Halloween (2007)

First off, I AM giving this a slight recommendation. My stance on the original has been properly established (just read the review in my favorites section). I was originally against the idea of bringing back the original film as a remake, but then I was for this film when I started finding out more about it, then I flip-flopped a few times, then finally saw it. This film is indeed not a remake. Re-imaginging was thrown around as a way to describe it, but I like 'modern interpretation' better. This film, unlike the '78 isn't really scary per se, but believe it or not, it is just as intense, and unnverving- it just happens to be more disturbing, thanks in part to violence and nudity that at times, I thought could have been toned down. That's my biggest complaint with the film is that it's too excessive at times with the brutality and cruelty on display. Normally, I don't mind excessive profanity, but it just seemed overdone here. I'm okay with trying to give a character like Michael a backstory, but Zombie does it by the book and throws in all the cliches he could find. This doesn't make the character remarkable, it just makes him like your average killer. I think I could have cared far more about the remake portion of the film had the characters been made likeable and sympathetic. No one is really all that sympathetic here, so to see them get killed is like watching a generic slasher film, and that's not what made Halloween special to me. Flaws or not, it is all done with great style, and as a film maker, Rob Zombie does improve with each film he makes, however, despite that I do reccomend it, this film, due to the flaws, is a slight step down for him, which is unfortunate. I do reccomend it, but only on two conditions- 1) think of it as a stand alone film not related to anything else, and 2) be warned- the film is over the top. The squemish or those easily offended by vioence, sex, nudity, crude language, and combinations of all of those need not see this.