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Directed & Written by Rob Zombie

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On Set with Rob Zombie
By Rebecca Keegan | Time 4/26/07
    One of the most persuasive condemnations of our veterans' healthcare system may be that a Southern California VA hospital is a suitable location for filming a Rob Zombie movie. The much tattooed 42-year-old director's last effort, the mordantly witty 2005 horror pic The Devil's Rejects, revealed the metal singer/director's knack for coaxing a certain grisly charm out of his homicidal antiheroes and evoking an unexpected creepiness out of the sun-bleached California desert. Now the horror auteur is taking a stab at Michael Myers, the masked psychopath from John Carpenter's 1978 Halloween, which Zombie is retooling for an August release.
    The VA hospital is standing in for Myers' fictional Midwestern sanitarium, with the help of some barbed wire and fake autumn leaves. Members of the laid-back cast wear bathrobes and play pretty convincing nut cases. But occasionally, an impeccably groomed and attractive person in a lab coat strolls by. It is only when McSteamy, aka actor Eric Dane, passes through that it becomes clear Halloween is sharing turf with the cast of Grey's Anatomy, also filming at the VA hospital that day. This is a classic L.A. moment, in which fictional doctors from two different media and vastly different genres might give an autograph to a real doctor in the parking lot. But the juxtaposition of the two casts also highlights the differences between Zombie's Hollywood and almost everyone else's.
    "Rob doesn't like perfect," says Malcolm McDowell who plays the role of Myers' opportunistic physician, Dr. Loomis. "He likes it when I trip, or answer my phone in the middle of a scene." McDowell is right about his director's yen for hyper-realism. Look at the cast of any Zombie film and you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone as telegenic as Grey's actors. Zombie's first movie, House of 1000 Corpses, revived the career of balding, acne-scarred bad guy Sid Haig, and the cast of The Devil's Rejects had an average age in the 50s, including blasts from the past like Three's Company's Priscilla Barnes, now 51.
    Over lunch in the VA hospital's spinal cord injury unit, the director explains that the toughest part to cast in Halloween was the teenage babysitter. You'd think there would be hordes of girls lining up to make the career transition from tween starlet to the role that brought Jamie Lee Curtis fame in the original. And indeed there were. "We kept getting sent these typical Hollywood hottie girls who grate on your nerves, with perfectly plucked eyebrows," says Zombie. Ultimately, he went with a normal-looking teenager named Scout Taylor-Compton, 18, who has solid indie creds, including the upcoming film An American Crime.
    But the meatier roles in this film belong to the two actors playing Michael Myers, newcomer Daeg Faerch as 10-year-old Michael and pro wrestler Taylor Mane as the adult. Zombie, who also wrote the script, says he wants his Halloween to explore whether Myers was born evil or became evil. In one scene, the 6'10" Mane plays the role as a downcast, sweet, Frankensteiny kind of a villain, exploited by the medical professionals treating him. (Evidently the evil icon gets his murderous mojo back later in the film). This Myers is also shrouded in hair, another Zombie signature. "I wanted Michael to have long hair so you could never quite see him," explains Zombie, whose own long locks also serve as a convenient privacy shield when he's squinting into a monitor. The film's hair stylist does look dangerously over-worked. Besides Mane's mop, she's also got to groom Faerch, who wears a 70s shag, and conceal Danny Trejo's ponytail, as he acts against thuggish type as a sensitive, short-haired security guard. "I'm super nitpicky about wigs," Zombie admits.
    There are other unusual Zombie-isms that set the tone on set - like a serious case of mellow. Yes, the man who made his money howling songs with names like "Pussy Liquor" on stage turns out to be one of those quietly meticulous directors rather than a raving David O. Russell type. "Yelling is stupid," Zombie says, by way of explanation. Oh, and here's another surprise: Mr. Most Cinematic Human Roadkill Scene Ever (in The Devil's Rejects) doesn't like gratuitous violence. "I didn't want to get into this trend of creative ways to kills people," he says. "I like violence when it has a purpose" (a purpose like revealing character, for instance).

Fangoria 3/8/07
Logan DeSisto
    Fangoria recently met up with Danielle Harris at the HorrorFind Weekend convention in Baltimore, where she talked to us about her role in Rob Zombie's much-anticipated Halloween remake. According to the actress, however, "re-envisioning" is a much more appropriate word to use when talking about the film. "I've been hearing a lot of people saying stuff like 'It's going to suck' and 'You can't remake the original,' and I don't think that Rob is trying to do that. He's more paying homage to it. He's not showing a ton of the gore, and he's making it more suspenseful. Rob's got a style, and that style is killer, pun intended, and it's his version of Halloween. I believe he's done a damn good job, and you will not be let down.
    "This one is terrifying. It's like watching an A&E Biography on what it's like to become a serial killer. Which is totally different [from the original]; it's not just some guy running around hacking people up, there is a reason for it. Rob gets into the psychology of when Michael Myers was a child, and why he's as messed up as he is-which is really cool, and is why we watch those shows. Why are we so fascinated by Jeffery Dahmer? Do I really want to know how he ate everybody? No, but I want to know how he became what he became. So it's really cool."
    The petite actress, who is almost done filming her scenes as Annie Brackett, is best-known to horror fans as Jamie Lloyd, the young heroine of Halloween 4 & 5. When questioned about her return to Haddonfield, Harris notes, "It's a lot scarier now than it was when I was a child. Because as an actor, when you're that young, you don't have a filter; you just know that everything is make-believe and it's play and fun time, and it's just easier to go for it. As an adult, when you have to put yourself in that situation, to bring emotion to a scene, you have to really convince yourself that this guy is going to kill you.
    "I also do topless stuff in this movie, which is something that I don't think any of the fans know, nor have I ever done partial nudity in a film before. And it's only because I respect Rob so much, and because its not, for a lack of a better word, a T&A shot. It really about what happens. And if you're looking at my boobs and not looking at the scene, then you're crazy.
    As for Brad Dourif, who plays her father Sheriff Brackett, "He's wonderful. I mean, he's an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning actor. It's crazy, because we already had this father-daughter bond from the first day I met him, which is really nice. He's a great Sheriff Brackett, and Malcolm McDowell is also terrific as Dr. Loomis. And neither one of them have seen any of the Halloween movies! So they don't have anything to go off of, which is good, because they're not copying."
    Agreeing with most who have worked with Zombie, Harris passionately tells Fango how amazing the experience has been. "I made an agreement with myself not to do any more horror movies, unless it's Halloween or a Rob Zombie film. If Rob wanted me to, I would work with him on everything he does."

Mtv 3/7/07
Pasadena, California - In this sacred neighborhood, on this holiest of blocks, Reverend Rob Zombie is presiding over a ceremony of appreciation. Halloween fans have come to worship the artifacts, kneel on the lawns of the sacrosanct homes and hum along with the hymns. Now, after 30 years of faithful repetition, the director of "The Devil's Rejects" is continuing the ritual - just don't expect him to preach from the same Bible.
    "Michael Myers does not know how to drive in this movie," the long-haired, tattooed filmmaker told MTV over the weekend on the set of his highly anticipated remake of one of horror's most beloved slasher films. "(Myers in the station wagon) always bothered me. They would always play that off like someone must have given him lessons, but you know no one gave him lessons! He's in a maximum-security prison! So, no, he doesn't drive."
    It's one of the sure-to-be-controversial revisions that Zombie is making to the classic John Carpenter flick. Realizing that the blueprint has simply been Xeroxed too many times, the ultra-violent filmmaker is now entering the final scenes of an intense 38-day shoot with wrestler/actor Tyler Mane as Myers, 18-year-old Scout Taylor-Compton as imperiled babysitter Laurie Strode and Malcolm McDowell as the eccentric Dr. Loomis.
    "I want to make Loomis a man with a tremendous ego," said McDowell, dressed in black and draped in a beige trench coat that evokes predecessor Donald Pleasence. "[He's all about] getting a book out of it, which of course he has done, he's a best-seller ... he's the psychiatrist whose lifelong work is Michael Myers. He's obviously not a very good one, is he?"
    Zombie's flick is also aiming to up the ante in terms of action. "I remember coming in the first day and we were down in the basement, and there was Lynda [actress Kristina Klebe] lying nude," Taylor-Compton remembered. "I'm screaming, and here comes Michael, and we're doing knife stuff and slashing him, and me pulling wood [off the wall] and going through a hole, climbing out this little fence and he pushes through the wall and grabs me ... I love doing my own stunts."
    Contrary to Internet rumors, Zombie's "Halloween" has no discernible time period and begins well before the original's opening scene of young Michael killing his sister Judith (Laurie doesn't even come into the film until the final third). Now, the 6-year-old slaughters five of his relatives and is then sent to Loomis' sanitarium.
    "In one scene we do, he's completely blank and I'm trying to coax him," McDowell said of his work with Daeg Faerch, who plays a young (and verbal!) Myers. "He gets to deliver [lines], but of course the older Michael is completely [silent]; he doesn't say a thing, he just wears a mask and terrifies everybody to death."
    Including innocent drivers, apparently. On this particular day, Zombie has the 6-foot-10-inch Mane dressed in green coveralls, his hands so drenched in blood that they look like red work gloves, wearing a scarred white mask and holding a massive knife. Hiding behind a tree, he watches Laurie and her mother Cynthia (Dee Wallace) putting up Halloween decorations in their front yard. Filming in the same neighborhood where Carpenter shot the original, Zombie allows cars to access their homes between takes, resulting in more than one brake light upon discovering a homicidal icon on their sidewalk.
    "[Myers' trademarks] were perfect for the original because nothing had become iconic," Zombie said, insisting that his movie will explain many of their origins. "It was just, 'Oh, the jumpsuit; big deal, it's a jumpsuit,' or, 'Oh the mask; big deal, it's a mask.' "
    "In this film, Michael has [the mask] as a child," said Wayne Toth, the special-effects makeup artist on the flick, explaining why the new mask has scars on it. "While he's away [at the sanitarium], this time he's buried it in the basement of the Myers' house. So when he gets out, he digs it up and it's rotten."

Among the other notable moves that Zombie is embracing:
· The Myers' house is much larger, with a battered porch, "No Trespassing" boards on the windows and a "For Sale" sign out front reading "Strode Real Estate - Price Reduced." A blue RAM van in the driveway belongs to an ill-fated boyfriend, and a climactic battle between Laurie and Michael takes place in an empty swimming pool in the backyard.
· In the original, Myers killed two dogs, even eating one of them; this time PETA can relax. "No, there is nothing like that at all," Zombie said.
· While in the sanitarium, young Michael makes masks out of paper - a bucket of papier-mâché versions of his famous mask was glimpsed on set.
· Loomis steals a Town of Haddonfield police car in the film, using it as his transportation.
· Don't hold your breath for a Jamie Lee Curtis appearance à la "H20." "There are no real cameos," Zombie said. "There is no one from the original film."
· Look for a genre veteran as Myers' new best bud. "Danny Trejo, who always plays the badass, is playing the one sympathetic hospital worker at Smith's Grove," the director explained. "He's been with Michael for 17 years there."
· Zombie has stocked the cast with veteran actors like Udo Kier ("He's the head of Smith's Grove"), Tom Towles ("He plays a councilman who is at [Myers'] parole hearing"), Adrienne Barbeau ("She has a brief moment as a woman at the adoption agency in Haddonfield") and Sybil Danning ("young Michael's last victim at Smith's Grove").
· McDowell and Taylor-Compton say they'd return for additional "Halloween" sequels, but Zombie insists he's done after one. ("Everything I've wanted to do I've done with this movie," he remarked.)
· Zombie won't replicate Carpenter's classic one-take opening scene. "Since I've already spent a half-hour developing the little kid," he reasoned, "to do any kind of mysterious POV would be ridiculous."
· Laurie has traded in her skirts and turtlenecks for Chuck Taylor sneakers and a skull-depicting hoodie. "She's conservative, but she has a little bit of an attitude now," said Taylor-Compton, whose character engages in a risqué conversation about bagel holes with her embarrassed mom.
    One final change might just be the most controversial of them all: The dropping of the famous "Halloween" theme composed by Carpenter. "The plan was at some point to [remake it], to change it around," Zombie said, revealing that it has since been shelved. "The actual way it sounds now doesn't really work with what we're doing."
    "We've reimagined the picture," producer Andy Gould added. "Perhaps a reimagining of the sound is in order too."

Box Office

• The film made $26.5 million it's opening weekend, a record for Labor Day.

• 2nd weekend - fell to No. 2 with $10 million - total for 10 days of $44.2 million.

• 3rd weekend - fell to No. 6 with $4.8 million -  total of $51.1 million.

• 4th weekend - fell to No. 12 with $2.3 million - total of $54.6 million.

• 5th weekend - fell to No. 17 with $990,000 - total of $56.2 million.

• 6th weekend - fell to No. 24 with $580,000 - total of $57.1 million.

• 7th weekend - fell to No. 33 with $286,000 - total of $57.6 million.

• 8th weekend - fell to No. 45 with $110,000 - total of $57.8 million.

• 9th weekend - went up for the first time to No. 31 with $177,000 - total of $58 million.

Controversy

There has been problems since the beginning with the remaking of a classic. Later Rob stepped in it when he told Mtv he wasn't going to use the original theme on 3/9/07. Here's what he said in the interview:

Mtv: Do you keep that famous Halloween theme song?

Rob: I don't know, we'll see. (Laughs) I don't know, I mean I'm not sure about anything because we're not done yet, so you never know where things are going to go. The plan was at some point to do that, to sort of change it around, because the actual way it sounds now doesn't work with what we're doing, but who knows? I can't say it…

Here's what Rob posted on his myspace page after the outcry that started.
Just curious why is everybody crying about the theme music suddenly. I never said I wasn't using it. You all have to stop freak (sic) out about every bullshit story you read.

Soon after he posted:
MTV misunderstood what I was saying about the music. Oh well, I am still shooting and haven't even begin to explore the music side of things yet. I always planned on using the original theme since the beginning.

Rob, when you say "I don't know, we'll see." Then if you do use it you'll change it around because it "doesn't work", then what else would people think? Then he says he never said it, that it's BS, then once he figures out where it came from, that 'they misunderstood.' Well, this is what happens when you put yourself and your movie out there online where every little thing can AND will get instant feedback. Sounds like he wanted to record it his own way, making it heavy metal, therefore it would still be the "same" song and realized it wasn't a good idea after the outcry that followed.

Deleted Scenes

Grant Clark in his truck
Grant Clark walking
Grant Clark lifted up by Michael
Grant Clark grabbed by the throat
Behind the scenes of how Michael lifts Grant
Nole & Ismael bringing Michael to his parole hearing
Nole and Kendall about to rape a girl in Michael's room
Michael killing Nole against the hallway wall
Nurse Wynn on the floor

Scenes not in any completed version.
1. Barbara Florentine at the adoption agency in Haddonfield. A picture appears on the poster.
2. Loomis is with young Michael and his cell phone goes off, he answers and says, "Well look, I'm in the middle of a session, actually. What? Oh really! Well, tell her to go to hell!"
3. Loomis comes in the guarded gate, doing Shakespeare and going, "Oh god of battle, steel my soldiers' hearts." Then he looks at the guard and says, "Keep your fingers crossed boys, the audition's tonight." And off he goes signing out.
4. After his speech Loomis has a line, "And what about that girl in the front row, what the hell was she doing there, spreading her legs? How can you stand it?"
4. Grant Clark the gravekeeper is patrolling in his truck with his dog saying crazy stuff and spots Michael stealing his family tombstone. He tries to stop him and Michael lifts him up in the air and kills him. A picture appears on the poster.

Scenes from the 5/18/07 Test Screening version removed from the theatrical version.
1. The opening music is Bobby Boris Pickett's Monster Mash
2. Michael pulls the rat out of it's cage and talks to it. There are multiple rats shown inside.
3. At breakfast Judith doesn't wants eggs. Her mom asks why and she says they are chicken abortions. Deb says they aren't. She says you know what abortions are and Ronnie smiles.
4. Judith and Ronnie exchange looks, like there's more going on.
5. Ronnie threatens to break his Michael's face.
6. The paper Wesley has of Michael's mom is a photocopy, not an original cutout.
7. The principal says to Deb there's something you should know. What are you going to tell me about my son? She replies. Then it cuts back and forth to Michael out in the lobby.
8. The credits come up after Loomis says 'it's a sign of deeper problems.'
9. A Michael runs down the hall we hear Loomis say 'obviously it's the sign of a deranged mind that he would do this to his pets. He already admitted to hurting animals like this cat.' Deb says it could've been hit by a truck.
10. Michael takes the mask off before finishing Wes off, then takes the paper with his mom, puts the mask on and finishes him off. His death is more violent with more blood and head shots.
11. When Deb asks Judith to take Michael trick or treating she says why don't you take him, I'm not his mom
11. After trick or treating Michael shoots candy corns like footballs in the kitchen.
12. There's a shot of Mike's face over Ronnie before he kills him.
13. The music during Steve's death is more theatrical with heartbeat sounds.
14. When Deb returns home to find Michael he says 'it's over mommy, it's over.'
15. After the trial a reporter is outside Smith's Grove and says Michael is being transferred there after the trial. News footage shows Michael arriving and Loomis is shown walking in.
16. During the first therapy Loomis asks Michael if 'he's completely forgotten about the events, THE event.'
17. After Michael asks Deb is everyone OK she watches him eat then he asks her if she's OK.
18. When Michael has the black mask he puts it on, and when Loomis asks about he says I'll tell you later, then takes it off and says don't you have any other questions? Loomis asks why is his hair is so messy? Because no one sees me. He says it hangs in his face.
19. In a scene outside Loomis sits with Michael in a mash at stone table. Loomis says he managed to persuade the suits to let you sit outside in the garden, the gardens. It's not beautiful, but it's green and is outside. Michael keeps saying he needs to get out of here and Loomis ignores him and keeps talking. Finally he says we're getting nowhere and I'm afraid that won't happen for a long time. Michael says, 'Then I have nothing else to day.'
20. When Nurse Wynn comes in she looks at the photo of Michael and Boo and says cute baby, couldn't be related to you. Then he gets up, stalks her, stabs her and she tries to crawl as he stands over her.
21. Fifteen years later - a reporter says a group is outside Smith's Grove protesting at the mere horror if Myers is ever released. Morgan is interviewed and says he doesn't see a positive outcome for Myers. Dr. Koplenson says the case is a tax on the overburdened system. These clips intercut with Noel and Ismael going to Michael's cell. Noel says not to look at him like that or he'll come in there at night and mess up all his stuff. Councilman Edwards says most people know him as a man of change, but Michael must spend the rest of his natural life behind bars.
22. Noel & Ismael take Mike to his release hearing where someone takes notes and Morgan, Koplenson and Edwards refuse his release and Morgan stamp his papers denied with a big red stamp.
23. Loomis tells Michael goodbye and looks at him sadly. Outside he is shown leaving, he turns around sadly and looks back.
24. Noel is upset about being called out of the bar at midnight, it better be worth it. His cousin Kendall also works there, he opens up a cell and he says you want to f-her I'll f-k her. He pulls a girl out of a cell, Noel says not to worry, they are just checking in on him on her first night and all. He checks her chest out, feels her, reaches up and snaps her panties. She screams. Noel likes it and says we've got a fighter. You've done good he tells Kendall. Noel gets the idea to take her into Mike's room. Mikey you want a piece of that? Noel fingers her, smells it and let's Mike smell. You want some of that? She tries to fight back and Kendall starts raping her on his bed and Noel holds her down. He gets her doggy style and Noel holds her head and looks at Mike laughing. Michael makes a mask and ignores them. Then they take makes of the wall and wear them as they mess with her. Michael gets mad and throws Kendall against a wall and chokes him. Noel grabs a pipe and starts smashing him to let him go. Michael takes it, then throws Noel out into the hall and smashes his head against the wall killing him. He takes the keys from him and walks out. Outside we see him walking across the grass.
25. Cynthia Strode is cooking and calls Mason and Laurie down. Mason arrives and can't find his glasses, she says they are on his head. After Laurie talks about Mr. Nichols she says to Laurie that's so not funny. Laurie says he uses his hammer and she fingers the donut. She tells her to stop.
26. On the way out Mason forgets his briefcase and Cynthia calls him back. Tommy bugs Laurie and she asks if he goes to school.
27. Michael picks up the mail the Laurie puts in his old and smells it. This is how he knows Laurie is her sister.
28. Loomis's speech about is book is extended with 'Thus creating a psychopath that knows no boundaries and has no boundaries. Michael for want of a better term is pure evil.'
29. In the library Laurie looks out and Michael is closer to her on the same side of the street.
30. After the speech Loomis says 'Thank god that's over, I think I bored them to death.' The man walking with him, probably the dean of the school, tells him you were spectacular. Loomis says, 'They stared at me like a row of Christmas puddings.' The kids were absolutely thrilled he tells him. 'Were they? Was I dazzling? I get so insecure. I get very insecure.' Then his phone rings. He says he better take this. Morgan calls him, 'he's out, Michael is out.' What? How did this happen? If this gets out people will be seeing him on every street corner. Morgan says I can't keep this under wraps much longer. I'll be there in 2 hours.
31. Lynda tells about almost getting suspended and says what the f--- are you two bitches laughing at and she takes a drink from them and dumps it on their heads, takes their school book and mocks it. Laurie takes it from her, gives it back to them and says how sorry she is.
On the way home Lynda says Mr. Leclaire the French teacher was totally filthy with her, conjugating the
verb to want. Annie says his first name is Pierre. Pierre Leclaire.
32. There is shots of Michael watching them from a different angle and crossing the street when he leaves.
When Laurie comes home her mom is working hanging a lifesize plastic skeleton up on a tree and having trouble. Meanwhile Michael is watching them from next door, breathing hard and walks toward them, then they go inside before he's close enough to get them.
33. At Smith's Grove Loomis is watching the video of Michael leaving. He says to Morgan, 'Look at that. This is all your fault, I mean you are responsible.' Morgan replies, 'How am I responsible for everything that goes on. What about you?' Kopelnson says, 'You aren't pinning this on me, he was your patient.' Loomis, 'Was my patient. All you had to play was zookeeper. Just keep the monkeyhouse locked until the monkey died of old age.' Morgan says 'If our security wasn't sufficient, you should've warned us.' Loomis, 'I warned everyone, you never listened. He was like a comatose kiddie for 15 years. I see, you are just going to wash your hands of the whole thing, you know, you two make me sick.' He grabs his coat to leave, then comes back and says, 'He is mad that trusts in the tameness of the wolf.'
34. Michael goes to the graveyard near dusk and removes the Myers tombstone. Then a quick cut to Laurie giving out candy. Annie pulls up and they don't ask her about her dad.
35. A long shot from across the street of the Strodes'. Then Michael walks with his knife up to Mason who is smoking and says, ' Jesus you scared me!'. Then he knifes him. He goes inside for Cynthia and she screams. She is not seen murdered. He walks around the bloodsplattered room and looks at the pictures of Laurie.
36. Annie calls Laurie and says the Wallace's are out of her face, as soon as she makes the queen of Sheba her popcorn she's coming over.
37. Lindsey watches the Thing from Another World and Michael comes over her like he's going to kill her, but is distracted since he remembers it from childhood. When Annie arrives he leaves and she argues about Lindsey putting her coat on. When they leave Michael follows them out.
38. When Annie gets in Paul's car Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell is playing.
39. Loomis goes to the cemetery and goes to hand the deputy his card. He looks in his jack and can't find one, he must be all out. He meets the Sheriff who recognizes Loomis from his book which he bought and has with him. He hasn't had time read it, but he does like the quote on the back. It's the one from the intro of the film. He reads it and at the end Loomis says it along with him and it's rather good isn't it? Lee says it sounds like he's hunting the anti-christ. Perhaps I am sheriff. Lee: You see doc I'm up to my eyes in bullshit. If you could just drop by my office tomorrow so we can discuss this with a clear head. I could make you cappuccino, I just got this brand new cappuccino machine. Loomis: 'Sheriff I would be very happy to sit down and have coffee with you, but you don't understand, death has come to your little town sheriff.'
40. When Lynda and Bob go to the Myers house they aren't seen driving. Just walking in. Michael walks back inside after watching them enter. Lynda says less about hitting the right spot and The Misfits aren't playing. Bob runs outside and he's cold, then Michael attacks him at the van and stabs him to death inside.
41. When Lynda says see anything you like the sheet just falls down.
42. When Michael carries Lynda's body downstairs Loomis is heard in a voiceover saying, 'You have stop thinking we are dealing with a normal man here. We are dealing with a soulless killing machine driven by pure animal instinct.' We are in the sheriff's office. Lee admits he has read Loomis's book. Then says I'll tell you something else. Loomis: 'I'm sure you will.' When he says monsters sell books Loomis is furious and says, 'That's a hell of an accusation, how dare you say that? Look, I'm sorry.' Then he hands him the book and we can see it. He says to look at the photograph on the cover. He's seen looking at him. He says he was a sweet little boy but something is missing, he had no rudimentary grasp of right and wrong. Play it straight - He says absolutely, I understand.
43. There's a quick shot of Annie in her bra and Paul takes it off.
44. Laurie says it's time for Lindsey to go home. Tommy says, 'You heard her girl, keep on marching.' Lindsey says she's the Queen of Sheba, OK? Bow down and worship me.' Laurie laughs and says go get your jacket then asks Tommy if he's sure he'll be OK while she takes Lindsey home? Tommy: I'm fine. Lindsey: He's scared. Am not.
45. On the way back Laurie asks if she had fun. Yeah. You sure? Laurie thinks Tommy likes her. No he doesn't, yes he does.
46. Annie tells Laurie please don't leave me. Michael stands over her then pushes Paul's body and watches it move, then stares at her.
47. The operator says to Lee in the car that Laurie Strode called it in, Lee doesn't have to ask.
48. Michael follows Laurie across the street and is close by. He breaks in the door and stares at them as they run. He's then seen walking upstairs.
49. Michael is seen carrying Laurie out as sirens approach. Loomis goes into the house with Lee. He sees Annie and runs out when he hears the ambulance.
50. Lynda's neck is all bloody and she looks more bruised when Laurie finds her in the basement.
51. When Laurie takes the picture from Michael and says she doesn't understand he removes his mask to show his face.
52. In the pool Laurie struggles more to get out because Michael stops to stare at her.
53. When Loomis gets back to the police car with Laurie he puts his head down on the roof and looks around. When Michael pulls Laurie out of the car, he pauses on the lawn after Loomis tells him, 'Stop, no Michael please.' Michael holds up the knife. Loomis says, 'Michael it's not her fault, it's my fault. I'm the one who failed you. I failed you, please let her be, let her go.' The police arrive. Lee says drop your weapon, down on the ground. More police arrive. Loomis yells, 'No! cool it, I can handle this.' Lee: Loomis get out of the way goddamn it. Loomis: Michael give her to me. Laurie cries and Michael stares at him. Loomis: Please let her go, please. Laurie: Please let me go, please. Michael looks at her lets her go and she runs to Loomis. Loomis: You did the right thing. Michael lowers the knife and drops it as Loomis holds Laurie. Then Lee opens fire. All the other cops start shooting at him. Loomis screams for them to stop as Michael is hit again and again and drops. Loomis runs over to him. 'Michael…' he looks around, he's distraught. Laurie collapses. Michael's eyes are closed. Then the camera pulls back from above them and the tape of young Michael and Loomis plays over him, 'Hello, hello! Can I ask you something? Anything, anything on your mind feel free.'

Scenes originally filmed, then added to the final film.
1. The music is changed in the intro, now it's Kiss. It's also changed with Steve's death and in Paul's car.
2. Loomis explains to Michael that black is not a color after he says it's his favorite color.
3. Sheriff Brackett pulls up alongside the girls as they walk home offering them a ride home and only Annie accepts.
4. Lynda calls Laurie with her cell phone right before Bob is killed.
5. When Annie arrives to pick up Laurie they ask how her dad is and she says, 'Same as always.'
6. Loomis buys a gun from Derek Allen.
7. Bob backs his van into the Myers' driveway when they arrive.
8. Sheriff Brackett explains to Loomis in the car about how he dropped how baby Laurie off at the hospital and Mason adopted her.
9. Loomis runs into the house and finds Annie.

Scenes filmed 7/07 added to the final cut.
1. Michael is being transferred somewhere by four guards and he kills them all.
2. Ismael arrives at work and is brutally killed by Michael even though he was good to him.
3. Loomis is asleep when Dr. Koplenson calls him at home to say Michael escaped.
4. Loomis argues with Koplenson and Morgan about calling the police about Michael and says they are in denial.
5. Loomis meets Chester in the graveyard and sees the tombstone is missing.
6. Mrs. Strode is brutally killed, getting thrown through a glass table at the end.
7. Loomis meets Sheriff Brackett outside a diner before he takes him back to the station.
8. Bob is killed in the exact same way he was killed in the 1978 film by being stabbed in the staircase.
9. In the new ending Michael seems to kill Loomis, then chases Laurie upstairs and she hides. The smashes through walls looking for her. She hides in the attic and he rams a board up through the ceiling again and again and eventually she falls through. She pulls Loomis's gun on him and he tackles her and they fall off the balcony. She tries to shoot him in the head with the gun and after he second try he grabs her, on the third try the gun goes off in his face covering her with blood and she screams.

DVD

Unrated & R-rated editions released 12/18/07
Front cover

• Unrated Version is 12m longer
• Deleted Scenes - Rabbit in Red, Quickdraw, End of a Long Night, Rainy Evening, Not a Monster, You Seem Sad Today, The Media, Xmas Gift, Parole Hearing, Night Shift, Very Young 22m
• Alternate ending 4m
• Bloopers 10m
• The Many Masks of Michael Myers 6m
• Re-Imagining Halloween - From Camera To Screen, Production Design, Props and Wardrobe 19m
• Meet The Cast 18m
• Casting Sessions - Daeg Faerch, Scout Taylor-Compton, Danielle Harris, Kristina Klebe, Hanna Hall, Adam Weisman, Skyler Gisondo, Jenny Stewart, Daryl Sabara, Pat Skipper , Clint Howard, Nick Mennell, Max Van Ville, Mel Fair, Courtney Gains 28m
• Scout Taylor-Compton Screen Test - Laurie Strode 8m

HorrorFind

Since I was at this Maryland Convention with Malcolm and 10 other Halloween actors August 10-12, 2007 it has its own page.

Interviews

My Exclusives
Malcolm McDowell 8/10-12/07
Ezra Buzzington 8/10/07
Sybil Danning 8/10/07
Lew Temple 8/1107
Courtney Gains 8/11/07
Dee Wallace Stone 8/11/07
Scout Taylor-Compton 8/11/07
Kristina Klebe 8/11/07
Danielle Harris 8/11/07

All Others
Mtv Interviews Rob Zombie on the set of Halloween 3/9/07
Mtv Interviews Scout Taylor-Compton on the set of Halloween 3/15/07
Mtv Interviews Malcolm McDowell on the set of Halloween 3/22/07
Mtv Interviews Tyler Mane on the set of Halloween 3/29/07
Mtv Interviews Brad Dourif on the set of Halloween 4/5/07
Mtv Interviews Andy Gould and Malek Akkad on the set of Halloween 4/13/07
Shock Till You Drop interviews Rob Zombie 7/20/07
Splatterfilms interviews Rob Zombie 7/24/07
Dark Horizons Interviews Rob Zombie 7/24/07
Ain't it Cool interviews Rob Zombie 7/26/07

Links

• Sybil Danning's official website.
• Rob's official myspace page for the film.
• Official site for the film.
• Official site for all Michael Myers films.
• Scout Taylor-Compton's myspace page.
• Sheri Moon Zombie's official clothing site.
• Kristina Klebe's myspace page.
• Ezra Buzzington's official site.
• Udo Kier's official site.
• Dee Wallace Stone's official site.
• Daeg Faerch's official site.
• Courtney Gains official site.
• Sid Haig's official site.

News

12/18/08

Initial reports are that Rob Zombie will be directing the sequel H2 and Malcolm has survived and will return as Loomis.

8/20/07

The Halloween premiere will be on 8/23 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, CA with a party afterwards at the Geisha House Restaurant

5/12/07

Rob Zombie announces he will make a convention appearance at Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors on Saturday, May 19 at Burbank Airport Marriott (2500 Hollywood Way) in Burbank, California to promote the film. He also implies he will bringing any cast he can at this late date. He quickly shot up to top billing on their website right after.

5/11/07

Malcolm announces that he's signed up for 2 sequels if the film is a hit.

3/28/07

New Michael Myers action figure announced.

3/23/07

Wrap party for the cast.

3/22/07

Filming wraps.

3/21/07

Malcolm and 10 other cast members will be at the HorrorFind weekend in Maryland this August.

3/11/07

3/7/07

Day 27 of filming, last night at the Pasadena house.

3/5/07

More cameos added, fist scan of Loomis released.

2/4/07

1/28/07

Laurie Strode announced as well as roles for Udo Kier and more.

1/27/07

Sybil Danning added to the cast.

1/25/07

Filming starts and reports of people showing up on the set to protest the film came in.
"I don't know where the rumor that I'm playing Luarie Strode came from," Agnes Bruckner recently advised Fangoria.com. "It's so weird because my managers and agents haven't heard anything, and I'm like 'Really?' because a lot of people keep asking me about it. It's definitely something I'd be interested in."

1/22/07

Added 4 more stars to the film - all well known names.

From Rob Zombie 1/6/07

Many of you have been asking if I plan on making a 'making of Halloween' documentary similar to the '30 Days In Hell' one on The Devil's Rejects DVD. Well, the answer is yes. We started shooting on the first day of pre-production and we will continue up until we are finished.

From Rob Zombie's myspace page 12/22/06

Well, here is the news you've all been waiting for. Who is Dr. Loomis? Well, the answer is...the one and only Malcolm McDowell! Yes, legendary actor Malcolm McDowell will be the new Dr. Loomis. As many of you know A Clockwork Orange is my favorite film and I am a huge, huge fan of Malcolm. I know Malcolm will kick ass as Dr. Loomis. He is thrilled to be part of Halloween and is ready to make a new classic. (Note: Legendary was spelled wrong and the funny thing is every site that reported it didn't fix it.)

From blabbermouth 12/22/06

    Rob Zombie has tapped Malcolm McDowell to take on the role of Dr. Loomis in Zombie's upcoming remake of the John Carpenter classic "Halloween". This will NOT be a sequel, and it will be a complete "re-imagining" of the movie, similar to Zack Snyder's "Dawn of the Dead". ("Halloween" was a 1978 film in which a patient in a mental hospital, Michael Myers, escapes the asylum and goes on a killing spree. He was pursued by Dr. Loomis, who was brilliantly portrayed in the original film by the late Donald Pleasance.) Commented Zombie: "I am thrilled to have Malcolm on board. He is ready to kick ass and make a new horror classic."
    Rob Zombie will not only serve as director of the new "Halloween", but he is also a producer and music supervisor. "Halloween" will be Zombie's third gig as director, after "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects". Andy Gould is one of the co-producers; Gould has worked with Zombie on his two previous movies. The new "Halloween" is slated for release in October 2007.
    Zombie says that this will be a "new take" on the "Halloween" franchise, and he hopes that it will oblige fans of the original while offering something fresh to movie-goers. The film is planned to be both a prequel and a remake of the original. The story is set before the events of 1981's "Halloween 2", and will focus on Meyer's youth (before he was institutionalized) and how he develops into a serial killer.
    Rob Zombie had this to say about John Carpenter in an interview with Variety: "The original 'Halloween' is hallowed ground to me, and I talked to [Carpenter] about it and he was very supportive of what I wanted to do. He said, 'Go for it, Rob. Make it your own.' And that's exactly what I intend to do. Over 25 years and a lot of movies, a very scary character became something of a Halloween cliché, with Michael Myers dolls that play the Halloween music when you press their stomachs. By the end of the sequel cycle, there was little connection to the original. I take that film very seriously, and I want to make it terrifying again."

Notes

• Rob Zombie's did an ACO style music video in 2002.

• It went through a few different names like Halloween 9 or Retribution first.

• The film is NOT called Rob Zombie's Halloween, but most people call it that to make the distinction from the original.

• Filming began 1/25/07 in Hollywood, California and later Vancouver, Canada. Release date is 8/31/07.

• Heather Bowen won a walk on role from a contest on the official website, but that was with the old company so it was thought she was out of it, but she did get a small part in this one.

• This will not be a sequel for legal reasons as the original series has ended, much like Friday the 13th.

• The trailer debuted with Grindhouse on 4/6/07.

• Some additional scenes where shot in July.

Pictures

Behind the scenes
Malcolm in long coat with Rob
Malcolm (Long Hair & Hat) with Sheri & Rob
Malcolm (Long hair in back), Sheri, Rob & Sybil Danning in the hospital
Malcolm (older Loomis), Rob & Adrienne Barbeau
Malcolm (as young Loomis) with Richard Lynch, Sheri & Rob Zombie

Los Angeles Premiere 8/23/07
Lily, Charlie, Malcolm & Kelley McDowell
Malcolm full shot with Lily, Charlie & Kelley behind
Malcolm Close up with Lily & Charlie behind him
Malcolm out front
Malcolm on the red carpet
Malcolm with Sheri Moon on the red carpet
Malcolm with Scout on the red carpet
Malcolm with Sheri on Rob on the red carpet
Malcolm with Tyler Mane on the red carpet
Malcolm with Harvey Weinstein at the afterparty

HorrorFind
Ezra during my interview
Sybil before my interview
Lew during my interview
Dee during my interview
Courtney during my interview

Memorabilia
Poster - teaser (unreleased?)
Poster double sided - front
Poster double sided - back
Poster double sided - 4 shots of Loomis

Movie
First scan of Dr. Loomis
Malcolm in brown coat on set
Dr. Loomis collage

Others
Ezra's myspace page with mention of my interview

Props
Michael Myers prop costume - front and side

Q & As

My exclusive Q&A with Charles Cyphers who was Sheriff Brackett in the original Halloween 1978.

8/10/07 at the Horrorfind

What do you think about the Halloween remake?

It's Rob Zombie, so it won't be the same. It'll be...

Hardcore.

Yes, more hardcore - that's a good word. I mean I don't care about the remake, I'm fine with it, I hope it does well. I have no idea how it will do, but horror fans will certainly go to see it! The cast I've met have all been really nice, but I haven't talked to anyone who has seen it.

There were two test screenings and they went back and shot some more footage.

Uh oh, when they do reshoots that usually isn't a good sign. 

Rob has said it was to flesh out the story more.

That's what they always say. They have to be careful trying to make everyone happy.

Do you think the film will appeal more to the young crowd since they might not know about the original?

Actually, it's surprising how many young people love the original. I get many who come up to me at these shows. I wonder why parents would let them see it, but times are different today. I mean recently I was sent a DVD of a film called Slasher from Germany because the director wants to cast me. I thought, OK I know what that means, then it starts and it was so unbelievable brutal - they were cutting people with saws, cutting and penetrating women vaginally with saws and such and I couldn't believe I was seeing this, how much things I have changed. I'm not sure what to say to the director yet.

Are you going to see the new film?

Oh yeah, I will definitely see it, but I might wait for the DVD! Hopefully I'll get a free one to watch at home.

Rob Zombie

I am a huge fan of Malcolm and yes A Clockwork Orange is my favorite film. Malcolm was a total blast to work with. He gave a 100% everyday and has created a fresh version of Loomis that is going to blow you guys away. We really get to know Loomis and follow his journey.

Is Jamie Lee Curtis in the film?

No, Jamie Lee Curtis does not appear in the film. Obviously I think she is great, but I also thought her presence would break the reality of this new film.

Does John Carpenter have anything to do with the new movie?

No, other than wishing me well with the project John does not have any involvement.

Was there any thought of having Danielle Harris play Laurie?

No, Danielle never wanted to play Laurie. She has always been a fan of the original Annie character and wanted to create the new Annie.

How many CGI effects were used?

There are no CGI effects used in this film at all. Everything is an "old school" style gag.

How has the instant feedback of myspace influenced you as a director? Do the likes or the dislikes of your fanbase influence your decisions?

No, as a director you have to hold strong your vision. That is the only way something special can happen. "Too many cooks in the kitchen" is a recipe for disaster. I love the fans, but unfortunately the fans are usually basing their opinions on rumors and false information spread online.

Will any of the houses from the original appear in your film?

Yes, I filmed in Pasadena in and around some of the same locations. In a few scenes you can see some of the famous houses in the background.

Did you work with anyone from the original Halloween? Are you recreating how the movie is photographed?

No, I didn't speak to anyone. As far as the photography I didn't try to recreate the look of the original. This movie has to stand as a fresh film not a copy.

Any plans for a sequel?

I'm sure if the movie does well they will make a sequel. I have no plans to be involved.

Why did you choose to re-create Halloween?

I didn't choose Halloween. Halloween chose me.

Quotes

Will there would be another "Halloween" film?
"I never say never never...but it would have to be something very, very different." - Bob Weinstein 9/2/07

"The biggest wild card for a director is the actors. Sometime you get on set and they deliver a thousand times more than you ever expected, and sometimes they don't. My first two films were interconnected, so obviously I used a lot of the same people. But this one, all the leads are different people I've never worked with, and the people I've worked with before play secondary characters. They come in, have basically one scene, but they take the one scene and really run with it." - Rob 8/07

Will you appear in the film? "I'm not a big fan of directors making cameos in films, because most directors are terrible actors. I don't want to embarrass myself." - Rob 7/07

How does Linderman compare to Loomis in the Halloween remake?

Well, it's completely different because Loomis is a psychoanalyst of some note I might add, although God knows, let's face it, for a man who's got a patient like Michael Meyers and he can't do anything to control him or cure him in the 17 years, God knows how good of a doctor he really is. But no, he's a well-meaning man whereas of course Linderman is rather, I suppose, you would have to say arch. Fascinating. I mean, he's running a big empire like any of these people, chairman of the boards of multi-national companies. They all have sort of one thing in common, don't they? We've seen the demise, in England, of this man, this poor man who ran BP and all that. I don't know why I'm rambling on to you about that. Anyway, I hope that answers your question. They're completely different. One, I suppose to put it in black and white terms, one is a good guy and one is a bad guy. Loomis is a well meaning man, whereas Linderman is rather, I suppose you would have to say, 'arch'. Fascinating, I mean, you know, he's running a big empire like any of these people that are chairman of the boards of multinational companies." Malcolm 5/07

"Michael is a sweet little boy who suddenly just turns, the more angelic he looks, the more horrific the crimes are." Malcolm 3/07

"Michael Myers is a character that for the last 28 years has degenerated into a popular Halloween character. People will be shocked he's back to being a hard-core terrifying character." - Rob 3/07

"I bailed out of that after a while. But Rob has been a friend of mine for years. He did a song for me way back when [for Escape from LA]. He's a real nice guy. He called me up when they were going to make it and I said, "Just make it your own. Hell. That's the most important thing. Make it yours." - John Carpenter 3/07

Soundtrack

On Hip-O records, released 8/21/07

1. These are the eyes
2. Tyler Bates - Halloween Theme 2007
3. Is the boogieman real?
4. Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper
5. Are you saying Michael did this?
6. Nazareth - Love Hurts
7. I hope she like cripples
8. Peter Frampton - Baby, I Love Your Way
9. A taco deluxe supreme
10. Rush - Tom Sawyer
11. Driven by pure animal instinct
12. Bachman Turner Overdrive - Let it Ride
13. Trick or treat, baby
14. Kiss - God of Thunder
15. Satan's mother
16. Iggy Pop - 1969
17. Talking about the anti-christ
18. Alice Cooper - Only Women Bleed
19. Needs to get laid
20. Misfits - Halloween II
21. Was that the boogieman? 
22. Tyler Bates - The Shape stalks Laurie
23. The scream
24. Nan Vernon - Mr. Sandman

Features clips from the movie in between the songs. The full score by Tyler Bates will be a separate CD. The Sweet - Love is like Oxygen was originally announced. Tyler Bates - Michael stalks Laurie was the original name.

Trailers & TV Spots

Released 4/6/07 with the film Grindhouse. Rob Zombie, "The trailer was cut together by footage from the first 2 weeks of filming. It really doesn't show anything about the movie other than much chaos will happen."

Loomis from trailer

Inside every one of us
There exists a dark side
Most people rise above it, but some are consumed by it

Michael's bloody hand touches Judiths' leg on a bed.
Judith: Michael?
Until there is nothing left, but pure evil..

Loomis: Behind these eyes one finds only darkness, these are the eyes of a psychopath.
Announcer: This August Rob Zombie unleashes an extreme vision of terror and reinvents a legend - Halloween. 
August 31, 2007

Time: 1:30

Malcolm's voice is heard before he is seen. It does feature the original theme music, the typical deep voiced announcer and makes quick cuts all over the place, hopefully the film doesn't jump around like that. It's a standard trailer, nothing special or exciting.

On 7/30/07 the first 30 second TV spot debuted, but Malcolm was not in this one.

August 31st on screen
Announcer: Inside every one of us, there exists a dark side. Most people rise above it, but some are consumed by it.
Michael's bloody hand touches Judiths' leg on a bed.
Judith: Michael?
Tommy: I heard that on Halloween night the boogieman attacks kids...
Laurie: He likes to eat little boys like you.
Laurie (screaming): Oh my god!
Announcer: On August 31st Rob Zombie reinvents a legend...Halloween. Rated R

On 7/31/07 the second 30 second TV spot debuted. No Malcolm again.

Tommy: You can't go in there, the boogieman lives in there.
Laurie: Oh, no Tommy the boogieman's gonna get me! (Scream)
Announcer: This summer...
Tommy: Is the boogieman real?
Announcer: ...the legend you thought you knew...
Joe Grizzly: I'm gonna cut that mask right off your face.
Announcer: ...has been reborn more terrifying than you could ever imagined.
Mason Stroud: A lot of nutcases come out on Halloween.
Announcer: Halloween. Rated R

On 8/1/07 the second trailer was released and is 2 minutes long.

Debra: (Screaming) No…
Newsman: Tonight's brutal murders were described by police as Mansonlike in its viciousness. Three people brutally murdered and a 10 year old boy being held in custody.
Loomis: He hasn't said a word for 15 years
Announcer: This Summer. Rob Zombie…unleashes a unique vision…of a legendary tale.
Mason Strode: Listen, be careful tonight. A lot of nutcases come out on Halloween.
Tommy: Is the boogieman real?
Laurie: Why are you so obsessed with the boogieman Tommy?
Tommy: On Halloween night the boogieman attacks kids who don't believe in him.
Laurie: Oh, no Tommy, the boogieman's gonna get me.
Joe Grizzly: I'm gonna cut that mask right off your face.
Loomis: He's come back for his baby sister.
Sheriff: To do what?
Text: On August 31st…Evil…has a destiny
Loomis: Michael! Stop!!
Text: Halloween. Credits. In theaters everywhere August 31st, Soundtrack in stores August 21st

Together Before

2007 - Sybil Danning, Udo Kier, Bill Moseley, Tom Towles, Rob Zombie & Sheri Moon Zombie worked on Grindhouse.
2006 - Udo & Malcolm did voices on Justice League.
2005 - Tyler Bates, Ken Foree, William Forsythe, Tyler Mane, Lew Temple, Tom Towles, Danny Trejo & Rob Zombie worked on The Devil's Rejects.
2003 - Bill Moseley, Tom Towles, Rob Zombie & Sheri Moon Zombie worked on House of 1000 Corpses.

My Summary

When I talk about the original version it's the version of the film that was shown at the test screenings in July not the 1978 film.

"The darkest souls are not those which choose to exist within the hell of the abyss, but those which choose to break free from the abyss and move silently among us." - Dr. Samuel Loomis

Haddonfield, October 31st.
    Michael is wearing a plastic clown mask and a Kiss shirt cutting his pet rat Elvis in his room. His sister Judith is listening to Kiss doing God of Thunder. Originally Monster mash plays which makes the scene seem more fun and makes it more shocking when we see something bad is happening.  Their mother Deborah is downstairs cooking with her boyfriend Ronnie White in a dirty kitchen. She complains she has to work since someone has to make money. He says he's all broken up, he can't work. She says whose fault is that? He says the waitress  at the diner is making freaky eyes at him. She says the whore with the big tits? He says maybe he'll have sex with her and ejaculate on her floppy breasts. Deb says she hopes she likes cripples and hurts his already broken up hand. He threatens her with skull sex. This causes the baby to start crying and he yells about it saying all she does is cry and crap. Judith comes down in tiny hot pants and tries to talk to her mom. Deb tells her to go upstairs and get Michael. Why does she always have to do it? Ronnie comments on how nice her butt looks and Deb gets pissed and asks him to repeat it. He says she heard him. She wants him to say it to her face. What's the matter, are you jealous? She throws the hot food in the pan on him and he yells. He throws it all over the floor and tells her to clean it up. She doesn't want to live like this anymore. Then the little baby in the crib cries behind them. Judith knocks on the door of the bathroom and tells Michael to stop masturbating and to wash up. He says to go away. He dissected his rat and is washing the blood off himself and a scalpel. Ronnie says Michael is like a little bitch, he's probably queer and will grow up to have a sex change and call himself Michelle. Michael comes down and Ronnie calls him Michelle. Deb asks why is he late. His rat died, he had to flush it. Judith says maybe she stoked Elvis to death and demonstrates on a milk bottle while moaning. Deb is sorry and says she'll buy him another one. Ronnie says it's a damn rat, who spends money on a rat? He wants him to take the mask off and the baby cries. Michael says he hates him and Ronnie say he hates him too.
    At school in a bathroom Michael is going and two older boys come in talking about fighting a guy. Wesley Rhoades says he wanted to fight, but the other guy wouldn't. Michael comes out and they stop him. Wes mocks Michael saying he heard his sister got caught giving oral in the bathroom for a dollar and needed her stomach pumped. How's your mom? His dad says for buck she'll rub her breasts on his face. Michael says to shut up. He says to check this out and pulls out an ad from the paper with a picture of his mom nearly naked promoting the strip club. He wants to make copies and put it around. He asks if his mom would suck him for a quarter and let him go on her breasts. Michael has enough and starts fighting. They both jump him and then Principal Chambers comes in, sees what's going on, breaks it up and separates them. Michael tells him fuck you, he asks what did you say and repeats it.
    Deb is called into school and can't believe she's being called back again, what's going on? Chambers says he doesn't enjoy calling her there every 5 minutes. She says it seems like he does. He wants her to relax and sit. Then Dr. Loomis comes in, he has sandy shoulder length hair he moves out of his face, and asks her how are you, is this her? He's a child psychiatrist. She doesn't understand why he's there. He asks if her son has ever had a serious psychiatric evaluation. She wants to get back to work. Please, we only want what's best for the child. They say they found this in his school bag. It's a dead cat in a plastic bag. She says so what he found it. Loomis says I hope you aren't squeamish. They also found Polaroid pictures of a decapitated dog. She says Michael loves animals why would he do this? Are you saying he did this? Loomis says hurting animals is an early sign of much deeper things. He wants to evaluate him and give him a series of tests. She gets mad. Michael is in the next room and overhears. He runs to his locker, pulls out the clown mask and something else and leaves the school.
    Outside Wesley says to his friend if he gets another detention he's screwed and if he sees Myers he's going to kill him, but will have to do it on the weekend so he doesn't get in trouble. He then grabs a kid's hat, spits in it and asks if he wants it. Michael watches him leave and follows him home into the woods. He ambushes him from behind a tree with a long piece of wood while wearing his clown mask. Wes says he will kill him, but as Michael wails him again and again he begs for mercy. He keeps beating him and he begs not to hurt him, he's sorry, please don't, please don't hurt me. Michael beats him until he's dead and takes the picture of his mom from his pocket.
    At home Ronnie watches the movie The Thing from Another World. Michael comes down in a clown suit and Ronnie calls him a clown, a cat killer, he thinks he's really a badass mofo killer, but it's really deep ass faggoty ass. Michael yells to Judith we're going to be late. Ronnie mocks him and says he's a whiny bitch. He says mom she's wasting my time. Deb says she shouldn't let him out after what he pulled in school. He begs, she says to calms down. She say s he better live it up tonight because tomorrow things are going to change. She calls Judith down because he wants him to take Michael out trick or treating. Why can't that subhuman Ronnie do it? If she could get that drunken ass off the couch and work she would. He says he's making a mental list of all her BS. She's going to work and tomorrow everything will change for the better. The doorbell rings and Michael says he likes his mom's hair curly, it looks pretty. Judith's boyfriend Steve arrives, Deb says to be out by 11 since she knows what he's up to. Instead of taking Michael out Steve takes her upstairs, she'll tells him he's on his own and asks isn't he too old for this anyway? Steve says to have fun squirt as Ronnie is going to pass out. 
    Deb goes and dances around the stripper pole and crawls for old men as Love Hurts plays and Michael goes out in his clown suit by himself all dejected. He comes home and eats candy in the kitchen. Judith is naked and making out upstairs, getting close to sex. Over the bed is a sticker with 'Use birth control, don't make the same mistake your parents made.' Steve asks what if her dad hears. She gets mad and says that thing isn't her dad, her dad is in heaven. He wants her to close her eyes and he reaches down and puts on the shape mask. She's not impressed. He wants to do it with the mask on.
    Michael suddenly gets an idea and goes into a kitchen drawer and grabs a huge knife. He then takes a roll of duct tape and walks over to Ronnie. He tapes him down to the easy chair and covers his mouth, not waking him. Then he hears a noise and looks out the window and sees kids and goes back to cut his throat from behind. When they are done having sex Steve comes down to the kitchen to get something out of the fridge and doesn't see Ronnie. Michael is behind him with a metal baseball bat and smashes him on the head. He goes down and Michael keeps beating him as he screams. Judith doesn't hear because she is lying down with big headphones on and music blasting. Michael goes upstairs finds Steve's mask and switches it for his clown mask. He runs a bloody finger along Judith's leg. She thinks it's Steve, laughs and says to stop it, sex once a night is enough. Then she turns and asks Michael what is he doing there? She smacks him in the head and says answer me again and again. He answers by stabbing her in the stomach. She gets off the bed and walks into the hallway crying and bloody and he follows to finish her off by stabbing her repeatedly. He then goes to the baby in the crib who is staring at him. He says happy Halloween Boo (his pet name for her).
    Deb comes home from work to find Michael sitting outside cradling the baby. She asks what is he doing out there, it's freezing, what's going on. She takes the baby, pulls his mask off and asks what's going on. Originally Michael says it's over implying that only the good people in thw family are left, taking that out leaves the scene empty. Police sirens are heard in the background. Then Deb screams and collapses. Police are soon all over and a reporter describes the scene as Manson like in it's viciousness, the sister was stabbed 17 times and left naked. Steve was viciously beat with a baseball bat, Ronnie's throat was cut and he was taped down. Three people brutally murdered and 10 year old Michael Myers is in custody. Michael is sitting in the back of a police car unphased.
    
    Eleven months later. 
    A reporter says after one of the costliest trials in the states history Michael is to be transferred. Dr. Samuel Loomis was there and was assigned to Michael while he's incarcerated in Smith's Grove.
    Sam sits with Michael at a table and tests a reel to reel tape recorder. He says, 'Hi, I'm Michael Myers'. That's good. Sam: How are you today? Good. Can I ask you something? That's why I'm here, you can ask me anything you like. Why do you talk so funny? Talk so funny? Later - tell me what to you remember about that Halloween night. What do you mean my costume and candy? Do you remember anything about the killings, getting a knife? I didn't do that. You were covered in blood. He doesn't know. Later he sees his mom when she visits. She asks how he is. He wants to know when he can get out - today, tomorrow? She'll have to ask the doctor. Is everyone OK at home? She says they are as classical music plays in the background.
    That might Michael is sitting in his cell and Ismael is cleaning the floors. He goes over to Michael and tells him not to let the walls get him down. He's got some experience with walls from being locked up and knows it can drive you crazy. You have to look beyond the walls and live inside your head, no walls can stop you there. Then he leaves him.
    Another day Michael sees Loomis and comes in wearing a black mask he made. Sam asks why is it all black? That's his favorite color. Sam says it's not a color, it's the absence of color in the spectrum of colors. Black which is no color all the way to white, which is every color. So technically, not that it really matters, black is not a color. So why did you make it? Michael says I have my secrets. I thought we had no secrets you and I. Because no one sees me. But I see you every day, your mom comes every week. Anybody else? No.
Michael makes a new more intricate paper mache mask for when his Mom comes to see him. When did you make it? Yesterday. I like it because it hides my face. She says to take it off. He says it hides his ugliness. She says not to say that, take it off, you aren't ugly, don't talk like that. She misses him so much. He misses her. Later Christmas music plays and Loomis is seen outside with Christmas presents and his hair is cut shorter under a hat. Michael freaks out, he screams he hates it and wants to get out. Sam comforts him by holding him and says I'm afraid you can't go out. Why? Because you've done terrible things.
    Mom is walking with Michael in the yard and asks him to take the mask off, he needs to eat, he doesn't look good. She pulls the mask off and he wants it back on. Inside she gives him a picture of him holding his baby sister to hang up in his room because she thought he'd like it. She says she'll see him next week. Sam says he'll walk her to the car. He calls in Nurse Wynn to sit with Michael. She sees the picture, says cute baby, then turns to read the newspaper. Outside Sam says he's been silent for 2 weeks now, we may want to consider shock treatment. Inside Michael grabs a metal fork and starts stabbing the nurse. The staff sees it on camera and alarms sound. In the elevator Sam yells what happened, what happened as people rush by. They jump out and run in to find the nurse brutally stabbed to death and a bloody trail. Guard goes after him and Sam and Deb are in shock.
    At home Deb is watching TV and crying. She holds a gun and stares at it, then pulls the trigger killing herself. The baby cries behind her.

Fifteen Years Later
    Noel is new working at the sanitarium and is walking with Ismael telling him he doesn't want to listen to him, he's his own boss. Ismael says he's retiring in a few months, he'll still be here a long time, you open the door. They open Michael's cell and it's full of masks on every wall and the ceiling. He's hunched over working on another. Noel curses at him to get going and Ismael warns him not to touch and masks, Michael doesn't like it. When Michael gets up he is now massive, over 7 feet tall with long hair over his face. Noel says he wouldn't want to bum him out. He chains and cuffs him and Ismael says he's sorry. Noel asks what's his problem, he feels sorry for him? He says he's been taking care of him for almost 20 years, just shut up and leave him alone. They take him to see Sam.
    Sam now has short white hair and a beard says he doesn't know what else to say Michael. You haven't said a word for 15 years, Christ that's a lifetime. That's nearly twice as long as my first marriage. It's strange Michael, in a weird way you've become like my best friend. It just shows how fucked up my life is. I've done all I can possibly do for you. I'm sorry to tell you this is going to be my last day. I have to move on. I'm sorry.
    Soon after Loomis gives a lecture after his book about Michael called The Devil's Eyes is published. He stands at a podium with a massive black and white photo of Michael projected behind him. He says these eyes will deceive you, they will destroy you, they will take from you your innocence, your pride, eventually your soul. These eyes do not see what you and I see, behind these eyes one finds only blackness, that absence of light, these are the eyes of a psychopath. Michael was created by a perfect alignment of interior and exterior factors gone violently wrong, a perfect storm if you will.
    Back at the sanitarium four cops are waiting for orders about moving a prisoner. Larry is playing cards and is mad about this. A woman tells him to have a donut and relax. They laugh at him. He asks do you know how long it takes to burn those calories. She does. Then the phone rings and she answers. She is startled to learn they are moving Myers. One guy says trick or treat baby.
    They lead him out of his cell in an orange mask, thick chains, handcuffs and shackles. One asks if he could walk any slower. They open a door that leads to a small closed in area and anther door to switch areas and the woman goes through to buzz them. Suddenly Michael breaks the chains off and starts smashing heads. It's chaos. The woman gets the door open and fires hitting one guard when Michael uses him as a shield. He then takes her out and drags her away. Soon after Ismael comes in to work and it's deathly quiet. The phone is ringing and no one is there to answer it. He punches in and calls out for Gloria, but she is battered and bloody around the corner and out of sight. He uses his keys to get in, then sees all the bloody and bodies on the floor. He mutters prayers in Spanish, checks for pulses and then sees Michael standing there. He asks what's he doing out of his room? Don't do anything we'll only regret later. He picks up handcuffs and says we have to get you back to your own room. He shakes as he goes to put the cuffs on him and Michael lets him, then he grabs Ismael by the throat and starts beating him. He says 'Michael I was good to you!' He then holds his face down under water. Ismael keeps saying he was good to him when he pulls him up, then down again as he's bleeding in the water. He throws him onto the floor, then pulls a TV down and smashes him over the head with it.
    A phone rings. It's next to Loomis's bed. He wakes up and asks who is this? Doctor Koplenson from Smith's Grove. He says he's out, he broke out a few minutes ago, it's a massacre. He says he'll be right there. Oh, shit he says.
    That night at a big rig truck wash somewhere Joe Grizzly pulls in his tanker truck for the staff to wash. He's been there before and tells them it's a new paintjob, don't mess it up or scratch it as Tom Sawyer by Rush plays. He goes into a bathroom stall to make a dump and looks at Swank porno mag and says naughty girl, naughty, naughty girl. Then Michael knocks on his stall door. He says hey buddy he's got a taco supreme talking back at him, let it pass in peace. Michael keeps knocking. He says look brother if you want some action you better take off before I drop this load. He stays, all he can see is muddy slippers under the door. OK, you hold on I've got something for you. He pulls out a huge knife. He says let me introduce myself, I'm Joe Grizzly and he opens the door and is not intimidated by Michael's intimidating size and says I'm going to cut that mask right off your face. Michael slams his arm against the stall wall over and over again to get him to drop it. It bends and buckles the wall and Joe doesn't care and punches Michael in the face. Michael then stabs him. When he's done Michael takes his jumpsuit and walks out wearing it. Joe is left in a bloody pile on the floor in long underwear.
    At the Strode house the song Mr. Sandman plays. Mason says Nichols Hardware is going out of business after 42 years, over and done. His wife Cynthia glad since they are a rip off. Her daughter Laurie says Mr. Nichols is a horny old prevent, he touched me the wrong way and holds bagels over her breasts, rubs them and laughs. Mom doesn't want to know. Dad is mad about the town being destroyed. She leaves for school and dad hands her an envelope to put in a mail slot, he says it's important, it's about a buyer. She gets it. He repeats himself and she says she understands it's muy importante.  Little Tommy Doyle runs up to her and asks about the Mexican wolfman. She's not interested, he tags along. She doesn't know what he's talking about, she's his baby sitter and knows he's crazy. Meanwhile Michael is inside his old house. He rips up the floor boards and pulls out the murder knife and the old Shatner mask. It's falling apart a bit as he puts it on.
    Laurie has to drop the envelope in the Myers house. Tommy thinks she's insane. She opens the gate, he says the boogeyman lives there. She goofs on him and sticks it in and pretends she's being pulled in and Michael is on the other side watching. Tommy isn't amused. She says he's a spaz.
    In the school library later Laurie is with her friends Annie and Lynda. Annie and Laurie are babysitting that night and Annie wants to dump Lindsey the girl she's watching off with Laurie so she can be with her boyfriend Paul. Laurie doesn't want to get in trouble and out the window sees Michael looking up from the street. What if they come home early? They won't. Lynda goofs on her and calls her mother Theresa, just look at her face. Laurie agrees and says you owe me. Annie says she loves her. Laurie looks again and Michael is gone.
    Sam arrives at Smith's Grove and says he wants an all points bulletin. Morgan who runs the place and Kopelson ask him what do you want us to do. He wants them to get on the phone, tell them who broke out of here last night and tell them where he's going. They don't know where. He says it must be great living in denial, I should try it some time. You and your shirt tuckers figure it out. You know exactly where he's going.
    After school Laurie is leaving with Lynda who says she's not conceited, but she's the hottest cheerleader they've got. She's also the captain. Laurie says she is conceited, what did you say? The coach gave them 3 new cheers to learn and she said why don't we just rock it commando and no one would notice with the same tired old cheers. She then called her dad. What did he say? She'll give him the suck up routine, tell him she never would say it. The coach needs to get laid, that's the problem. Laurie says ever since your parents split up you have your dad wrapped around your finger. Totally. They start to walk home and Annie catches up them thanking them for not waiting for her. She heard what Lynda said and calls her a slut. Laurie sees Michael staring at them from across the street and is creeped out. Annie and Lynda don't care and say he's just some pervert. Lynda yells to him does he wants some young meat and makes suggestive moves. He leaves and she says see? Laurie asks what if he did something. Like what? She doesn't know. Sheriff Brackett then pulls up in a police car and Lynda goofs on his fuzzy hat. He ask if anyone wants a ride. Annie gets in and leaves. Lynda says he was flirting with her and Laurie thinks she's gross. Besides she doesn't want to go in a pig mobile and thinks it would be a drag if he was her dad, but Laurie likes him.
    Sam goes to the cemetery and Chester the gravekeeper leads him. He remembers the mess like it was yesterday, tragic. The woman couldn't take the stress of being labeled Satan's mother and blew her head off. The boy killed all those people and a doctor involved wrote a book - blood money. Sam says he read hat book, it was a masterpiece, are we close? Suddenly Chester starts cursing about the damn kids. There is a skinned coyote on a cross instead of a tombstone on one plot. Who would do this? Sam walks away and thinks he knows whose grave it is.
    Lynda and her boyfriend Bob drives in a van and parks at the Myers house so they can party. She can't believe they are selling it. He says it's reduced maybe he could buy it, they can always party somewhere else. As they enter they don't notice Michael watching them from the balcony. They go upstairs and Misfits - Halloween II plays on their radio. She gets on top of him and starts going hard, says he's in the right spot, then he quick draws before she's done and is sorry. She wants another beer. He says he did the lifting she should get it. She makes him and on the the way out he says on a scale of 1 to 10 what was I? 7.5? She says zero. He goes outside to his van mumbling about how good he was to get the beer and Michael is watching. She changes the radio and now Blue Oyster Cult - Don't Fear the Reaper is on. Lynda calls Laurie on her cell phone. She's mad about Annie calling her a slut. Do you believe it? She doesn't. Lynda doesn't care what Annie thinks just her. Bob has to fish around some empties in the cooler before he finds full beers and comes back with a sheet over his body and his glasses over it making a weak ghost costume. Michael is waiting for him and stabs him into the wall on the stairs leaving him suspended. Then he puts on the sheet and Bob's glasses and goes to Lynda. She says could you go any slower? She shows her breasts - see anything you like? He stands there, joke's over, she wants the beer. He hands it not, but not far enough. She's not amused. She stands up and the blanket goes down, she's completely naked and he attacks killing her. He carries her naked body downstairs into the basement.
    Sam goes to a gun shop. He wants a big one, like that one. Derek says a .22 Smith & Wesson. He says that's good if you want to piss it off, if you to blow it's head of you want the .357 Magnum. Sam says beautiful, wrap it up, that's fine I'm in a bit of a hurry. Derek asks what are we hunting?
    Laurie and her mom sit outside giving out Halloween candy. Two girls come up as princesses. Mom remembers when Laurie used to run around like a princess. She denies it, she never wore a tutu. Mom says she did and tickles her. Dad comes out, how many did they get? Only 2. He says to Laurie to be careful, lots of nutcases tonight. What could happen babysitting? Mom grabs her and scares her. Annie comes to pick Laurie up. They ask her how her dad is, same as always she says. Laurie doesn't know. Mason says you know what that means. Cynthia says they can have romance after he talks about their vacation and goes inside. He'd rather stay home. Michael is waiting inside and attacks Cynthia. He smashes her into a glass table and she tries to reach the phone, but doesn't make it. Mason comes in and is finished off soon after
    At Tommy's house he asks Laurie if the boogeyman is real. She wants to know why he's so obsessed with it. He hears things at school, like he sneaks out and attacks kids who don't believe in him. He attacks boys like you she says. Then she screams that it's the boogeyman scaring him. Then the phone rings and she says to hold that thought. It's Annie. She'll be walking over with Lindsey. Laurie jokes to Tommy that his girlfriend is coming over. He hates her, hates girls and says she smells like Laurie.
    Annie tells Lindsey to get her coat on so they can go over. She watches the Thing from Another World on TV and doesn't move and Annie gets mad. She says they are going to her lover's house which makes Lindsey mad.
    Sam goes to see Sheriff Lee Brackett at a diner to explain about Michael. Lee's not convinced Michael is there from the dead coyote and missing tombstone. Sam says it proves it. Lee says it's a Halloween prank, it'll be back tomorrow and besides and it weighs half a ton so one man couldn't have taken it. Sam says that proves it, he walked away with it. It's a matter of life and death. Lee says to come back tomorrow. It's too late, evil is here, walking among us. Lee says sounds like he's talking about the anti-christ. Perhaps I am.
    Annie isn't happy about carrying a pumpkin because Lindsey wants it. They argue on the way and Annie says she's sharing it with Tommy and Lindsay says Annie's sharing something with Paul. She says she'll have a pumpkin smashing party it in the street. The ring the bell and Annie says Tommy's girlfriend is here. He says he hates girls, why doesn't anyone understand? Annie tells Laurie she talked to Paul about Ben Tramer. Laurie thought he was retarded, not short bus retarded, you need a boyfriend. Laurie says she doesn't need one. Annie pushes her against the wall like she's screwing her and moans. The kids look at them in horror. They crack up and Laurie admits she needs a boy and asks what he said. I quote, "Dude, she's f-king hot" Laurie is shocked.
    At his officer Lee says he read Loomis's book, he knows who is and doesn't like him. He created masterpiece of a monster off the blood of the town to sell books. Sam wants him to look at a picture, it's on the cover. Lee has to wait, he needs his glasses. Loomis says when he first met him 17 years ago he had no conscience, no sense of life or death, right or wrong. He's come back for her. Who is her? His baby sister, he knows it in his blood. To do what? He doesn't know but it's not good. Lee says you make me break a promise I made 17 years ago, then you promise to play it razor straight with me. He calls the Strodes and gets their corny Halloween message that they act out. He asks them to pick up if they hear him, but no one does. Cynthia's bloody body is nearby. He tells him to go.
    Tommy asks Laurie why would the boogeyman not attack if you believe. Laurie doesn't want to hear it. Lindsey agrees with Tommy though. They says she must be scared if she won't talk about it. She mocks being scared and attack her. She wants them to leave her alone for 5 seconds. They count to 5 and jump her again
    Annie is on the couch with Paul on top, she doesn't want him to yank off her clothes and ruin them, they are expensive you idiot. He says she's so hot and wants to screw her. She makes him repeat it. Paul says she's so warm, but Michael is watching them. He kills Paul and she starts screaming and gets away, running topless into the kitchen. She tries to get a knife and stab him, but he stabs her first. She goes down and he pulls her along by the feet and she holds onto the rug. She cries, begs and struggles
    Lee explains to Loomis as he drives that when he went to Deb's suicide and he saw the baby, he hid her from the report, dropped her off at a hospital in the next town and thought that was the end. But three months later his friend Mason adopted her.
    Laurie takes Lindsey back home and hopes Annie is decent. She finds Paul on the landing hung up with a pumpkin on his head and Annie bloody on the floor under her. She sends Lindsey away and cries while checking Annie. She's still breathing. Laurie calls 911 and gives the location for an ambulance at 1987 Winchester. Annie sees Michael and screams, but Laurie thinks it's because she's hurt.
    Lee gets the call and he asks for the location and the name of the person who called it in. He's told it's Laurie Strode and Sam says he found her for god's sake. How long to get there? It's 10 minutes away. Then speed off.
    Laurie goes back to Annie, then Michael finds her, she runs away and has to smash out the kitchen door to escape and hurts her leg. She runs across the street limping to Tommy's house and yells to open the door and pounds on it over and over. He finally opens it, she runs in, locks it and soon after Michael smashes through. She takes Tommy & Lindsey upstairs to hide in the bathtub.
    When the police arrive at Tommy's house the door is open. A cop arrives at the upstairs bathroom before Michael and they have to unlock the door for him to get in. Laurie says he's out there. He says no one is out there. The kids don't want her to open it. When she gets up to open it Michael stabs the cop. They can see the blood and his imprint through the door Another cop arrives with gun drawn and shoots Michael, but Michael takes him out after. Laurie and the kids are screaming. Michael comes in and gets Laurie.
    Then the Lee and Sam arrive. He tells Sam to stay back and he goes in and finds Annie's bloody body, she's still breathing. He tells her help is on the way. Sam goes back to direct the ambulance as it pulls up. Then Tommy and Lindsey come running and screaming. They say the boogeyman is there and he tells them to wait by the ambulance as he goes to check it out.
    Michael drops Laurie off in a caged area in the basement of his old house. She finds Lynda's naked body on the ground in front of the Myers tombstone. She asks her to wake up and shakes her not realizing she's dead. Michael arrives and she asks him what does he want. He drops the knife, then falls to his knees and takes off the mask. He pulls the picture of him as a boy with her out of his pocket and shows it to her. She doesn't understand what he wants, please leave her alone and cries. Then she sees the knife. She decides to take the picture and says she wants to help him. She creeps forward repeating herself. She grabs the knife, jumps up and stabs him in the neck. He goes down and she starts breaking her way out. She breaks through the cage, kicks through the wood of a wall and yells for help. She gets outside and works on a gate. Michael pulls the knife out, puts the mask on and gives chase. He smashes through a wall, then rips the gate out. She runs into the backyard, but falls down hard in the dark falling into an empty stone pool rolling into the deep end. She can't get out and Michael arrives cutting off the only exit. He goes toward her and Loomis arrives, yelling 'Michael stop it's me Samuel!' He keeps going for Laurie and Sam pulls out his gun and shoots him again and again. Michael goes down and Sam is able to rescue her, but is slow moving because of her hurt leg.
    He puts the gun in his jacket pocket and puts the jacket around Laurie and places her in the police car. She asks if that was the boogeyman. As a matter of fact I do believe it was Loomis says. Then Michael punches through the window on Laurie's side. Laurie and Sam both scream - what the hell, Jesus Christ, Michael stop. He pulls her into the house. Loomis tells him it's not her fault, Michael it's my fault, I've failed you. Michael takes Sam and digs into his eyes, he drops to the floor with a bloody face and Michael drags him. Laurie runs upstairs, kicks out a hole in the wall and hides between walls crying. She then tries to quiet herself as Michael comes looking still with Loomis in tow. He looks in the wrong spot and she takes the coat off and notices the gun has fallen out and grabs it. Michael finds her and she climbs into the attic. Michael hears her up there and grabs a 4x4 and starts smashing holes in the ceiling. He hits all around her and then suddenly stops. She starts crawling and then falls through the floor crashing into a nearby room. Michael comes around the corner and she points the gun at him, but he rushes her. He tackles her, they go out the door, through the balcony fence and down 10 feet to the ground. Laurie lands on top of him and both of them are bloody. Sirens are coming as she picks up the gun, points it at his head and winces. It doesn't go off, she tries again, nothing. She tries again and Michael grabs her arm, then the gun goes off in his face. She's covered in blood and screaming wildly as the sirens get closer.
    Over the initial credits there is footage of Michael when he was a kid in home videos playing and doing normal kid stuff.

My Review

This is quite long because I detail everything that was wrong as well as what was right with what was originally filmed.

We were ROBbed!

    When I first heard in 2006 that the next Halloween film wouldn't be another sequel, instead it would basically be a revamped remake I groaned. There was no way I would ever see a remake of such a classic film. Then a few months later I learned Malcolm would be in the film and I knew that my life had changed. I now had to spend a lot of time covering a film I wasn't into. Eventually I realized the classic film will always been there, it can't be ruined. The new one will stand on it's own and appeal mostly to a new generation. No matter what happens the original will always be a classic. The original is a favorite of mine, but it's not like it's Clockwork. I like it enough, but I'm not fanatic about it. I don't feel it's blasphemy to mess with it. They did that already with the tons of sequels bringing the character down and I have seen them all so I know how weak they can get. So if they want to start over, fine. With the release of the first trailer there wasn't much to see. Then a bunch of TV spots and another trailer came out. There's a scene with young Michael Myers after the murders in the back of a police car and as he turns the mask flashes over his face that looked very cool and the mask looked perfect. So my hopes went up a little bit.
    Now it's three weeks before the film and I'm in a unique position where I interviewed 10 members of the cast from Malcolm on down and a member of the original films' cast. Malcolm told me he saw Loomis as a loser and was constantly playing him as a buffoon, which sounded like it would be fun. Every single other person from ages 18 to their 60s raved about the film and working with Rob. The word genius was used often, Dee Wallace said he was the best she ever worked with and is now her favorite and she's worked with Steven Spielberg! Their excitement was infectious and I started feeling really good about the film. At the same time I got the poster which is very cool, one of the best I've seen in decades, showing scenes from the film in a collage with four shots of Malcolm on it. As I saw more TV spots and the days got closer I couldn't wait to see it. Even more important is that it's the biggest release Malcolm has ever had with his name as the top billing opening on 1000s of screens at once.
    So I go to see the film the first day and as I'm watching it I'm thinking what happened to this movie? Because I'm probably the only person to talk to so many different actors I learned so much about their characters and their scenes and I wasn't seeing them. Ezra Buzzington, Courtney Gaines, Adrienne Barbeau were gone. Sybil Danning & Udo Keir's roles shrunk to almost nothing. I love Richard Lynch and he was given two short scenes and little to do. Mickey Dolenz and Clint Howard had little to add, scenes weren't adding up and it wasn't flowing together. This thing got chopped up, someone got to it. Rob takes credit for it, but I wonder if it was the studio and the test screening that spooked them. So now I'm feeling bad for these cool acting who were cut out of the film. I had even asked Courtney specifically about being cut out and he said it never happened to him yet! It was like having all these great cult actors just for the sake of spotting the cameo, instead of giving them a chance to shine. The music was great, but the film just didn't flow. It felt like huge sections were missing and it just jumped along with little rhyme or reason.
    As far as the acting goes, I didn't have any problem with the cast. Everyone did what they were called to do and performed well. No one stands out as a bad performance. Worst of all is that all the funny stuff that Malcolm did was gone. Everything that he mentioned as his favorite lines were gone. Originally I thought that all blame if the film was a failure would be placed on Rob's shoulders, but by taking out all of his good lines, it makes him look like he gave a bad performance. It's not his fault, that's the way he was edited. The problem is most people don't know that. They see what's on screen and think Malcolm did a bad job, they have no idea that the character Malcolm built was cut back to the original Loomis. Rob said Loomis just popped up in the original films to mention how evil Michael was and was like a crazy man. Then he disappeared and no one would believe him. He wanted to change that, but in the end it was here's the new Loomis, same as the old. He really wasn't shown doing much of anything except trying to help Michael, cashing in on a book, then hunting him down. With the exception of the book, he's really the same character. He has a couple of good speeches about how evil Myers is and about his eyes, but nothing special that we don't know after seeing young Michael kill. He had three funny lines when he says Michael hasn't talked in 15 years, that's more than double his first marriage. This is really such and inside joke because I'm sure he was talking about his real life first marriage. He also says Michael is like his best friend and he realizes how sad that is and says it shows how f'ed up his live has become. Then later when Chester didn't know who he was and he described his own book as a masterpiece. At least he had a lot of screen time going through three looks. This isn't the first time Malcolm has been given a wig to make him look younger, but it never works. He has his regular 60+ year old face with goofy hair that doesn't match his facial hair or eyebrows, it just doesn't work. Plus with the wig he's supposed to be hippyish, but his character would steal be in his late 40s which doesn't work too well. I think one of those short ponytails older yuppies have would've worked a bit better. All the blame of the failure of his character should go to Rob, but this is really the only time I can think of when Malcolm was the star of the film and he didn't get a chance to do what he does best - have fun with a role no matter if he's good or evil.
    Scout who played Laurie did a great job as the teenager in distress and I'm so glad because she was so nice in person and such a real young woman with no Hollywood attitude. She's smart too and sounds wiser than 18 years old I hope this lands her more roles and she has a long and successful career. Besides Laurie and Loomis only Michael has a lot of screen time and that's split between two.
Daeg did a good job going playing an evil child. He has a unique look and was able to pull it off and even resembles Scout a bit facially, so the casting was good. I don't know if he will get type cast, but it would be better to see how he ages as an actor.
    Kristina and Danielle both were fine as the teenage sluts. The problem is that they were basically the same character. Why have two girls that are both sluts and both get killed because they were too busy having sex? Everyone else in the film wasn't given a chance.
Because they were so nice to me I don't want to trash them and thankfully I don't have to. There is no fault in this film with the actors, they did what they could with what they were given, it's the director and the editing that makes their characters bad, not what they did.
I've never been a fan of Rob's music and I thought House of 1000 Corpses was so lame so I skipped the Devil's Rejects. So I had little to hope for here, but was going in objectively watching the film and really looking at it. Rob does the silent cinema well. Young Michael stalking his first victim, watching him through the trees or the girls walking or Michael standing still looking spooky. In those scenes he has good eye, but the action stuff is literally unwatchable. Many times I had to cover my eyes because I thought that Michael was also beating the cameraman to death. The scene in the bathroom near the end was so jumpy it was a blur. The action stuff is his weak point, it's like something from another film. Michael's action scenes weren't quick, smooth, sneaky or scary, it was like a bulldozer was coming through the walls, exploding with sound. Rob started out directing music videos and he did fine in that 4 minute format, he just doesn't have what it takes to make a feature length film.
    I'll go into the problems I have with the film, but be warned there are so many. What I'm not going to do is compare it to the original in any way, I'm treating it as a stand alone film. I will mention scenes that were deleted before the final version came out because I was told about them by the actors and they should've remained in the film because it fleshed it out better. The main overall problem is this film is supposed to answer any question you might've had about the original film - why that mask, where does he get the jumpsuit, etc. But it winds up creating way more questions when there should be none. That alone makes it a failure.
    First of all when does it take place? Rob is sneaky not to put years up, but he certainly seems to put the opening scenes in the late 70s with Michael wearing a Kiss shirt, the huge headphones his sister had, the older cars and the 70s musical soundtrack. It doesn't add up then if it's 1978 and the end is 17 years later or 1995. The cars driven are recent and the cell phone Lynda has is also a very new small model. This also doesn't add up with the other phones we see which are older looking 80s jobs with the long cords. Where's the cordless phones, hand held, smaller kind that's all we've seen for decades? Loomis's age is never said but Malcolm was 63 when he filmed it and he would be playing a 46 year old in the beginning. So then he was still a hippy in the late 70s, which is late for that in life, so why would he have changed up by the 90s? If you are still looking the hippy role near 50, I doubt you would change it when you were 60.
I liked that the film started with a Loomis quote, but not that it was text. A bit of Loomis narration would've added more depth and presence from his character.
    Once the decision is made to show or hint at what made Michael the way he was - there is really only two options. The ballsy one would be to make him like Alex in A Clockwork Orange - smart, charming, good looking and from a good home. The predictable one would be that he came from a crappy home. Unfortunately, Rob took the easy way out. He basically does the serial killer check list - kills animals (check), father dead (check), mother is a stripper (check), sister is a slut (check), step father is an abusive drunk (check), he's a loner, in his own world (check), mom can't see it (check). The opening scene, which remember is supposed to be the late 70s is some of the filthiest dialog you could ever heard about sex and nasty sex - eyes, breasts, girlfriend, strangers even with the step daughter. She's commented on, then she gives a mock hand job. It goes on and on and it's just over the top, plus it goes on in front of the kids which is vile. Even today this is really strong language so it's really out of place for the time period and just comes across as all wrong. If a gross drunk like Ronnie could hook up with a hot stripper, why would he be such a horndog talking about a waitress and his step daughter? He's certainly no prize and should be more than happy with what he's getting. Besides being gross, ugly, a drunk, dirty and crippled he doesn't work, so why would anyone want him? After all for a man like him a stripper is the ultimate fantasy. We are introduced to four completely unlikable characters. Mom may be working hard, but she is foul mouthed and completely blind to what Michael is doing. She also looks too good for the role, she should have a black eye, dark circles or maybe cuts on her arm from drug needles or missing a tooth or something.
    Michael starts out in a mask right away which shows he certainly has a fetish for them, except it's just a lame plastic clown mask, which is certainly not cool or tough. Of course he would get crap for wearing it. No one would be impressed with a kid his age wearing something so childish. It isn't until he's in the asylum that they finally get it out of him why he likes masks. The first thing we see him do is cut up a rat, so he has no humanity at all, there is no sympathy for him and all you can think of is serial killer. We are always told hurting animals leads to hurting people and guess what, soon after Loomis is telling us the same thing in case we didn't know that. There is nothing special or supernatural about him. He's just another dumb, trashy kid who grows up weird and kills. Big deal.
The use of Kiss's God of Thunder as the first song seems self-indulgent because at last years Rock Honors show Rob actually performed the song with a tribute band.
    If you didn't get enough foul mouth bathroom language in the set up, never fear, there's more in the next scene. Michael is in the bathroom again, now we getting to see him urinating. Why? Who wants to see that and what does it add? Then a nameless kid enters and he's just ready to torture Michael. He unleashes some of the foulest sexual talk probably ever heard from a kid in a film. Just because the film is R rated, doesn't mean you need to push it to the limits of reason. OK, we've heard enough cursing and sick sexual talk here to last for years, give it up. It just starts a trend of witless dialog that never ends. There's no way kids from the 70s would've talked like this. I certainly never heard anything even remotely like it. When did little yokel strip clubs advertise nearly nude photos in the local paper? How would that be allowed? Why would they need to? How many strip clubs could there be in that area? Then the principal comes in and saves Michael's ass because there was no way he was going to beat two older boys down on his own and he's mad. He curses the guy out for no reason. He's just like a dumb thug who gets pulled over and mouths off to the police and does stupid stuff when he's carrying guns and drugs in his car. Michael could've mentioned the strip club picture or something. But no, now he is under scrutiny and for some reason they do a locker search and find he has a dead cat and photos of dead animals on him. Did he want to get caught? Why the hell would he be so out in the open like this? Bringing a dead cat to school - to do what with it? Evil is supposed to stay I the shadows, not be so open.
This leads to the first appearance of Loomis, but he doesn't add much. We're not even sure where he comes from. There's no way the school would have a psychiatrist on staff back then. So does he work for the state? He's just here to start the serial killer checklist. Stupidly, Michael is left in the next room all alone so he can easily hear them and run away. Since when are you not forced to sit there as they talk about you in front of your mother so you can't get out of it or run away? I think it was a cheap way to let him get away with murder.
    At this point it's almost like Rob's pushing the Columbine scenario. The more you treat a kid bad, the more he's likely to snap. Push him heard enough and you'll lead him to murder. Make him an outcast and he'll hate those on the inside. So when Wes kid is killed, you are think being a bully got you what you deserved. But on the other hand it's just brutal, long and bloody, so after a minute we don't feel sorry for Michael We get the point, but less is more. The more you show, the more we see what Michael is and nothing is surprising later. He just turns Michael into your run of the mill serial killer, albeit a young one, and one who doesn't even kill that many before he's caught. Does he even care that he's caught? Did he think he could get away with it? Do the police ever tie him to the killing?
    When he comes home Ronnie is watching The Thing from Another World. Later we see it again. Since this film was later remade into a great film by John Carpenter, it's like a subliminal message from Rob that remakes can be better by showing the original as TV fodder. Carpenter did it with another film, now Rob is doing it with Carpenter's film. Too bad he didn't learn from him. Ronnie says killing cats doesn't make him bad, it makes him gay. I didn't think gays started out by killing, wasn't is dressing up like women or playing with dolls? There was a chance for Michael to really say something to him here like, 'You're right, that's why I killed a kid today, next I'm thinking about working up to a drunk stepfather.' Something to put fear into him, anything. Instead he says nothing, he's more interested in trick or treating. Instead of him being grounded until he's 18, mom says this is his last chance to have fun, things are going to change tomorrow. She gives no indication of what that might be. How can he possibly be worried when his sister can openly have sex right in the house? But for some reason we are to believe this empty pitiful threat pushed Michael over the edge and unleashed his killing spree. He was so worried about getting punished, that he dealt out the punishment first. We get a highly unerotic strip show by Deb. Did Rob suddenly not want people to see his wife naked? After all the scrap of paper advertised that she was?
    Rob answers the question on where the original Myers mask came from. It's not something he got as an adult, it goes back to his childhood. Rob said it had to be more important, not just something random he stole from s tore. Instead, it is just that, random. Steve just happened to bring it over because he wanted to have sex in a mask. That's it. I was hoping for something cool like, "It's William Shatner from my favorite TV series." Something to link it to the original, make an inside joke and giving it meaning. It certainly didn't mean anything to Michael other than he liked masks and it was there. Michael goes for his second kill and we are supposed to believe he can spend a long time duct taping a large man to a chair and he wouldn't notice, feel it or wake up because he was drunk? His mouth is covered which would make it hard for him to exhale his snoring. Then he goes through all that just to cut his throat? He could've just walked up and done that. There would've been little hope for Ronnie and he wouldn't have been able to yell out. He couldn't have worried about noise as pulling and tearing all that duct tape would've made quite a bit of noise. Then for some reason he mixes it up, no cutting for Steve, but why did he need to kill him, was he bad to Michael as well? I guess he was in the way. He uses an aluminum bat on him, but where did he get it? I just don't picture Michael the sportsman type out there on the baseball field. Then he goes after Judith wearing the famous mask for the first time. This time he decides to go back to the knife? Why not a third weapon like something feminine, maybe a hair dryer? For some reason he touches his sister in a sexually way running his fingers up her leg. Why? Is he supposed to be hot for her all of a sudden? She doesn't even ask him about the sexual contact, have they been intimate before!? Instead of why are you touching me, she asks what are you doing in here and keeps smacking him until he stabs her.
    When she's killed she has a long shirt on, but soon after the newsman says she was naked. Was this just a mistake or are we to assume Michael had sex with her? It would make things more sick like Rob likes. How is it that the police are already on the way and get there right as Deb is coming home? Did Michael call them? There's no way someone else could've found out. So why would he call? Trying to fake out the cops? How did a reporter get to this small nowhere town so fast for a live report in the 70s? Not likely. What is the point of the news coverage anyway when all it does is just cover what we already saw? It then goes into this slow motion yellow tinted segment for no real reason. It just feels out of place, like Rob showing he can do camera tricks. Then the best part from the trailer doesn't happen, there's no flash of the mask of Myers face.
    The next thing we know is that it's 11 months later. Are they saying the trial took that long? If so, why? It should've been over fast as it was cut and dry. Is it because he was a child? Why not show something from the trial? What was the verdict? Guilty by reason of insanity? Is that why he was sent to the sanitarium. Was he sentenced to stay there until he died? And why the hell would Loomis be assigned to him? It's not like they ever worked together or anything. Loomis showed up and before he could do anything. Michael ran away and started killing and it was too late.
    Since the first part of the film offered nothing exciting, the second part should be where the heart and soul of the film comes in. Now we will get Loomis to crack Michael. Actually, that doesn't happen and there's no reason for it. As soon as it starts to get interesting, it cuts to something else. Michael asks Loomis why do you talk so funny? Before he can answer something like 'I'm a British Person.' The scene just cuts to something else. Where are any inside jokes in this film? Where are ANY jokes? The big question comes next about the killings. Michael says he doesn't remember that. OK, there's an interesting answer. Once again, it goes nowhere. Is he lying? Did he black out? Did a demon crawl inside of him? What? Something needed to be addressed here, even if it's Loomis giving his own thoughts into a tape recorder.
    Then his mom is visiting right away and Michael thinks he can get out right away. This should've been obvious to him in the year long trial that he wasn't getting out any time soon. Then he asks how the family is. Once again after a lengthy trial how can this be? I'm sure there were endless descriptions of the murders complete with crime scene photos. Is he insane? A sociopath? In denial? Lying? Stupid? How could he possibly think everything is OK? She doesn't even beat him over the head with the fact that he killed them and he needs to face it if he ever wants to be well and get out of there. Nothing, just throw away stuff, always leaving us disappointed.
    Ismael is working there as maintenance and wants to bond with Michael. So because he was in jail he feels a connection with a kid who killed most of his family? That's not rational. Without knowing it he gives Michael the advice that will enable him to survive until he escapes.
Malcolm told me personally about doing ad libs and saying funny stuff as Loomis, but we see none of this. Instead we get a newly shot scene that's just a long science lesson on how black isn't a color!? How does that add anything? He could've just said black isn't a color and people who are fixated by it have thoughts of death or something. It would still be a lesson, but it could've been quicker and had some conclusion behind it. Once again they try to show something about why he wears a mask, but again it falls flat. He says he wears it because no one sees him in his cell. Loomis explains that isn't true and it goes nowhere. The truth is Michael was wearing a mask long before he got there, so that answer doesn't work. It's just a continuation of behavior, not something new. Another chance for Loomis to get him to open up is waster. So in the next scene he tries again to explain, this time with Deb. Now he says it hides his ugliness. This makes more sense, but we should've seen someone calling him ugly first, then putting the mask on making it much simpler - case closed. It shouldn't be something his mother finally learns after he's been doing it for years especially after Loomis just had the conversation with him. It should be combined into one scene with all 3 characters if that's the way he wanted it to go. A very important shot was removed here where Michael is told he cannot leave and Michael says, 'Then I have nothing left to say'. Instead, we are just told in the next shot he hasn't spoken for 2 weeks and no reason is given at all. This is a huge question mark. Why doesn't Michael speak for the rest of the film? If he wasn't going to speak until he got out, then why didn't he speak after he escaped? Rob filmed a reason, then took it out instead leaving us to ask yet another question that didn't need to be asked.
    Again Michael wants to go home and he still doesn't get it. Loomis says it's because he's done terrible things. He still isn't saying that he killed his family so this is just a repeat of before. Then his mom visits again and says he doesn't look good and needs to eat, but he doesn't look any different than he ever did. He is shown from the side and we can see his arms are fat. At least make him dark around the eyes of something. He doesn't say that he's not eating or give any reason why he wouldn't be eating. Some sort of verification would've been nice. It doesn't seem to be a real problem because in the next shot he is shown eating.
    Loomis is also seen bringing in Christmas presents, but this too goes nowhere. We have to assume they are for Michael. After all we never see him with another patient. What were they? Masks? Something helpful? No, it's just a cheap way to show it's now Christmas, as if we couldn't figure that out with the piped in Christmas music. When Deb goes to leave Loomis wants to talk to her in private about harsher treatment to get through to Michael. Then for no reason at all he suddenly stabs and kills the Nurse who is watching him. Originally she was mean to him and said cute baby about the picture, she can't be related to you. This makes much more sense, at least giving him a motive for snapping. Then it turns into a slowed down Baywatch type scene of chaos. At least they could've asked him why and he could've said she insulted me instead of having no dialog here - just noise and yelling.
    Soon after Deb cracks and kills herself, or did she? With all the blood and brutality we are beaten over the head with, this key event isn't shown. Once again with Rob's wife he doesn't want to show anything. Instead the shot is just heard. She has the baby behind her and doesn't leave any sort of contingency plan for her - no relatives are called or the is kid dropped off somewhere. If no one found her body for weeks, the kid would starve to death.
    The film jumps ahead 15 years later, Michael is now around 26 years old. Ismael is still working there and Noel, a new employee is with him for his first visit to Michael. They are to bring him out to see Loomis. It's like a good cop/bad cop scene. Ismael is all nice to him and treats him well and Noel is an angry redneck who just curses him out. This is another scene that got chopped up. We see there is a room full of masks now, but it's very fast. Noel is warned not to touch then because Mickey doesn't like that. This now goes nowhere. I talked to Lew and he was up front about him really laying into Michael and cursing him out and treating him like crap to his face. That's gone. I also talked to Courtney who played Noel's cousin and his scene involved Noel getting him into the institution and they rape a female inmate who was just brought in that night. They take her in Michael's room since he will never talk and taunt and offer her to Michael, but he doesn't care at all until they use his masks in their crime. He flips out, kills them, takes the key and escapes. This makes a payoff about not touching the masks and sets up the escape better. Instead now we get an empty story about how Michael is being transferred and all it does it up the body count. Why is he being transferred and where is he being taken to? A jail? Was there something in the trial that said when he hit a certain age if there was no cure he had to be moved out? Is it because Loomis has given up on him? Loomis can't be replaced for some reason? Budget cuts? Closing the place down? This is one of the worst scenes in the film because there is no logic or explanation behind it. Of course originally this was explained in a parole type hearing. Once again Michael knows he's never going to get out, so now it's time to break out.
    This leads to the best scenes of the film. Now Loomis looks like Malcolm at his current age, except for the beard. Loomis tells him he's his best friend, even though he hasn't spoken in 15 years. So what were their sessions like? Every day Michael is brought in for an hour and Loomis asks him to talk and he says nothing? Who is paying Loomis's salary for that lack of work? This whole exchange is a great ad lib by Malcolm and seems the only one they left in. Gone is where he answers his cell phone and says he's with a patient or does goofy Shakespeare quotes at the gate when he arrives for a play he's auditioning for. This is all we get of Malcolm's funny lines. Maybe it was a ploy to get Michael to show emotion, he's the last link to his childhood. Another cut scene shows a conflicted and sad Loomis leaving and looking back.
    It the original version a crowd protests about Michael getting released and the staff thinks it's a waste of money to keep treating him, so Loomis is fired. It changes everything that Loomis didn't want to go and wrote a book because maybe he needed a job or he wanted to expose the sanitarium.
    The scene leads to Loomis' on his book tour. This makes it seem like the real reason he was left was to become famous. The question is how could he get a book out of Michael? He only knew him for very short time before he stopped speaking. A decade of just staring at him would not be interesting. When I saw the title of the book started out with 'The Devil's'' I thought it was going to be a lame joke like The Devil's Reject to reference Rob's last film. Instead it's appropriately called The Devil's Eyes because this is all Loomis talks about are Michael's eyes! That's all he really knows about him since he never opened up about his crimes or his feelings about them. When he starts to head down a path of substance, again it goes nowhere. He says Michael was created in a perfect storm - of what? I thought the whole point was the kid was just evil, it didn't matter that his mom loved him or whatever, he was just born that way. Now he was created somehow, but they aren't going to say. In the original version he said more, then outside he thinks he did badly and has to be convinced by a man he was great. Then he gets a call on his phone about Michael escaping.
    Originally Ismael wasn't killed and he didn't need to be. He wasn't around when Michael escaped, but they went back and shot new scenes. Why isn't it Ishmael anyway? That's the proper spelling, but I digress. This scene seemed to be saying Michael is like a terrorist. It's like fighting the war on terror - you think you can be nice to them, treat them well, sit down and talk to them, but inside they don't care. They are just waiting for their chance. I was good to you! So what, I hate you, I never asked for you to be good to me, it just shows you are weak. I'm your enemy, you are in my way, you have to be destroyed. Terrorists hate everyone who doesn't believe what they believe. Michael was no different, but he doesn't lay his beliefs out. Does he believe in anything? His death scene is so out of character for Michael and is more like out of Elm Street. He's suddenly drowning him in what I don't know, a fish tank? So his 'friend' gets a more violent death than anyone in the film! Then he smashes a TV set over his head to finish him off. What the hell? The only thing missing was the welcome to primetime line.
    So the worst serial killer in the history of the area casually escapes. He is able to go over huge walls or pass the guard tower how? Who does Michael's staff doctor call? Loomis of course. The man who no longer works there, did nothing to help cure him and made money publishing a book about him. This is just awful. It would be much more realistic for Loomis to hear it on the news and butt in where he isn't wanted then for those who know him best as a failure to want his help. And what do they think he can really do if he catches him? Lead him back to the asylum by his ear? The news isn't alerted to this? Somehow it's kept secret, though they were there at the original murder scene in the 70s, the trial and a parole hearing in the original. Even the poster shows newspaper headlines of his killing of the nurse that weren't in the film. What's worse was originally Loomis said he could take care of it and they were covering it up so he could stop Michael fast.
    The next scene certainly should've been cut out. It should be called, origin of the jumpsuit. So Michael escapes out of all the doors, walls, barbed wire and guard posts still wearing his mask, slippers and robe. Somewhere along the line he decides it's time for a change of clothes. Then we are supposed to believe he knew the best place to go would be a truck wash station, whatever that is. I've never seen a place like this, remote, dark, in the middle of nowhere, with one truck. Every truck stop I see is centrally located on a main highway, close to an exit ramp and packed with business. So he is just hanging around waiting for a guy big enough that he could fit into his clothes so he could kill him. Even worse the 70s soundtrack continues in the modern day while they torture us with Rush music for no reason. It would've made total sense if he killed a delivery driver who just happened to pull up to the asylum, in a wrong place wrong time scenario. Then him having changed would've made an escape more plausible. He could've even his in the truck until he pulled out of the gate and he could've sprung up from the backseat for a quick scare and finished him off easily and taken the jumpsuit. Or just have Kendall's character bigger. Instead we get the third scene in a bathroom, not to subtly showing us the film knows where the film belongs. It's violent for violence sake and filled with more gross toiler humor once again. Yawn.
    We are finally introduced to Laurie and her family, which seems completely normal except Laurie jokes about and old man touching her sexually and mom doesn't want to know about it. She should be worried. Laurie saying that must make reference to the guy being known for something like that otherwise it wouldn't work for her to say it. In the original she is even more graphic. Then it quickly becomes an excuse to get Laurie to go to the Myers house. It seems implied that her dad is a realtor and that someone is looking to buy the house or it's up for sale. So, since no one lives there, why would they be putting papers through a mail slot? Why wouldn't he mail it give it to the people in person. Who is getting the paperwork? Certainly not the buyers, it couldn't have been sold as Bob says later the price is reduced. Who is the seller then? Since it's been empty for so long it's probably owned by a bank and that means no bankers would be coming in there. And if it's so important, then sticking it through the mail slot wouldn't keep it safe at all. As we see later it's a known party house with no security at all, not even a lock on the door. Lynda and Bob just walk in. Once again a chance for a scare, this is supposed to be a horror film, is wasted by Having Michael on the other side of the door. When Laurie is joking about someone pulling the mail, why not have Michael pull the mail to scare her and Tommy wouldn't have believed her anyway. And what's with Tommy following her around? Who wants to follow their babysitter? Plus later he says again and again he doesn't like girls, yet here is running right to a girl with his goofy questions. She obviously doesn't care about his subject and he should already know this since she's babysat for him before. Originally this scene is one of the most important of the film and explains why she's putting the mail there. Michael picks up the mails and smells it. He recognizes Laurie's scent as the last one he ever smelled before he was locked up and this is how he found her and he moves quickly to catch her. He might even think by her putting the envelope in the slot she was trying to contact him.
    Before she arrives he tears up the floorboards to find the old knife and mask. So if he thought he didn't do the crimes, why would he hide a murder weapon? Who is it he came there to kill? There is no one around that he interacted with 15 years earlier. We are supposed to believe that for some reason the house is a total shambles like it was abandoned for 80 years instead of 15, yet the knife isn't rusted and useless and even better, the mask has only a few Frankenstein like scar wounds. I had a mask just like that with hair that wasn't even that old sitting in a box for a few years in a basement and it folded over on itself and melted together from the heat of being packed away. I pulled it apart and it flaked and shredded. Yet his is from the 70s material, stayed there 5 times as long and remained in one piece.
At school the interaction between the girls is fine. Laurie has every right to think she will get in trouble if Annie dumps Lindsey off so she can go out and have sex. What is the backup plan? How are they going to cover for her? Even the kid knows she's having sex. Of course one of the kids would tell their parents something especially since neither kid wants to be with the other. What are they going to say that Annie had to go do something quick and would be right back? Lindsey would just say Paul came over. And since when do parents disappear on Halloween? Anyone with kids is gong to be taking their kids out for candy, there's no way they would be able to get out of that. In the original Michael is much closer and more in scale. But they re filmed it so he's behind a tree looking more massive and out of place.
    Loomis arrives and we get Udo's only scene and Clint Howard's second tiny scene. Both of them got robbed because they had more scenes including talking to the press about not releasing Michael and cutting funds for his care, thereby ending their relationship. Loomis is furious at them and warned them of this and makes a speech at all the had to do was lock him up and let him die and they couldn't even do that. Instead they are relegated to puppets. What do we do? Yeah, what do we do? Like the audience even Loomis can't believe how stupid they are and tells them to call the police, though there's no indication that they do so. They can't even imagine where he is going and Loomis is right to think they are in denial, but they aren't, they are just idiots. The only place he's even known is home. Where else would he go? What they should've asked was why since he had nothing there. All this is so different from what was originally filmed. It made so much more sense that Loomis told them he would take care of it. Now it is they who are covering things up and Loomis who is telling them not to.
    Then we get Lynda's big scene, but it's after the fact. It would've been more fun to see her go toe to toe with the coach then hear her explain it. Since she's the head cheerleader of course she's presented as the bitch and the slut. Another quick scene was cut of her yelling at two girls who laughed at her and pouring a drink on them. It shows more how she thinks she can get away with anything because of her popularity. It makes little sense that she would be friends with Laurie though because she is a tomboy, not a cheerleader and doesn't even have a boyfriend. They are really polar opposites and in high school people don't leave their little cliques. Then we get another cliché that she can do whatever she wants since her parents are divorced. Then there finally an in joke when she says totally a few times as a nod to the original films language of the 70s. It's subtle enough that it works. If she had said it any more it would've gotten tiresome fast. She did in the original cut, so that was good that it was trimmed.
    On the way home they are just being girls and the scene works nicely even when Michael is staring at them from across the street. The two more experienced girls blow it off with no concern like typical teenagers, thinking nothing of it and feeling invincible. For some reason the Sheriff pulls up so Lynda can goof on him and Annie wants a ride. Why would she want to be with her dad over her friends? This was a newer scene and adds nothing except to make Lynda more of a pervert and proving she's a slut. In the original there was a conversation about a new French teacher she had the hots for. I guess they wanted to say she liked older men.
    Then comes a new cemetery scene. Originally Grant is patrolling in his truck with his dog saying crazy stuff and spots Michael stealing his family tombstone. He tries to stop him and Michael lifts him up in the air and kills him. Then the police are called by nightfall, the sheriff is there and when Loomis shows up in town and it's obvious that Myers has returned and it flows smoothly. Lee is also sarcastic about his book and tries to blow him off. Loomis has better lines about death coming to his little town. The scene with Grant was cut very early because in the original version we just see Michael stealing the tombstone. Now Grant is gone and Chester is in. The whole scene no longer makes sense. Why would the first thing Loomis does when coming into town be to go to the cemetery? Coming there because that's where the sheriff is at the time makes sense. So how would this conversation go? Loomis says he's from out of town looking for the Myers grave? We don't even know exactly whose grave it is because it just read Myers - is it the mom's or the sisters? And how the hell could some poor trash family afford a fancy carved cross shape stone that weighs a ton as Lee describes it? It would cost a small fortune. The gravekeeper says he remembers it like it was yesterday, but doesn't know who Loomis is and isn't sure where the stone it. For some reason Michael left a coyote skin in place of the tombstone? What does that mean? Was it his dinner? The whole scene turns out to be a complete mystery since Loomis doesn't say why he's there and just says he thinks he knows what grave that was when he really doesn't. At least there is where one of the 3 funny lines takes place when he compliments himself saying how good his book is. So out of the three versions of the scene that were filmed, we get the worst one.
    From one ridiculous scene to another we get the typical teenagers go drink, screw and get killed scenario. In his Mtv interview Rob says he hates those kinds of movies, but he went and made one anyway. The real reason why this scene is so awful is they just drive right up to a house on a crowded block that has been abandoned for 15 years, park right out in the open in the driveway and just walk right in the front door!? What a joke. It would be so painfully obvious and any of the neighbors would easily see them and call the police. They needed to park around the corner, walk and sneak in a back window so no one would know they were there. In the original they are just seen walking in and we only learn later about the van. Even worse they go upstairs with 2 beers so they can run out right away. This is to set up the obvious murder of Bob who goes all the way outside to the cooler to get more beers. Even that isn't unbelievable enough, he has to fish around in the cooler because for some reason they also put all their empties in there too. Right. Originally this is where Bob was killed, then it was refilmed to match the 1978 film for some reason. Bob's dialog is weird and confusing too. She can't believe they are trying to sell the place. I can't either since it's literally falling apart and rotting from all sides. It would have to be bulldozed. But it is strong enough for them to climb the stairs even though everything else has holes in it. Bob says we can always find somewhere else to party, but after they had sex he asks how she rated him. If they've been together for so long since this isn't the first time they've gone there and why is he asking to be rated? Maybe if it was their first time? This doesn't make sense since there no preamble, they just had sex, it wasn't like she said let's go all the way. This suddenly makes it seem like they weren't together before when it's obvious they have been together. When Lynda pulls her new cellphone out then we know it's a lot more modern day then they let on too, even though Laurie answers on an old phone with the curly cord. This is also a new scene that dates the film to modern day and wasn't needed. More bad dialog when Lynda has to call Laurie because it's been bugging her all day that Annie called her a slut, even though she was just screwing some dopey guy which proves it. Then she says she doesn't care what Annie thinks anyway!? What??
    The only cool touch is The Misfits Halloween II plays during it which was added after the original. Then we are supposed to believe some radio station is actually playing it, it's not on CD as Lynda turns the channel to change it. The only stations that come in on lame portable radios are big ones AKA mainstream slop and would never be playing an old punk song even if it was holiday oriented. Michael then carries her clean naked body away. How was she killed so cleanly? It was hard to tell, possibly he broke her neck, again out of character for him.
    Then we get a sloppy scene of Loomis buying a gun that is also a reshoot. It wasn't in the original because why do we need to see Loomis buy a gun? It just slows things down Either they don't have the Brady Bill in this state or Loomis has a gun permit. Either way this is also poorly written. If he has no permit, how can he just casually buy a gun and bullets? If he has a permit, then he would've already had a gun and could've just brought it. Why wouldn't he have gotten the bigger gun that Derek suggested? He just says something like wrap it up I'm in a hurry? Wrap up a gun? Wouldn't he just stick it in a holster or his pocket? Why would he take time to box it up or anything? Why isn't the guy so suspicious about this stranger and why he's in such a hurry? Then the one chance for a payoff just dies. He asks Loomis what is he hunting and the scene ends! He could've said wabbits, the boogeyman or even better tell the truth - Michael Myers escaped since he was the one who wanted the truth out. Derek here is played by Mickey Dolenz from the Monkees and looks as far from the clean cut days of the 60s as humanly possible. Once again another cult actor who isn't given anything to do.
    Then we see Laurie at home with her family in a nice little scene that also has odd dialog. There is some argument about Laurie saying she never dressed up like a princess and her mom insisting she did. Is this trying to build up her tomboy status? Then there's a really dopey line about them acting surprised when Annie says her dad is same as always. They act like she is hiding something, but Laurie just saw him, so it makes no sense. This is because this part was also reshot and added. Once again Rob adds something useless instead of using the time explaining something important.
    We are also supposed to be that in this packed community with houses one on top of another that they only got 2 kids come to the door all night, hell the streets are just empty. So much so that at least two other parents have gone out for the evening and need babysitters. Then Laurie's mom gets brutally killed for no real reason. If Michael just wanted Laurie he didn't need to kill her parents. This scene was part of the reshoots. In interviews before Rob said he didn't want gore, but he went out of his way to add more. Originally the scene was done better with Michael approaching the house and scaring Mason before killing him, finally playing of the fact that you can get away with more on Halloween. The gore is much less and his mom is shown before she's killed and it seemed like he was looking for a clue on Laurie.
    We see Tommy and Lindsay in costume, but no one takes them trick or treating. Certainly if their parents were mysteriously busy with something else then the sitters should've done it, but they don't. If they already had, then they should've ditched their costumes and been digging into the candy. Tommy then repeats his questioning about the boogeyman, which doesn't add anything. Why not talk about the real boogeyman - Michael. Surely the town hasn't forgotten about him and he's become the thing of legend. Laurie has a good line when she's tickling him and then says hold that thought when she answers the phone. It's very casual and natural. Tommy then says how he hates girls, yet all we've seen him do is run after Laurie like he has a crush on her.
    When Annie is alone with Lindsey she shows she's an annoying bitch like Lynda. How does Annie think that is helping her cause to sneak around? Lindsey would own her. Annie would have to bribe her pretty hard to make sure she didn't blab about her getting dumped at Tommy's house. Once again another nice scene was cut from the original. Michael comes up like he's going to kill her, but then is distracted by the Thing from another World on TV, triggering memories from his childhood. Without this, it just looks like we are hit over the head with this film for no reason. It totally erases the payoff and only took seconds, so why cut it?
    Loomis and the sheriff finally meet. He's not impressed about a missing tombstone and gives such a lame excuse that it would be a Halloween prank and they'll return it tomorrow. Right, all crimes are people just taking something for a day, then putting it right back. Loomis tries to claim Michael carried away a one ton tombstone on his own which is also lame. After all we've seen Michael is just a regular schmuck with no supernatural powers or anything, so there is no way he could've lifted it. How could he have just carted it out in the middle of the day anyway? Why wouldn't at least the gravekeeper see him? Instead of meeting at the graveyard like in the original where an important event took place. Now they meet at a diner which adds nothing to the story and slows it down some more.
    Lindsey reveals even at her young age she knows what Annie is up to. She seems a little young and if Annie is doing such a lame job of hiding what she's doing she might as well just had Paul sneak in the house and go upstairs with him while Lindsey watched TV. She wouldn't have noticed or cared and it would've saved a lot of trouble. Laurie said Lindsey was Tommy's girlfriend, now Annie says Laurie is her girlfriend and he says he hates girls again. So once again tired, repeated lines. How about mixing it up? Then Annie pretends to hump Laurie in front of the kids making all kinds of moaning noises. It seems Rob thinks it's funny to have all kinds of sex talk and sexual innuendo in front of kids. Maybe it has to do with the fact he has no kids or isn't around them? Everything that is supposed to be funny is sex or toilet stuff. Annie is trying to fix her up, but somehow the best she can get is someone who is semi-retarded? There is nothing wrong with her looks, so it is unbelievable that she would have to settle for a loser. Some sort of line about saying she was an outcast might've added a little credibility, but there is no real development of her character in this way. She's able to be best friends with two of the most popular girls in school somehow, but has never had a boyfriend? Lame.
    The Sheriff admits he read his book and doesn't like him. Here's Loomis's big chance to win the sheriff over and say something brilliant. What does he say? He just wants him to look at the cover of his book. Wow, that'll win him over. If he's read the book and has it on his desk then he's probably seen the cover 100s of times. What good is looking at it again? He just says Michael is back for his sister and without any proof or knowing what he's up to suddenly the sheriff wants to listen to him? He said nothing inspiring or interesting and just on his hunch and the fact the Strode's don't answer their phone he's ready to run out and believe him. Originally Lee reveals why he was trying to get rid of Loomis, he lied about not reading his book, then admits he has and that's why he doesn't like him. When he accused Loomis of profiting off the blood of the town he strongly objects, making him much more sympathetic. Once again taking these lines out make Loomis much more of a jerk instead of a better character. Why wouldn't Loomis know what Michael wanted with Laurie after seeing him carrying the picture of him around. He knows he didn't want to kill her since he could've when he was 10. How did he know he was still in town? No one knew where she was.
    For the third time Tommy is asking about the boogeyman. That's all he does. We already know he is real and running around town, so why keep having a kid talk about it a fake one over and over when it adds nothing? At least it could be used for a quick scare, but it isn't.
Then it's time for bitchy teenage naked slut murder number 2. She makes a point to say not to ruin her clothes because they are expensive. Then why wear them? She set up this whole rendezvous, why not wear something simple with easy access? Then he says he's inside her, but when she jumps off the couch she's clothed from the waist down, so that doesn't add up. Rob said he didn't like Michael killing people at random, mostly babysitters in the first film, so what is the point of trying to kill these two? It only slows things down and alerts Laurie to his presence. It's just the same thing.
    The sheriff explains how Laurie is really Michael's sister, but somehow he covered this fact up from the entire town just by leaving it out of his report!? Laurie would've been around 2 years old, so it wasn't like people didn't know she existed. With the most infamous mother in a small town everyone would know about her. So he would just explain that away how? The baby was gone, who knows where, case closed. Then the kids should be telling stories of the missing baby returning for revenge, there's a real legend in their midst. And if he just dropped the baby off anonymously at the hospital, then how would he know that Mason got her? No one could call him. She would be given to an orphanage, so he could he be positive is was the same kid? Or is it that when Mason got her he recognized a kid he saw for a minute in the dark he whisked away all those months later? Maybe she was the only orphan in the whole state at the time. Of course this also leads to the biggest question of all. How the hell would Michael know his sister was alive and where to find her if only one person know the truth? He would have no idea what she looked like, but somehow knows just by looking at her and knows right where she would be. Rob said he hated coincidences in the original film, yet he doesn't even do that, Michael just shows up and finds her because he just knows from sitting in a cell for 15 years. Of course a great scene in the original explained so nicely, but Rob second guessed himself and chose wrong.
    When Laurie returns Lindsey for some reason Michael spent too much time to hang Paul up by a rope when he was already dead and put a pumpkin over his head, yet couldn't be bothered to finish Annie off?! What is the point of him wasting time messing with Paul who is a nothing character to the plot? He would've had to have found a rope, hung him up, tied him off and gotten a pumpkin big enough and cut a hole large enough to slip it over his head, for what purpose? One nice shot is Michael is behind the front door and slowly closes it.
    Now when Laurie calls 911 she gives her name and the address. If they traced the phone it would be to Lindsey's house, yet the sheriff asks who called it like he knew it would be someone else. When you call they say 911 what's your emergency. What is she doing there, what happened. In the original cut the operator tells the sheriff who called, so he doesn't have to ask. Then the sheriff of the small town who is already speeding to the scene says it's 10 minutes away? How could that possibly be when they are speeding through a small town with no traffic? The police station is that far from town?
    Laurie hurts her leg somehow that isn't clear and Michael is right behind her, yet she's able to hobble all the way across the street and Michael can't catch up to her. Then she has to pound on the door and scream again and again when Tommy is supposed to be waiting for her. This is excessive. Of course as soon as she gets in Michael suddenly appears and smashes through. Once again the scene was cut where Michael was right behind her so it was more tense and made more sense. Then for the fourth time we see a bathroom and they hide in the tub like that would be such a great hiding place. Michael smashed his way through the thick front door, so the only door upstairs that is locked and is thinner wouldn't do much to stop him. In the originally cut he has more personality turning his head when he's interested in something and is seen going up the stairs right away. Once again anything that gave Michael or Loomis depth was taken out.
    When the police arrive they conveniently go right to Tommy's house instead of Lindsey's house which is where the 911 call directed them to. Somehow the cops get to the bathroom door before Michael who was right there and don't run into the 7 foot man while searching the house. Somehow he was able to hide nearby. So instead of taking Laurie and being gone, a couple more have to get killed. Michael takes his first bullet wound, but it doesn't slow him down. The scene where he gets Laurie is probably the worst camerawork I've ever seen. Rob thinks an action scene means a blur of chaos, so I really couldn't see what happened. Originally he is seen carrying her away as the sheriff arrives giving the indication she could be dead.
    When the sheriff arrives he goes to the correct house and finds his daughter. Then he just disappears for the rest of the film. He has no involvement trying to stop Michael. If Loomis didn't do it then Michael would've just gotten away since no more cops were around.
Tommy and Lindsey reveal to Loomis where Michael is so he takes off not waiting for the sheriff and leaving them to wait by the ambulance. If the kids weren't traumatized now, they're going to see a battered, bloody near dead Annie in a minute. He runs from where they came from on foot.
    Somehow Michael has this cage setup in the basement of his old house with a chain link fenced in area. I'm not sure if he made it or how it came to be. Did Ronnie put the kids down there when they were bad? It doesn't make sense. He has Lynda laid out naked in front of the Myers tombstone. What is the point of that? Why go through all the trouble to have this shrine in the basement anyway? He goes through all this trouble to steal a massive tombstone and kill a girl cleanly so he can lay her in front of it. Once again he's decorating the are with bodies wasting time that should've been spent just going right for Laurie. In the hospital Michael acted like they weren't dead and he didn't kill them, yet this shows he knew she was dead since he found the tombstone right away with no problem. Was there a website with graveyards of the infamous that led him there or what?
    Then the scene which should be the heart of the movie arrives, but instead it shows the film has no heart. Michael finally reaches out to Laurie by taking off the mask and showing the picture to Laurie. Of course she doesn't understand, who would? Then Rob blows his big chance to show something to explain all this killing, show Michael has a soul after all, but he does nothing. OK, Michael could talk, he knows how to, it certainly would've been a shock if he did, it would've been more scary than anything in the film. He stopped talking since he would never be free, but now he's free, so why not talk? But since he stopped talking, the simplest thing could've made this a 'Luke, I am your father moment." All he had to do was point to the boy, then to himself. Then point to the baby and point to Laurie. Then have her realize it, freak out and reject him. She could say she would never want to be related to a creature as ugly has him. Stab him with her words instead of a knife. In the original it was done better. Michael hands her the picture, she takes it, doesn't understand, then he takes off the mask, hoping she would recognize him. Instead of that we get another chase and Michael exploding through walls testing the upper ranges of the speakers in the theater. Super loud isn't scary, it's just loud.
    Because it is dark, Laurie can't see the large inground pool in the back yard. Now with a house so infamous she should've been aware it was there, but the darkness and fear could've screwed her up. The real problem I have is that how would some trashy family with no money have afforded such a large pool like this. It was no simple all one level of depth either, it had a huge deep end in a round shape, it looked as deep as a commercial pool, certainly not something a regular house would have. So she's trapped in the deep end because and ladders would be long gone and too far up if they weren't with Michael approaching from the shallow end. Somehow Loomis didn't look for her in Tommy's house since that is where he was last seen and is able to find them in the blackness since there would be no lights back there and he's never been there before. I guess he heard the volume in the theater too. He is also able to shoot him without missing three times. This would be incredibly dangerous because if he missed or the bullets went through him Laurie would've been easily hit.
    Then we learn that now Loomis has stolen the police car. Originally he was running over to the house, somehow he went back for the car. This would've made it harder to hear anything over the sounds of the car. When they left Michael he was face down in the pool, now seconds later he is right on top of them. They talk for a few seconds and then she smashes the window and pulls her out. In the original version Loomis gives the same speech about how he's the one who failed him and not her. He thinks about it as the police arrive. Loomis tells them he can handle this and pleads with Michael who finally lets her go. The sheriff is bent on revenge for what he did to his daughter that he opens fire and now an army of cops are around who also open fire, hitting Michael many times until he goes down. Loomis yells for them to stop and isn't happy about it and then goes over to Michael all sad when he checks him. Then we hear the tape from the sanitarium when Loomis first talked to Michael. The camera pulls up from them. It is touching and shows Michael's humanity referencing who he was and the relationship with Loomis. The End. This version is so much better because the sheriff comes back and his hatred and desire for revenge cause Michael to die. Michael shows he really doesn't want to hurt Laurie and there is a bond with him and Loomis after all, instead of the nothing we got from them in the final version.
    In the new ending Michael takes Laurie inside the house and lets her go as he Loomis makes his speech. Then he presumably kills Loomis by gouging his eyes face and dragging him along. Where is he dragging him too? Making another dead body creation? At least if he wanted to do something cool and in character he couldn't cut his skin off and made a mask out of it. Then there is no more dialog for the rest of the film, just Laurie's screams. It seems like Michael is almost as interested in destroying the house as he is killing Laurie. What I don't understand is how little Laurie is able to just pop up into the attic so quick and easy, yet Michael can't do it? He's over 7 feet tall and could easily touch the ceiling and if he jumped he could just pull himself up. At least you can tell they are related since she keeps getting pounded and keeps going. She falls through the floor and is able to get right up. He finally shows some speed and rushes her so she can't shoot him and they go off the balcony, yet with this massive man crashing on her into the ground she isn't knocked out, but he is. Instead of a touching, more human ending with Loomis genuinely sad at Michael getting killed, this is just screaming, blood and Michael shot in the face.
    When people heard Tyler was playing Michael they were upset at how tall he was, but that wasn't a problem. It looked fine and he didn't even look that huge most of the time. Some people are tall, some aren't. When Michael was 10 and running through the hall of his school he seemed tall for his age.
    The problem is horror movies are supposed to be funny and scary. This film is neither. It is nothing, totally empty. I left the theater felling completely ripped off for the actors and the fans. There was nothing to like. All I felt was some pain in my eyes from the awful camerawork.
    When I saw it early on the first day the crowd was a weird mix from ages 5 to 90. I have no idea what most of them were thinking, but I was thinking that it was child abuse to bring a 5 year old. Since the kid was a row behind me I would watch him during the worst dialog and nudity and he just stared wide eyes and his dad didn't care. He didn't try to cover his face or anything Then it got worse when I heard him say 'that's not Michael Myers' when he first sees the mask or 'that was in the original.' So the kid knew all about the 1978 film, sick stuff. During some of the violent scenes he was up in the aisle imitating them. After the dad stopped me and said the original was better. I asked him if his son's name was Michael because it seems like he was a serial killer in training but it went over his head like I'm sure most things do.
    A minor thing is the film was listed as 109 minutes, but really was closer to 100. The original print was listed at 105 minutes (no credits), so I don't know where this number comes from unless there was 9 minutes worth of credits. I left after the old film footage which was a couple of minutes in.
    So now I have tons of stuff still to post about a film that was massacred by the people who created it. If there wasn't a better version out there, I would be so bitter about continuing to post about the film. The version everyone in the theater sees I hate, but the version that should've been I liked. I think someone high up at Dimension felt the same way because the original film that was leaked is perfect quality with all the music, titles, everything, it is not some unfinished version or cheap bootleg. It's labeled a workprint, but that's misleading because it's complete with everything but the end credits.
    All the stuff that was left out was very important to the pilot, all the reshoots were unnecessary and added nothing except making more questions. It could've been a good film, in fact it was until it got butchered in the final cut. All we can hope for is a restored director's cut DVD that puts back in all the important scenes and the crazy stuff Malcolm was doing to salvage it. If they don't do that then at least include all the deleted scenes and a gag reel. The worst crime of all is that it makes Malcolm look bad when he doesn't deserve it and that's unforgivable. So many of the deleted scenes were of Malcolm and were absolutely his best stuff especially the garden, the insecurity after the lecture and the monkeyhouse & tameness of the wolf lines. All of these great, touching scenes that advanced the plot an deepened the characters were jettisoned. I have never been more disappointed in a film, what's worse is there were so many things filmed that would've made it better and made more sense, but Rob got scared of the test audience or something and massacred it.

Rating: The final version 1.5/10
The original version 6.5/10

Articles are archived, the rest © 2006-08 Alex D. Thrawn for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net