DVD Corner: Halloween Greg Kaczynski

In a post-9/11 world of random shootings and unending war, it seems that current horror cinema wants to give viewers reasons why bad things happen. Last year saw the (needless and insulting) origin of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Leatherface, and Rob Zombie’s remake of the 1978 John Carpenter classic Halloween attempts to do the same, but actually succeeds.

The basic story is about Michael Myers, a disturbed kid from an abusive, fractured family: the stepfather, Ronnie (William Forsythe), is an alcoholic, his mother Deborah (Sheri Moon Zombie) a stripper and his older sister (Hanna Hall) is kind of a slut. Daeg Faerch plays the young Myers who spends his days torturing animals and getting picked on at school, and he plays him a little too well. You get the feeling that something just isn’t right with him and that if you were locked in a room alone together, it could be more than a bit uncomfortable. Because of problems at school, Deborah is advised by the principal to work with a professional psychologist, Dr. Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell).

Shortly after Dr. Loomis is introduced, Michael snaps and massacres the bully and everyone in his house, save for his baby sister. His mother comes home to find him on the doorstep, calmly cradling the baby, displaying no evidence of the carnage left within their home.

Michael is committed to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium where Dr. Loomis works with him over the next 17 years. At the end of those years, Loomis, who feels like he’s wasted his life on the Myers case, leaves him behind.

In a scene specific to the unrated director’s cut, a bully guard and his cousin push Michael too far, he kills them and escapes Smith’s Grove to return home and find his baby sister. This is the eve of Halloween.

The second half of the film is classic slasher territory. Teenagers having sex, gory kills, naïve cops…but Zombie pulls it off with stylistic realism. His trademark dirty ’70s look ironically shines here, and he ramps up the suspense with Myers’ hulking, masked figure standing silently near many of his victims with them not even knowing he’s there.

The two parts--really, two different styles of film--work. The end product is a terrifying, intense slasher film with a bad guy who actually emanates pathos. The journey of the child Myers to the adult killer Myers is full of strife and confusion. Even though the kid is totally creepy, knowing his background one can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking or even feeling as he stalks the streets of Haddonfield as an adult.

The film transfer on the DVD is beautiful and the sound design delightfully overwhelming; it’s clear that Zombie knows what he’s doing and is a true auteur in all aspects of his work. The commentary reinforces that as he explains many of the technical aspects of the special effects, the multiple sets, draining color from certain scenes and connections to the original movie, and it’s clear while listening to his intelligent, sober commentary that he is a perfectionist and cares about every tiny detail. Having Zombie along as a guide is quite satisfying and works as a nice companion to the film.

The unrated DVD (Dimension Home Entertainment, MSRP: $29.95) comes with a special second disc which contains over an-hour-and-a-half of bonus material, about half of which is truly quality. There is the batch of deleted scenes (22 minutes worth with optional Zombie commentary) which are generally uninteresting with the exceptions of a cut Adrienne Barbeau scene and another with parole officers talking. There’s a lot of Loomis and Deborah walking around and some bits that tie things together a little nicer, but nothing astounding.

The alternate ending (3:47) is interesting, specifically with Zombie’s commentary.

“The Many Masks of Michael Myers” (6:48) and “Re-Imagining Halloween” (19:04) are both worth the time to watch as they share a little more about the background of the film, the process and the techniques used. One of the more interesting facts dropped during the “Re-Imagining” segment is that original Halloween director John Carpenter had nothing creatively to do with this film.

The second half of the bonus features begins to drag a bit as viewers get to “Meet The Cast” (18:17) where many of the actors talk about working on the film or how they got involved; it absolutely could have been half the length it is. Then there’s “Casting Sessions” (29:52), the longest of the special features and also the most mind-numbingly boring. It rarely makes sense to have casting sessions as a special feature unless something truly outlandish happens during the reads. These auditions are exactly how one would expect, with one very minor exception of Skyler Gisondo, who plays Tommy, the kid who Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) babysits, reading as young Michael Myers. That footage is particularly interesting after watching Faerch’s audition, because then Faerch’s inherent intensity is truly appreciated.

Of course there’s the bevy of previews, the theatrical trailer and a screen test of Taylor-Compton (7:48): ho-hum.

However, there is one special feature that stands out as a favorite: the bloopers (10:17). Yes, bloopers are standard and predictable, but this is a horror film, a really intense horror film, and to see the actors losing it and cracking up in the middle of such heavy situations is strangely satisfying. Although watching McDowell constantly trying to make everyone break does get a little tiring.

All in all, this unrated two-disc set of Halloween is quite the catch. The movie is terrifying and original enough to stand on its own alongside the original. There’s some minor overacting at the top of the film but, overall, it’s subtle, realistic and powerful. Rob Zombie knows how to turn the uncomfortable dial up and make a genuinely disturbing horror film. It’s good to see a filmmaker who still remembers why horror films are called horror films and puts a solid craft of storytelling and vision behind it all.

Halloween is now available on DVD.