LITERAL REMAINS

One year after Laurie Strode survived her Halloween night of hell fighting deranged killer Michael Myers, she is still haunted by the experience and by disturbing dreams that make her think she is going slowly insane.  Michael killed her parents and most of her friends.  The medicine doesn’t keep the nightmares at bay, neither does talking to her therapist.  She lives with her friend, and fellow survivor, Annie Brackett, and her dad, Sheriff Brackett.  Laurie still lives in fear knowing Michael’s body was never found, and it keeps her from moving on with her life.

Michael’s doctor, Sam Loomis, has moved on.  He has written another book about Michael, detailing the Haddonfield massacre.  When it hits the stores, Laurie reads it and discovers that she is Angel Myers, Michael’s little sister, and that alone descends her deeper into a downard spiral feeling she doesn’t really know who she is.

And the entire time Michael Myers has been living off the land, making his way back to Haddonfield, back to his sister.  He has visions of his mother leading a white horse, the same visions that haunt Laurie.  Michael kills any and all who stand between him and Laurie.  Nothing will stop him from his family reunion.

Rob Zombie’s ambition outweighs his skill.  I think Zombie is a competent director, he has an artist’s eye at composition, and in Halloween II he paints some lovely and disturbing imagery.  There are some really nice shots, just nothing to string them together.  Zombie’s writing skills have fallen a little weak on this one.

Michael Myers is a brutal force in this movie.  During several kill scenes you can hear him grunt at the exertion and it’s vicious, a beast, a maniac, venting the rage and hatred; Tyler Mane is the best Shape to ever stalk Haddonfield.  Brad Dourif, as Sheriff Brackett, is the real standout, delivering a great performance.  Malcolm McDowell’s Dr. Loomis is good, but he’s not given anything to work with, he’s practically not even needed, which adds to the jumbled mess.

The visions of Deborah Myers, mother of the clan, are used excessively and eventually become distracting, irritating, and laughable.  Zombie tries to weave some deep ideas into the narrative, but the movie, as a whole, is too shallow.  The parallels between Michael and Laurie are an interesting attempt, but they get lost in the standard hack-and-slash crutches the movie ultimately relies on to limp to the finish.

And sadly, Halloween II never manages to set the pulse racing; there is an overall lack of tension and fear.

But maybe that will all change.  This is the era of the director’s cut dvd.  I thought Zombie’s first stab at Halloween felt incomplete, but I felt the director’s cut was a vast improvement and felt like a whole film.  I guess I’ll know in about four months or so.

2 out of 5
the_novacula