Waffleween - Halloween 2 (2009)

Directed by: Rob Zombie

Starring: Scout Taylor-Compton, Tyler Mane, Malcolm McDowell, Sheri Moon Zombie, Brad Dourif, Danielle Harris, Margot Kidder

Follow-up to the 2007 remake of John Carpenter's original.

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 actor's 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 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 seem to 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. Making Loomis such a despicable character was another slap in the face to fans of the series.
A third film has been on the burner for a few years now with Patrick Lussier (editor on "Halloween: H20") attached to direct. Whether it will follow on from here or reboot things completely is unclear but at least we've seen the end of Zombie's blemish on the series.

1/10

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Eric Hillis