Halloween Redux (Not That We Needed One)

If you've read a single post on this blog, you may have gotten the impression that I dislike movie remakes, namely because I bring it up like every other post.

I find it hard to believe that, in the Year of Our Lord 2007, we've completely run out of ideas for movies. That there are no literary properties that could be adapted, no unproduced screenplays that could be produced. Instead, a lot of new movies ideas come in the form of amped-up, dumbed-down, and reheated versions of shit we've already seen before, that turn out to be nowhere near as entertaining as the original. (Elmore Leonard, probably the second-most adapted author in history, still has a dozen or so books available for adaptation.)

However, once in a great while, someone will remake a film with enough style and enough altered elements that they, in turn, become great films themselves. Films like A Fistful of Dollars (a remake of Yojimbo) or The Killer (a remake of Le Samourai) are so well-made in their own right that most people don't care (or know) that they are remakes. (It should be noted that Walter Hill also remade both of those films, and his versions should have stayed unmade.)

All that being said, if I were writing a dissertation on why not to remake movies, Rob Zombie's new Halloween would be my thesis. While I understand the fact that filmmakers feel that they have something new that they can bring to a existing concept, as that is what being creative is all about, I don't understand how you think you can improve upon a movie that was pretty much perfect to start with. Throwing tens of millions of dollars, and tons of tits and blood at a movie does not improve it at all. (Well, actually, it does, but for the wrong reasons.) And, other than the aforementioned T-and-B, he really hasn't added much to this movie at all. This is about as straight-forward as remakes get.

I appreciate the fact that Zombie tried to include a little bit of the backstory of Michael Myers. I liked the B-list actors that entirely compose the cast (but was disappointed by the exclusion of PJ Soles, who was in the the original Halloween, and whom Zombie put in The Devil's Rejects, but is absent here; a great call-back opportunity missed). I was pleased to see that little bits of dialogue, visual homages, the "Shatner" mask, and John Carpenter's musical score all carried over from the original.

But, the backstory of Michael Myers was covered to death in Halloweens 4-8. And you can't carry a movie with stunt casting (witness the last couple of Tarantino movies). And if I wanted to see shit from the original movie, I'd watch the original movie, which, 30 years later, may still be one of the best horror movies ever made.

I like Rob Zombie as a filmmaker, but he made a really bad choice deciding to remake this movie; it just can't be done. The original was too good. And I know he can make great films of his own; he made Devil's Rejects. (He also made House of 1000 Corpses, which, conversely, shows he may be the worst filmmaker ever.) Let's stick with original material from here on out. Leave the remake bullshit to the thousands of filmschool jagoffs looking to break into the biz. That'd make me happy.

And, since I usually end these diatribes with an alternate viewing recommendation, go see Death Sentence instead, which, despite the fact that it's based on the sequel to the book version of Death Wish, is actually more of a remake of the movie version of Death Wish than anything else.

Shouldn't stop you from seeing it, though.