H2; Trashy Horror!

Hello Everyone,

A couple of weeks ago, specifically the opening weekend of Halloween 2, I went to see...wait for it..Halloween 2. I did see Rob Zombie's take on the first Halloween film and did enjoy it; it was not as brutal as I thought it would be from hearing about his previous films, which I still have not to this day seen. SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW. BE AWARE.

Firstly, I will say that it is more brutal and gory in content than the Zombie's first Halloween; I did not mind this. I was kind of glad that it was rated 18A because that means the director or studio is not afraid of excluding younger moviegoers and therefore the content or vision of the director does not have to be compromised to sell more tickets.

Rob Zombie's panache for featuring trashy looking and acting characters is featured in this film, although largely absent from the first film. Laurie's middle class lifestyle, albeit her tendency for saucy talk with her somewhat slutty friends in the first film has been transformed in this film. Laurie, now living a year since the incidents of the first film is living with Annie (her friend who survived the first film) and her father, Sheriff Bracket in their trashy house, she dresses in a grungy rocker style (torn pants, rock t-shirts, messy hair) and hangs out with some trashy, slutty girls who are all dead by the end of the film (SURPRISE). You can say that Laurie's genes catch up with her in this film; her lifestyle is similar to the one that her teenager sister was living at the beginning of the first film. I am not a fan of Rob Zombie's trash horror cinema, I do however enjoy how he handles horror in the Halloween films.

Zombie turns Dr. Loomis from a devoted, concerned and action oriented doctor in the original Halloween films into a sensationalist, 'anything for a buck' writer, played aptly, once again by Malcolm McDowell; just Knight him already. I enjoyed the altruistic, take action Dr. Loomis played by Donald Pleasance but am willing to accept this different take on Dr. Loomis which seems a bit more realistic. Malcolm McDowell's Loomis does attempt to make good on all the bad he has done; see the film cause I will not go into greater detail.

Zombie uses the hospital setting from the original Halloween 2 as a jumping off point and is not featured as a principal set location. Zombie begins to do something with Laurie that Carpenter never did and that is to draw a genetic connection between her and Michael. I cannot go into further details, less a spoil the ending for you. The film ends with resolution in one way and the possibility for a new beginning in another way. I had an inkling of how the film was going to end, although I was still a bit taken aback by it and cannot decide whether I liked the ending or whether I was a bit disappointed.

Rob Zombie has said that this will be his final film delving into the world of Halloween. There is a possibility for the franchise to be rebooted. If handled appropriately it may world but I am very apprehensive because I believe that there is a strong chance that a franchise reboot will require too much effort that the studio is not willing to put behind a horror franchise.

If you enjoyed the first film or consider yourself a horror fanatic than I highly recommend that you see this film. If you do not fit into either or the two groups but would like to see it, I suggest you rent the dvd when it comes out, however if you are really interested from trailers, reviews or word of mouth then you should check it out.

Thanks for reading.

FANBOY dave