrite large
parts of the script due to a perceived anti-Irish bigotry, leading
Kneale’s name to be replaced by Wallace in the final credits.
(Personally speaking, as an Irishman I’m quite proud we can boast a
horror villain as charismatic as O’Herlihy.)
The story owes a debt to the paranoid Sci-Fi movies of the ‘50s, films like
Invasion of the Body-Snatchers and
Invaders From Mars.
O’Herlihy plays a Willy Wonka type mask factory owner who runs a small
California town, the inhabitants of which are replaced by robot versions
of themselves if they step out of line. Atkins is great as the
alcoholic doctor whose patient dies following a trip to O’Herlihy’s
factory. The dead man’s daughter, Nelkin, persuades him to tag along to
the town to investigate, leading to one of cinema’s more unlikely
romances.
Wallace does a great job imitating the visual style of
his long time friend Carpenter, capturing the creepy atmosphere of the
small town, complete with its nightly curfew and CCTV cameras. The
dialogue, much of it improvised by Atkins and Nelkin, is snappy and
witty without pulling the film down to any puerile depths. Carpenter and
Alan Howarth re-team for another great electronic score that reflects
brilliantly the escalating paranoia of the story. Sadly, this would be
Carpenter’s final piece of creative input to the series. (The royalty
checks would be enough for Carpenter from here on.)
Though belittled at the time of its release,
Halloween 3
can now be considered one of the highlights of ‘80s horror, and with
its theme of loss of identity, arguably more relevant today.
4 ½ stars out of 5
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
With audiences and critics reacting poorly to
Halloween 3,
it was inevitable that a fourth movie would feature Michael Myers and a
return to the slasher formula that made the original a hit. By the late
‘80s, slasher movies were more likely to be found on the shelves of
video stores than playing in theatres. It was important that
Halloween 4
be a success, so as to save the franchise from an exile in
straight-to-video hell. It was indeed a success, at least financially,
ensuring the survival of Myers for quite a while. Producer Moustapha
Akkad, who had taken control of the rights, half-jokingly said he would
make 24 sequels before he retired Myers.
A script had been penned
by Dennis Etchison, writer of the novelisations of the first three
movies, but Akkad rejected it as “too cerebral”. From what’s known of
it, the rejected script had a post-modern twist, ironic given the
massive success of the revisionist
Scream a decade later. Alan B. McElroy, a self-confessed
Halloween
nut, rushed out a script in 11 days that focussed on Jamie Lloyd, the
young daughter of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), orphaned following
her parents’ accidental death a year earlier. Thanks to the revelations
of the second film, fans now knew that young Jamie (Danielle Harris) was
of course the niece of none other than Myers himself. It’s a well
paced, punchy script that certainly feels like it was written by someone
who understands and appreciates the series.
With Curtis out of
the picture, the film would be carried by Pleasence, now practically a
household name thanks to the role of Dr. Loomis. As with the second
film, he’s given some great dialogue to chew on. A confrontation between
Loomis and Myers in a gas station is one of the highlights not just of
this film but the series as a whole. Loomis, replete with burn scars
from Halloween II’s finale, is now a tired old man who resorts to
begging Myers to “leave those people alone.” Few slasher flicks can
boast of such a human moment. As the newly elected heroine of the
series, 10-year-old Harris is a revelation, a child actor who actually
acts like a child rather than a miniature adult.
Director Little
does some effective if not earth shattering work behind the camera. His
two greatest contributions are the moody shots of farmland in the credit
sequence and a Vertigo-type zoom in the aforementioned gas station
set-piece. Compared to the hacks who would take over in subsequent
sequels he does an admirable job. After collaborations with Carpenter,
composer Alan Howarth strikes out on his own for this film’s score.
While the central themes remain, Carpenter’s absence is notable and the
music isn’t nearly as effective as in previous films.
Halloween 4
was met with scorn but, importantly, it won back the fans with a
thrilling and snappy installment in the adventures of their favourite
mass murderer. Sadly, the series was about to enter its wilderness
years.
4 stars out of 5
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)It’s remarkable that merely a year after the success of
Halloween 4,
the series could have been plunged to the depths on view here. With its
ugly aesthetic and nasty tone, this fifth film anticipates the
direction Rob Zombie would take the reboot of the franchise almost 20
years later. This is a horrid film in every sense of the word and it
introduced new elements that ultimately led to derision and disillusion
among fans. Though the fourth movie featured no involvement from John
Carpenter, it did for the most part feel like a
Halloween film. Its follow-up has more in common with the sleazy imitations of Carpenter’s classic.
The
film kicks off with a flashback to the previous film’s climax but
presents us with the twist of Myers surviving and being swept down a
river. Bizarrely he’s taken in by a hermit (and his parrot) who seems
happy to allow him to sleep for a year in his hut. Myers wakes on
Halloween Eve a year later, kills the hermit, and sets off back to his
home town. Meanwhile, his niece (Harris) is in a children’s institution
following the attack on her step-mother, which it seems the victim
survived. The psychic bond hinted at in Halloween 4 is played up to
cheesy levels now with Harris physically feeling her uncle’s actions.
Dr. Loomis is overseeing the young girl and his treatment of her makes
him a lot scarier than Myers.
This movie has many problems. By
placing Harris in the “final girl” role the film takes on a nasty
undercurrent. While we can all enjoy watching teenagers stalked and
slashed, it’s not much fun seeing a child discover the corpses of her
loved ones as her uncle tries to stab her with a butcher knife. Cornell
was a likable presence and the film would have been better had she been
the central figure rather than killed off at the film’s outset. Alan
Howarth’s score is below par compared to his previous work and reaches a
new low with the Three Stooges style theme he lays over scenes
featuring a pair of bungling cops. Predictably, the movie was a flop,
both commercially and critically, and the series would lie dormant for
the next six years.
1 star out of 5
Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
Halloween 5 had
introduced a new character, the mysterious man in black. At the time
nobody involved with the franchise really knew where this sub-plot would
lead. Originally it was thought he would be Myers’ twin but for the
sixth film it was decided he become the leader of a cult based out of
Smith’s Grove, the sanitarium which originally housed the young Myers.
To say this sub-plot is handled haphazardly is an understatement. This
film attempts to tie up several loose ends but actually creates more
than it ultimately resolves. There’s a bootleg ‘Producer’s Cut’ floating
around that makes slightly more sense, but in either incarnation the
film is a mess.
We open with Jamie Lloyd giving birth in the
subterranean lair of a druidic cult. She should be 15 by this point but
she’s played by an actress who doesn’t look a day under 20. The question
of who fathered this child is never actually answered, but seeing how
Myers is also being held captive by the cult, you surmise some Myers
family incest may have occurred. Lloyd escapes and hides the child in a
bus station before Myers impales his niece on some farming equipment.
Tommy Doyle, the young boy Laurie Strode was babysitting in the original
film, is all grown up and played by a fresh-faced Paul Rudd. He lives
across from the Myers house, which is now inhabited by relations of its
original residents, the Strodes. Hearing Lloyd call a radio talk show,
he tracks down her baby and hides it in his room. From here on the plot
gets too confusing for me to attempt to relate, suffice to say we end up
with more questions than answers.
The film is an improvement on
its immediate predecessor, though pouring acid in your eyes would be an
improvement over watching the fifth installment. Gone is the ugly
lighting, handheld camera and comic relief cops. To its credit, it does
try to tie things in with the first film. Rudd’s landlady reveals
herself as the babysitter of Myers on that fateful night in 1963 and
there are visual callbacks, such as a young boy dropping a pumpkin upon
sighting Myers. Despite this, it’s still a relentlessly dull affair
which suffers from a lack of focus. There are too many characters who
you know won’t be killed off and Pleasence’s role is little more than a
bit part due to his ill health (he passed away just after wrapping up
shooting). By trying to create a back-story for Myers, the producers
were digging themselves into a hole and the wise decision was made to
write off this mythology for the far more successful seventh
installment.
2 stars out of 5
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
There may have been a mere three year gap between
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
and this film’s release but in that short time the landscape of the
horror genre had changed immensely. The success of Wes Craven’s Scream
meant Hollywood was suddenly taking a serious interest in a genre it had
avoided since the early ‘80s. What this meant for the Halloween
franchise was a budget the producers had previously only dreamed of, and
a widespread theatrical release. Most importantly, with horror now
respectable again, it meant a willingness on the part of Curtis to
return to the role that ignited her career.
After the unmitigated
disasters of the fifth and sixth installments, the decision was made to
take the series back to its roots. By trying to create a new back-story
in the previous two films, the producers had lost credibility with a
disgruntled fan base. In attempting to flesh out the mythology of why
Myers kills, they had compromised the character. As Dr. Loomis reminded
us so often, Michael is simply evil, and we don’t need or want to know
any more. Thankfully, no such world-building is attempted here; in fact
the movie cancels out the events of parts four through six. Laurie
Strode (Curtis), is now the principal of a private school in California,
having faked her death at some point in the past. We learn that Myers’
body was never found after the hospital explosion which ended Halloween
II, but our favourite stalker has kept himself out of the news for the
last two decades, somehow managing to keep that mask and boiler suit
combo clean through the years. Now, thanks to a raid on the house of
nurse Chambers (Nancy Stephens, resuming the role she essayed in the
first two movies) he learns his sister’s whereabouts and sets off to
finish what he started all those years ago.
At the time of its
original release, my opinion on this film was lukewarm, feeling they had
‘Scream-ed’ it up too much, but I’ve grown to admire it over the years.
It stands out as the best of the ‘90s cycle of post-
Scream
slashers, though admittedly that’s not much of an accolade. Apart from
some annoying racial stereotyping there’s nothing to irritate fans of
the series. There are minor details, such as a return to the original
style of mask and Mr. Sandman playing over the opening, that go a long
way towards sating us Halloween nuts. The teen characters never get too
irritating and are swept aside for the movie’s final 20 minutes, setting
up a thrilling game of cat and mouse between Myers and his
long-suffering sister. Miner does a solid job directing these sequences
and gives us one of the best visual motifs of the entire series when
Curtis slams a door in front of Myers and the two stare at each other
through a port-hole shaped window. Durand’s portrayal of Michael Myers
is second only to Nick Castle’s in the original, playing the killer with
the anger and impatience of someone who just wants to swat a fly that
won’t leave his kitchen.
Halloween H20 is a must watch
for anyone who loves good old fashioned stalkin’ and slashin’. With the
series now back on track would more thrilling installments await us?
Err…
4 stars out of 5
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)Following the success of
Halloween 4 in
1988, producer Moustapha Akkad immediately rushed out a near
unwatchable follow-up. Strangely, he didn’t seem in a rush to capitalize
on the positive reaction to 1998’s
Halloween H20, waiting four
years to produce this near unwatchable follow-up. In the mid to late
‘90s, slashers were big business, but by this film’s release in 2002,
the fad was dead. Horror had returned to the shelves of rental stores
and were it not for the presence of Curtis, I suspect
Halloween: Resurrection wouldn’t have made it to the big screen. This film feels small in every regard.
With
Halloween II
director Rosenthal returning, there was some reason for fans to be
hopeful and the opening scene gets us on board as Myers finally fulfills
his wish of killing his sister, now resident in an asylum. But wait,
didn’t Curtis chop off Myers’ head at the end of H20? She sure did, but
here the writers find a ‘creative’ way of getting around this. After the
first 15 minutes however it all goes downhill faster than a severed
head in a laundry chute. Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks are a pair of
internet entrepeneurs, (yes, a rapper and a supermodel, welcome to the
‘00s), whose company, Dangertainment, has gained access to the now
deserted Myers’ house. They’ve placed cameras around the place and have
recruited a bunch of teens to spend the night in the home of ‘America’s
Most Notorious Serial Killer’.
If it’s anything, (and believe me, it’s not),
Halloween: Resurrection is ahead of its time. With its house rigged with cameras gimmick, it prefigures both the current found footage fad and
Big Brother
style reality TV. This is not what we want from a Halloween movie
though. Rosenthal’s direction is bland enough to highlight how much of
an input John Carpenter had on
Halloween II and the writing is
sophomoric and amateurish. The biggest issue is how ineffectual Myers
comes across, and seeing him beaten around by a rapper is a new low for
the franchise. Predictably, the movie didn’t fare too well - certainly
not with fans - and the series would be shelved for five years. As bad
as this installment is, the worst was yet to come.
1 star out of 5
Halloween (2007)
By 2007, a host of classic horror movies had been given the remake treatment. A small few were worthwhile (
Dawn of the Dead, The Hills Have Eyes), many were pointless (
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Psycho), but most were just plain awful (
The Fog, The Amityville Horror).
Fans of John Carpenter braced themselves for the inevitable remake of
his 1978 classic, and when it was announced that Rob Zombie would write
and direct, the prospects looked bleak. With his previous films,
House of a Thousand Corpses and
The Devil’s Rejects,
the rock-star turned director had shown no evidence that he could come
remotely close to making anything resembling an involving motion
picture. Few were surprised when his Halloween turned out to be a
cinematic travesty.
Though he’s improved since, at the time Zombie
was no more a film-maker than Spielberg is a rock-star. His take on
Carpenter’s masterpiece isn’t so much a film as the back page of a
teenage sociopath’s math book brought to life. Not content with
delivering a terrifying slasher movie, Zombie decided he’d delve into
what turns a young boy into a psychopath. The first half of the movie -
yes, the entire first half - is devoted to Myers’ childhood. Seems it
wasn’t the supernatural forces of ancient Ireland that influenced young
Michael; no, it was the fact that his daddy was an alcoholic redneck and
his mother a stripper. If a film-maker wants to make a treatise on
nature versus nurture that’s fine, but don’t hijack a much loved
franchise to deliver your half-baked psychology lesson.
If one
word can describe Zombie’s style, it’s ‘ugly’. Every character, even Dr.
Loomis (McDowell), looks like a guest on Jerry Springer. Like Michael
Haneke and Lars Von Trier, Zombie seems intent on making us feel bad for
enjoying horror movies by giving us a story completely devoid of what’s
generally considered a good time. What those film-makers fail to get
through their judgmental heads is that we don’t get off on the violence,
we get off on the fear. The ascent of the rollercoaster is far scarier
than the descent - it’s the fear of what’s around the next corner,
what’s making those noises behind that door. The real terror isn’t on
the screen, it’s in the thick fog of our psyches. The dentist’s chair is
never as terrifying as the dental appointment.
Because it relies
so much on lighting, framing and camera movement, horror is the most
cinematic of all genres and requires real talent to make it work. Here
the lighting is abominable, the framing nonsensical, and movement
consists solely of shakey-cam. For some bizarre reason we are constantly
treated to the backs of character’s heads rather than their faces. The
director doesn’t seem to understand that acting is in the eyes, not the
ears. Zombie, arrogant in the way only musicians can be, displayed zero
talent as a film-maker, yet somehow got to make a sequel to this
disaster.
½ star out of 5
Halloween 2 (2009)
Rob Zombie’s
Halloween 2 is an improvement over Rob Zombie’s
Halloween,
although that’s akin to saying World War II was an improvement over
World War I; in a perfect world neither would have occurred. While the
first film was a punishingly grim experience, the follow-up at least has
some moments of unintentional comedy. In the intervening years Zombie
seems to have learnt a thing or two (literally no more) about
film-making. During dialogue scenes we can actually now see the actors’
faces, and he’s relaxed his shaky-cam aesthetic. When it comes to
creating tension, suspense and atmosphere, he’s still clueless however.
Zombie opens things with what initially appears to be a remake of 1981’s
Halloween 2.
Laurie Strode (Taylor-Compton) has been rushed to Haddonfield Memorial
Hospital immediately following the events of the first movie. After
spending half the running time of the first film establishing Michael
Myers’ back-story, Zombie tears up his nature versus nurture argument by
resurrecting Myers, presumably by supernatural means. Unfortunately we
haven’t seen the last of the young Myers, as Zombie peppers his sequel
with flashbacks and dream sequences. Myers has a recurring dream of his
mother accompanied by a white horse. Just in case we’re not on board
with his cod psychology, he opens the film with a quote from a textbook
informing us exactly what a white horse symbolizes. This is but the
first of many laughable moments sprinkled throughout this mess.
Just
when we think Zombie is retreading the 1981 film, we realize it was all
a dream, and a year has actually passed since the original events.
Myers’ body, of course, was never found, and we get countless shots of
the killer making his way back to Haddonfield, trudging through endless
fields like he stepped onto the set of
The Hobbit. Along the
way he kills a few rednecks in bland and unoriginal ways. Back in
Haddonfield, the local kids are having one of those incredibly well
organized parties that only occur in slasher films and never seem to
have enough beer. Dr. Loomis (McDowell) meanwhile has become a
controversial celebrity, thanks to his best-selling book on Myers.
McDowell has fun with the role and his performance is the only
professional element of the movie, but making Loomis such a despicable
character was another slap in the face to fans of the series.
1 star out of 5
With
the proliferation of tribute bands from the Beatles to Frank Zappa,
audiences in NJ and the Metro Area can be taken back in time any day of
the week. Who doesn’t enjoy the mental re-living of youthful romantic
moments and the sonic energy of “back in the day?”
This
month our sack has been abundantly filled with some sweet and spooky
tunes. We’ve sorted through the lot and this is the best of the best --
no candy corn filler here!
“Our
agent at the time was a history graduate, we were dithering about
searching for band names and he suggested it and I was sort of like;
yeah, well, OK. Then it dawned on me; we’re named after a dead guy,”
explained founding member and music icon Ian Anderson with a laugh on
how legendary rock band Jethro Tull got their name from an English
agricultural pioneer that helped bring about the British Agricultural
Revolution. “So let that be a lesson to you children; pay attention in
history class!”
![Roxey Ballet Presents "Dracula"](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vKrsZKIrMCk7SUDNsj_aNf5S00VukTROpXJHTzd3X5yswsupN7tpyYP7ncCwOBITNt9cw7iNAACkv2u48UVwxQu6x4dScTbwurdnL5OYk5KfOe2CPmgZdc1LqQYg=s0-d "Roxey Ballet Presents "Dracula"")
Murphy’s Law: Group Therapy Gone Wild
is a play by Andrea Clinton, niece of the legendary musician George
Clinton. The place will have its world premiere November 13-15 at the
Hamilton Stage at Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway as part
of Union County Advancing Community Theatre (UCACT) program.
If the truth is stranger than fiction, perhaps reality is more suspenseful. That premise is put to the test in the play Charlie Victor Romeo.
Written by Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, and Irving Gregory, the play
opens the 11th season for South Camden Theatre Company in October. 