My Mission Statement is to bring you positive reviews of movies that I see. There is far too many reviewers out there that Have nothing nice to say about the films that they review. I am here to help you find a movie that you will like and not to tell you what not to see.
Well Kiddies we are in full swing this Halloween season with the release of my first narrative film in 7 years as well as my work with HauntShooter this season with Anjanette and Bri.
Friday night after the release of All Holliw's Eve Anjanette and headed out to Grand Prairie and the Strangling Brothers Haunted Circus which was awesome and the footage looks great with all the goings on at this haunt.
The footage will be uploaded soon
Saturday Bri and I hit the road to Amarillo to shoot the Haunt located at the Big Texan Steak Ranch and were greeted with some of the best hospitality and Food at one of Texas' best attractions.
That footage will be edited and uploaded soon as well.
During this busy weekend I still made the time to head out to the Alamo Drafthouse to enjoy a good Pumpking Ale and check out a screening of the new Tales of Halloween.
I have been looking forward to this film for quite some time while hearing about it in the Newsfeeds with the Buzz in the inner circles. This Flick was well worth the Hype.
An Anthology film taking place on Halloween night in an unnamed town Tales of Halloween features 10 Short Films from some of the top genre filmakers in the business today. They refer to themselves as The October Sociaty.
Adrianne Barbeau plays our friendly narrator as a radio DJ talking to listeners channeling her character from The Fog. The film features tales ranging from a Halloween Legend of Sweet Tooth, A tale of feuding neighbors, a child running amock with the Devil and Killer Pumpkins.
With the lack of a wraparound the stories are surprisingly smooth in the transitions with graphics informing us of the new story. I am amazed that the films all maintain the same look with the range of talent used to combine in the film
Many other Genre Veterans also make appearences in the flick. Adam Green, Lynn Shaye, Kristina Klebe, John Landis, Barry Bostwick and Barbara Crampton among others.
19 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts
15 Beasts
Disembowlings
Impaleings
Jaw Ripping
Stabbings
Burnings
Heads Roll
Eyes Roll
and Literal Pumpkin Heads.
It’s another Halloween season and WE’RE BACK IN BUSINESS!!!
That’s right, If you were watching last season We began a
new Format for HauntShooter where I have been fortunate to have my friends
along my side and naturally as always my longtime (and Suffering) producer
Anjanette is by my side and we are also joined by Bri in this new venture that
we are going on.
I am very happy with the direction
that I am going in this business venture and I am pleased for the results.
Along with Hatch and Craven’s
Slaughterhouse we have shot The Dark Path Haunt as well as The Texas
Scaregrounds and we are traveling to shoot other Haunts and Events to come this
season.
I also have a passion for my Ipad
and I have been able to check out some flicks around the net for the upcoming
Halloween flicks.
While I concluded my Halloween pick series I plan on
continuing in giving all of you anything I see that I think that you may like.
There are movies being made everyday and many of them are destined to become
classics.
Now many of you know that I am a massive fan of the Found
Footage genre and most of it’s films and there are many different types and
then this film is in a different class all together.
The WNUF Halloween special has been out for a couple of
years but I have only just now been able to check it out.
Now this flick is a guilty pleasure for me as I had heard
the hype on the internet with many of my movie blogging brethren singing the
praises of the originality of the flick and I have to agree with them.
Now this is not a Found Footage flick it takes the form of a
recorded event on Halloween night that we are being showcased by an unknown
presenter. This presenter is frequently fastforwards this special through
commercials and news packages that they aren’t interested in.
Well as you can guess things go array for the broadcast.
Shot on video and made to look like an old vhs recording the
film also features recreations of small time commercials that were frequent at
the time and are clearly the subject of parody and add to the comedy of the
film but is often used to break the tension going on in the film and sometimes
I have to wonder if this is a good thing.
There are a few predictable twists but it is still worth a
look for the originality of it’s direction.
Now I know that I have been debating whether or not I wanted to do this final entry for my series on the Halloween Collection Box set since when the remake first came out is when I was starting in movie reviewing and because of this and my association and friendship with many in the Horror community I was sent to an early screening of the film in 2007 and my review was posted.
I admit that I am a loyalist to the original and Eric’s roommate at the time was with us and she openly mentioned my state of mind at the time.
Needless to say I was pretty upset at the time. Now I admit that the film has slightly grown me.
I have become friends with many in the cast and I have shot many interviews with them.
Now as for the complete collection of the Halloween franchise this is where I have to complain. There are in fact two different cuts of both of the Rob Zombie Halloween films with the director’s cut as well as the theatrical cut of both films and in the box set there are just the directors cuts of the films.
Personally I prefer the theatrical cut of the 2007 film and the director’s cut of the 2009 sequel.
Halloween 2007 has become typical Rob Zombie Fare with the use of Horror actors in small roles as well as a classic rock soundtrack.
I agree with many about the low class aspect of the opening of the film and I have to agree as my personal preference with the film isn't knowing Michael’s origin. I felt that the movie made Michael Myers into the primary victim and protagonist and all other characters as the antagonist in particularly Dr Loomis.
Now I feel that Rob Zombie has some sort of obsession with Charles Manson as he makes references to him in all of his films and he stated in interviews that he based the character on Vincent Bugliosi who was the prosecutor of the Manson family at the time of the murders and had written many books based on the trial with movie deals before the book was even published and after cashing in on the trial became a media personality.
Dr. Loomis takes this direction in the films in the first film he is viewed as after leaving as Michael’s doctor he writes a book about the murders however he does pursue his former patient like his 1978 counterpart. In Halloween II Loomis is portrayed as a narcissistic ego maniac who cashes in once again on the murders of the previous film and denies that Myers is still alive.
Laurie Strode is shown differently in these films as well as she isn't the mousy virgin as in the original film where in this film she is shown rubbing Bagels over herself in front of her mother and dry humping her best friend before realizing that the children that she is babysitting are watching. Laurie is also depicted as a more modern teenager going as far to act annoyed at the children and wearing more rock and roll fashions.
In the sequel that takes place soon after the previous film Laurie is depicted as far more of a wreck suffering from PTSD and seeing a shrink. Her behavior is also far more self-destructive as her relationship with Annie has deteriorated and become more antagonistic with her one time BFF.
These films also mark the return of Danielle Harris to the franchise after her departure from the series in Halloween 6’s pre-production. Originally Zombie didn’t want to cast Harris due to the fact that she was in Halloween 4 and 5 but fans wanted her to be in the film and unlike her 1978 counterpart she did survive to be in the second film.
Danielle Harris also goes through a major change in between both films as in the first film she is more focused on sex with her boyfriend than any impending Danger where Laurie is more the responsible one and in the sequel she has reversed roles with Scout and is now the maternal character.
The remakes also focus much needed attention on Sheriff Brackett who is barely explored in the previous eras of the franchise as he departs early in part 2. Brackett is played in these films by Chucky himself Brad Douriff and has a far more disliking of Dr. Loomis.
Tyler Mane is a friend of mine as he and I have hung out at a couple of conventions as well as his wife and I actually liked his performance as Michael Myers. Tyler is a former professional wrestler and is best known for the role of Sabretooth in the 2000 X-Men Movie and he briefly took on the role of Rufus in The Devil’s Rejects and has also become a quite accomplished filmmaker in his own right.
He did bring a new dimension to the famous killer and in the second film did much without the mask which is a first for the franchise.
As I mentioned earlier there are two cuts of both films. The Director’s cut of the 2007 film features the main difference is the scene where Michael escapes and in theatrical cut Michael is scheduled to be transferred and the guards that are transferring him include many Devil’s Rejects Alumni Bill Moseley and Leslie Easterbrook who are dispatched after Michael breaks free of his chains.
The Director’s cut features a scene that I took issue with in place of this scene where Lou Temple and Courtney Gains are the guards and choose to sexually assault a new inmate in front of Michael who then attacks and kills the guards. The issue that I had with this scene is again Michael becomes a protagonist in the film.
Both Films have an increased emphasis on Michael's mother which naturally is played by Rob Zombie's Wife Sherri Moon Zombie, Shown as a stripper in the first film Deborah Myers is still shown to be the loving mother to her son despite the murders but unable to cope with the evil that her son she commits suicide.
She is featured again in the sequel as a ghost with a more sinister side as she talks to Michael giving him instructions and orders to make them a "Family" again. Michael is able to talk to her in the image of himself as a child.
The Sequel definitely features a different cut than the theatrical with a different ending where Laurie fully embraces her family heritage and has to be taken down by the cops.
Given the fact that Zombie is a Musician I am not surprised by the use of music in these flicks. I admit that I have often wondered what the significance of the song Love Hurts which is featured significantly in both films is.
The use of the Soundtrack in the Remake is my favorite for the film.
I still recommend checking out the films and they do bring their own contributions to the franchise and I look forward to more entries in the future.
In the previous entry in this blog series I reviewed
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers and what I mentioned was this was the beginning
of the Miramax era in the Halloween Franchise and all the rights there in.
When I was in my senior year of High School in 1998 it was
announced that Jamie Lee Curtis was returning to the franchise that made her
career in Halloween: H20. Now.Now I have to admit that the first time that I saw this
flick was an interesting time for me and with the night and the events that happened
to me had ramifications for many years and when I think of this film I am made
to think of these events.
The truth is that H20 isn’t one of my favorites. As a
longtime fan of the franchise I was bothered by the fact that 4, 5, and 6 were
erased from existence.
Now for those of you that are asking what I mean by this is
that the Weinstein’s and Dimension films decided that this film is essentially
Halloween 3. They even went as far to call it the concluding chapter in the
Halloween series and with the return of Jamie Lee Curtis as well as the casting
of Josh Harnett, and Michelle Williams who was hot at the time due to her role on
Dawson’s Creek there was much hype on this flick and on opening day the theatre
was packed to capacity.
The reason for this was in fact Jamie Lee Curtis who
admitted that she was not a fan of Halloween 2 and only did the film out of
loyalty to John Carpenter and Debra Hill.
Open about the fact that she didn’t see any of the sequels Jamie
Lee Curtis thought of a story where her character after 20 years is once again
confronted by her brother and must face him and kill him in the end.
This will become an issue later.
The plot of the film is that Michael Myers appears at nurse
Chambers’ house where Dr. Loomis lived be his before his death shortly before
the film where he learns of Laurie’s whereabouts and sets out for California.
Laurie Strode has relocated to California and under the
assumed name of Carrie Tate she lives as the head Mistress of a posh private
school that her 17 year old son John also attends.
John has grown accustomed to his mother’s PTSD as Laurie has
become a function alcoholic and prescription drug addict who has multiple meltdowns
every year on Halloween. Laurie’s
overprotectiveness of John causes many issues for mother and son.
Michael arrives and what we get is a film that in a Hollywood
style pitch is Psycho meets Scream…and it is a sequel to Halloween.
7 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts
1 Beast
Ice Skate to the face
2 Knives to the back
2 Throat Slashings
1 Hanging
1 Moter Vehicle Chase
Legs Roll
Heads Roll
Look for Future Hollywood Players Josh Harnett as Laurie’s
son John and Joseph Gordon Levitt as Jimmy the first victim in the flick.
Nice Refrence to Psycho in the scene where Jamie Lee's mother Psycho star Janet Leigh goes to her car which is the scame car from Psycho.
This actually was a chapter that I almost considered passing
up on the bluray box set but I am glad that I didn’t.
There were features on this disc in the collection that
explained many issues that I had with the film.
Now one of the issues that I was just confused is the
multiple masks that were in the film which all that managed to accomplish was
the fact that I began to think that there were multiple Michael Myers in the
film and as it turned out I was not that far off.
The reason that I admitted that this film was not one of my favorites
was the way Michael Myers was both portrayed and killed in the film.
In the Ending of Halloween H20 Laurie Strode in a final
encounter with Michael Myers manages to subdue her brother but before she can
make the final kill she is stopped by LL Cool J and soon the police and EMTs
arrive and while Michael is being loaded into the coroner’s van Laurie realizes
that this is how he is going to make his escape and after stealing a gun form a
nearby officer she orders that Michael be loaded into the van and takes off
with her brother in the back.
As she predicted Michael soon reawakens in the back of the
van and a final confrontation ensues which concludes with Michael pinned under
the van as it sets on fire with Laurie standing over him with the Axe.
After Michael tries to make peace with his sister which we
all knew was a trick she chops his head off with the Axe ending the movie.
Now what I didn’t know was the conflict that this brought
into production.
As it turns out Jamie Lee Curtis was brought into the film
due to Miramax and the film that she wanted was this ending.
Well into preproduction this was the intention until Mustafa
Akkad became aware of the ending and revealed that there was in his contract
that Michael Myers never dies. This needless to say didn’t sit too well with
Jamie Lee Curtis.
With Jamie Lee threatening to drop out of the film just
before production the creative heads involved with the project scrambles to
find a solution and with both the film’s star and the franchise’s head refusing
to budge on their positions it seemed that the film would be halted.
Scream writer Kevin Williamson soon reached the solution
that Laurie Strode would kill Michael Myers but what the viewers and the
characters don’t know is that Michael has switched bodies with an EMT after
crushing his voice box and he would return in the next film when all is
revealed.
Jamie Lee Curtis as a measure of compromise would sign on
for the next film on the condition that her character would die early in the
film and the filming continued on as planned.
This therefor brings us to Halloween Resurrection.
Now this is where I am going to get into trouble as I have
been in trouble here before because I am actually both a fan and a supporter of
the film. Facts that I have received much ridicule and hate from friends and
fans alike.
Now I have to admit that I did go into the film with all of
my expectations low and didn’t even see the film until it had been in the
theatres for a week or two and I finally went to see it in a particularly empty
theatre.
I know that many of my Horror reviewing Brethren have highly
bashed the film but this flick is on my guilty pleasures list.
Picking up a brief few years after the events of Halloween
H20 you now find that Laurie Strode has now learned that she killed a father of
three has now been institutionalized where Michael soon finds her.
As per her contract that I was well aware of at the time in
the film’s opening Jamie faces off against her brother for the final time
before meeting her fate after he outsmarts her and drops her off the roof with
her vowing to see him in Hell.
The way Michael defeats her makes reference to a scene in
H20 that I had issue with which after listening to the commentaries and DVD
features that this was all preplanned.
Now I feel that this is the issue that many will have with
the film as that we are seeing our long time protagonist meeting her end in a
way that makes the character feel weak which this was Jamie Lee’s idea for the
character. I guess the fact that I already know this going into the film is why
it didn’t bother me.
The film then returns to Haddonfield where there is a
reality show being filmed in the Myers House for Dangertainment on as you most
likely guessed the show airs live on Halloween Night.
Produced by Freddie Harris and Nora Winston (Busta Rhymes
and Tyra Banks) The show follows the modern trends of reality television at the
time and this is in fact a webcast across the internet and the producers assemble
a cast of local college students including the trio of Jen, Rudy and Sara.
Sara is cast after a light falls behind her during her
audition making her scream and Freddie convinces her to join the cast despite
her misgivings. Sara is also involved in an internet friendship with a man
named Deckard. Unknown to Sara Deckard is actually a High School Freshman who
is attending a Halloween party than night though he still catches the webcast
with many of the party goers.
Soon Michael Myers begins to stalk and take out both the
cast and crew while Sara IRC Chats with Deckard to know how to escape the house
while Freddie and Michael face off in a fiery confrontation.
10 Dead Bodies
2 Breasts
1 Beast
Hanging
Slashing
Multiple Stabbings
Face Ripping
Skull Crushing
Heads Roll
Another issue that
many had with this flick that caused it’s failure was the casting of Busta
Rhymes.
I personally don’t see the issue with the casting now many were talking about
his acting however I will admit that I have encountered many producers like the
character of Freddie and they are very similar to the character and Rhymes’s
performance is just like them.
Now many are hung up on the Hip Hop artist and the typical
demographic of the Halloween fans aren’t Hip Hop fans but he isn’t rapping in
the film so I personally don’t care if he is a musician. I do like the
character.
Yes I am the type of director that will be sitting in my
motel room watching Martial Arts films on the evening before a shoot.
Canadian actor and stunt performer Brad Loree plays Michael
this time out and also does a good job and I love the Mask by the way.
I also liked the way that the internet is utilized in the
film as Deckard is able to tell Sara where to go effectively adding a new
dimension to the film with the characters thinking that they are watching a
show but soon learning the horrifying fact that what they are watching is real effectively
giving the film a Blair Witch reference and a War of the Worlds reference as
well though Audiences are well aware that the film is fiction but watching many
of the previous entries for the first time audiences would frequently be seen
yelling at the screen.
Well in this movie the characters are listening.
The DVD and Blu-Ray Releases do have a special feature
option where you can see the found footage show as it is airing.
The film was directed by Halloween director Rick Rosenthal
and filmed on a soundstage in Canada which was a first for the series. I do
like the camerawork and the editing as well. The look of the film and sound
design is great and I can’t complain about it.
Bianca Kajlich is both hot and a great Final Girl for the
flick. I almost would have expected this role for a pre Battlestar Galactica Katee
Sackhoff before becoming Starbuck in the role of the celebrity narcissistic Jen
.
The Ending scene in the Morgue is a nice touch!
Needless to say this flick is a good stand-alone film in the
series and while often regarded as the redheaded stepchild due to the death of
Jamie Lee and the Martial Arts rapper but these don’t bother me and if you ask
me what could be worse.
Well you could always hire a Rock Star
to remake the original
Film as well as a sequel, but that is a whole other chapter.
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