Donny Broussard Reviews: “Halloween” 3-Disc Unrated Collector’s Edition DVD
The Flick
When the marketing campaign for a film is built around the phrase, ‘Reinventing a legend’ the director that is charged with this reinvention has a lot to worry about. With only two films behind him, Zombie has proven to the viewing public that he has what it takes to lead a major flick into the trenches of success. That’s why when I heard that he would be the guy in charge of waking up one of my favorite horror icons I was actually excited.
Not long after I heard that ‘Halloween’ was getting a facelift and my favorite rock-star-turned-filmmaker was going to be the man bringing it to life I read a terrible review of an early draft of Zombies script on AICN. I started to get a little nervous at this point, but decided to ignore what I’d read and reserve my judgment until the flick was released.
Then, when news that a work print of the film had leaked was all over the internet, I read everything I could get my grubby paws on and at the end of the day was still pretty excited about what I’d heard was in the work print, and that is exactly why after watching the flick today I was a little disappointed.
The film starts off at the Meyers household where we get our first glimpse of young Michael, and we are treated to some tasty dialogue from William Forsythe. Then young Michael (Daeg Faerch) heads off to school where a bully picks him on and after a fight ends up in the principal’s office. The principal along with Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) who is called to consult with Mike’s mom after a bag containing a dead cat and various pictures of dead animals is found her boy’s locker.
After a scene that will make every kid that has ever bullied someone squirm in their seats Mike puts on his clown mask and hacks, beats, and chops up members of his family and is then put into an mental institution. In the hospital Mike starts out optimistic but soon shifts into a darker place and stops talking to everyone including Dr. Loomis.
The third act of is set back in Mike’s home town of Haddonfield where he is trying to find his sister, the only member of his family besides his mother that he loved. This is where the film lost me. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as strong as the fist and second act. The first half of the flick had Zombie written all over it, but once Mike puts on the famous mask and overalls the film flipped on the flux compassitor and traveled back in time smack dab into Carpenter’s film. Now, there are some pretty big differences (blood & boobs) but instead of following the path he set with the beginning of the film he retread a lot of the same ground Carpenter did in the original. I can’t wait to see if a director’s cut is released with the ending that was supposed to be in the work print as well as the rape scene that got cut out.
The film itself looked fantastic, it had a really nostalgic feel to it. I could almost smell the candy corn and seeing the old jack-o-lantern candy holders brought back some awesome memories from my childhood. The soundtrack was also top notch and featured some great music from the 70′s and Tyler Bates’ take on the theme song worked well also.
Zombie is one of my favorite new directors and this film only solidified my faith in his abilities. He chose a cast that was stellar; hell Daeg Faerch should win an Oscar for his amazing performance as young Michael, and he shot a beautifully brutal film. My only complaint is that the end of the film felt like an ending that was tagged on to make a studio suit happy. However I did enjoy seeing Danielle Harris’s boobs and listening to her talk dirty was also a treat.
This cut of the flick isn’t all that different from the original, but the differences are enough to make me enjoy Zombies director’s cut more than the theatrical. Overall I think Zombie did a good job with the tools he was given. So if you haven’t seen Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween’ yet, then get your ass into the nearest video store and pick this one up.
The DVD
Disc One
Unrated Director’s Cut – I really dug this cut of the flick. It was better than the cut that made it’s way onto theatre screens, although I actually enjoyed the theatrical cut as well. (Read above for a review of the theatrical cut)
Commentary with Rob Zombie – If your a regular reader of my work, you know that I don’t care for commentary tracks, but I do care for Rob Zombie’s commentary tracks. The guy is insightful, and really knows his shit about movies, this feature is worth the listen.
Disc Two
Deleted Scenes – These usually seem like filler for the special features section, but there are a few really cool scenes on here that I wish would have made it into the film.
Alternate Ending with Optional Commentary – Actually I dig the alternate ending. Maybe one day someone will release a version of the flick with this ending and some of the deleted scenes. If that day comes I’ll drop the coin to get my hands on it.
Bloopers – This is an okay feature, but definitely not my favorite.
The Many Masks of Michael Myers – This is a cool feature that focuses on the masks that Michael makes. Zombie is an amazing artist, and the masks are very cool, so don’t skip this feature.
Re-Imagining Halloween – Rob talks about his vision for Halloween.
Meet the Cast - This one is self explanatory, and I kinda fast forwarded through it.
Casting Sessions – Really Cool!
Scout Taylor-Compton Screen Test - Scout Taylor-Compton’s session is bad ass.
Trailer – Cool trailer, but we’ve all seen it before.
Disc Three
Michael Lives: The making of Halloween – This is by far the most awesome documentary I’ve ever seen on a set of extras. At 41/2 hours the disc is worth the price for this feature alone. Zombie lets us view his process, and by process I mean every part of his filmmaking process. It’s like film school on DVD! Zombie really knows what he’s doing and it shows on this doc, I for one can’t wait to see what he does next.
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