Hollywood has given second chances to many movies that were minor successes. They also take a franchise that had a huge following a huge fan base and they utterly destroy it. Take Rob Zombie's first version of a film classic. He expanded on the story and made it interesting, but in "Halloween II" he just gives us violence for the sake of filling screen time.
Picking up right where the first film left off, Laurie has survived the infamous Halloween massacre, but Michael disappears. Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) struggles to come to terms with her dark past, or at least to try to forget it. But the missing and thought dead Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) has other plans, and as the anniversary approaches, he returns once again, with plans for another family reunion that Laurie and Haddonfield, Illinois will never forget. Laurie is taken to a hospital after she supposedly kills the man who was responsible for the deaths of several people and a night of terror.
Where the original took place solely in the hospital, Rob Zombie has totally taken this movie beyond any thing even a novice director could think of. He gives us the standard nudity that is in almost every B horror movie, he gives us the violence of a B horror movie he gives us casting of a B type horror movie, what he doesn't give us is a reason to care about anyone in this B horror movie. Laurie survives a second attempt on her live by Michael and then its a year later. What happens in that year, where does Michael hide, out in plain site?, in barns? that is never revealed.
Michael is troubled by visions of his mother, Deborah Myers (Sheri Moon Zombie) and a younger version of himself (Chase Wright Vanek) these visions drive him to walk back to Haddonfield to find Laurie and bring her home. Along the way Michael encounters three people who take action against him using violence to beat him only because they think he is on their property. Sherman Benny (Duane Whitaker) and Jazlean Benny (Betsy Rue) along with Floyd (Mark Boone Junior) become the first victims of a now enraged Michael Myers. Next to meet their maker by the hands of Michael in a scene that is in the movie to just add to the violence, are night club owner Big Lou (Daniel Roebuck) and Howard (Jeffrey Daniel Phillips) along with the of course needed stripper Wendy Snow (Nicky Whelan) making a complete nuisance of himself is Dr. Samuel Loomis, (Malcolm McDowell) he has written a book on the first nights events, he has become almost as big a whore as many of the films characters are.
There is really nothing in this movie, the violence is graphic and noisy, the kills are onscreen but lack a total regard for what it is we want to see, they are shown from a distance and behind closed doors, we see the aftermath and hear the knife enter the body. If we pay to see the horror on screen then lets SEE the horror on screen. The whole original story is GONE, the first five minutes of the movie takes place in the hospital, only so we can have the onscreen deaths of two characters, Nurse Daniels (Octavia Spencer) and a Night Watchmen, Buddy (Richard Riehle) then its flash forward time. Sheriff Leigh Brackett (Brad Dourif) is back only so we can have the murder of his daughter Annie (Danielle Harris) which true horror fans know happened in the first Halloween, the one by the master John Carpenter.
I give this version of Halloween II a 0 and on my avoidance scale a 4 I can only say this, Rob when you sit down and want to remake another classic, please put the director chair back in the closet. There is nothing in this movie that I could say is worth watching, even the original stuff is not exciting enough, and the idea that everything we sat through may be a figment of a madman's dreams or thoughts, well that is just stupid and I hope that wasn't what you tried to get across.
Halloween II is rated R for Strong Brutal Bloody Violence Throughout, Terror, Disturbing Graphic Images, Language, and Some Crude Sexual Content and Nudity
Running time is 1 hr. 41 mins.
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