Minor spoilers ahead...
Well um where do I start? Not exactly sure. How about, first off I am probably the biggest Halloween fan that I know. I have never met somebody that loves the Halloween franchise as much as I do. Not saying that there isn't someone more fanatical about the series than me. I'm just saying I haven't met them yet. So with that being said, I am overly critical of every Halloween that is released. Rob Zombie's Halloween, as stated earlier in my blog, was a decent flick to me. So going in to seeing the sequel had me thinking "can't be too bad". But in a way, it was.
Lets start off with the pros....
I personally like it when a sequel starts off where the first left off. Halloween 2 starts off right after Laurie Strode shoots Michael Myers. From there, she wanders the streets until she is picked up by the police and sent to the hospital. Of course, Michael finds her there and all hell breaks loose. Know this, the hospital scene is the best part of the movie. It had me all hyped up and excited to see what's to come. The way Rob shoots the scene where Michael is stalking Laurie in the rain was fantastic and showed how far Zombie has come as a director. Michael looked menacing and was true to form as he was closing in on a panicked Laurie. Then she wakes up, literally. Yes ladies and gentleman, it was a dream. The best part of the movie was a dream. From there I knew I was going to be in trouble.
One of the horror rules as stated in Scream is that when a sequel is made, you have to up the ante on the brutality and the body count. And boy, did Rob do that. When Michael Myers kills somebody, he doesn't just kill them. He mutilates them. Stabbing over and over again. Sometimes it seemed like he stabbed the same victim 300 times. Not to mention the decapitations where he literally saws a head off. I ate up every bit of it. I always felt Michael deserved to be shown in a little more of a hardcore light. In this aspect, Rob succeeded.
I have stated before that I love Rob's use of familiar songs during scenes. During the hospital scene where Michael is killing nurses, Knights in White Satin by The Moody Blues is playing in the background. It was completely appropriate and helped set the mood for the scene. There is a con to this also but I'll talk about it later. The pros stop here.
The cons...
Rob, as expected, completely rips off another movie. No not Halloween. No not Texas Chainsaw Massacre. But Friday the 13th. He uses the old "dead mother telling me to kill" motivation for Michael the way it has been used forever for Jason. Rob's wife, Sherri Moon Zombie, reprises her role as Michael Myers' mom. It's an obvious attempt by Rob to get his wife work. I understand he loves his wife, but is it really fair for us, the audience, to have to sit through out of place don't make sense scenes. Not to mention that she is the worst actress this side of a Troma film. She appears with a white horse supposedly showing Michael's motivation for killing. Every time she showed up on the screen, everyone in the theater laughed. I'm being serious. The scenes were so out of place that people obviously felt embarrassed they were watching it, so they laughed.
Now, Dr. Loomis returns as a fame seeking attention whore. This was the thing that pissed me off more than anything. For years Dr. Loomis was portrayed by Donald Pleasance as an iconic bad-ass character who was the only person on the planet that wasn't scared of Michael Myers. Alas, this is no more. Malcolm McDowell has been instructed by Rob Zombie to completely tarnish that whole legacy and turn Loomis into a complete asshole and unlikable character. Loomis serves no purpose in this movie. His entire part could've been cut out and you wouldn't have known any difference. Man, me even typing this pisses me off. Donald Pleasance is turning in his grave.
The ending sucked. Zombie tried to make it subliminal and what not but it falls flat. You can tell he didnt put a lot of effort into thinking of a mind blowing ending. I mean, it would've been nice to have a twist or something, but nothing.
This brings me to another con...predictability. There were no scares or jumps. When Michael Myers did jump out, you saw it coming from a mile away. A perfect example, without giving too much away, was Michael jumping out from behind a tree to attack a victim. Seriously, he jumps out from behind a tree. Wow Rob, you put a lot of thought into that one. The whole time I was waiting for a cat to jump out for a cheap scare like in every 80s horror movie.
Which bring me to another issue...no suspense. The movie lacked what Halloween is known for, edge of your seat nail-biting suspense. The only part this was displayed was during the phenomenal hospital scene. After that, it disappears completely. Which is a shame.
Also, the characters are completely unlikeable. Laurie Strode has been turned into a self loathing rebellious party chick?? Are you serious? The whole time I was hoping Michael would get to her and cut her up. She was that annoying. Where's Jamie Lee Curtis when you need her?
Surprisingly, Rob didn't use the Halloween score until the credits. Other than Jaws, the Halloween theme is probably the most recognized theme in the history of movies. And Rob chose to turn his back on it. This may be one of the reasons the movie just wasn't scary. It was brutal but not scary. I would've never expected Rob to not use the theme. Maybe that was his reason for doing so.
Last but not least, Michael Myers is a hobo. He is a full fledged, dog eating, ZZ Top beard having, raggedy hoody wearing hobo. Now this wasn't a HUGE con for me because I understand where Rob was going with this. He was trying to humanize Michael and make him a little bit more realistic. And I totally dig it. But, it was just really weird to see Michael Myers with a beard. He also grunts when he swings his knife now. As petty as that may sound, it was totally strange to see and hear. Just because Michael Myers has always been portrayed as a silent, stalking psychopath. It was just another aspect of Rob trying to make him more human. Maybe I shouldn't have put this in the cons. But I wouldn't put it in the pros either.
Bottom line...the movie fell flat. Personally, I think Rob should study the craft of film making before trying to make another movie. If they ever do make another Halloween, it should be done by someone other than him. I've said all along Rob Zombie the director is completely overrated and Halloween 2 proved my case.
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