I am reviewing the workprint.
Approximately four days before the theatrical release of the film, a workprint version of Halloween appeared online and was circulated around various BitTorrent sites. Upon hearing of the leaked copy, Zombie stated that whatever version had been leaked was an older version of the film, unlike what was about to be released in theaters.The leak of Zombie’s workprint led to speculation that the film’s box office success could be damaged the same way director Eli Roth attributed the financial failure of his film, Hostel: Part II, to the leaking of a workprint version. Dark Horizons webmaster, Garth Franklin, notes that watching the workprint allows a viewer to see what things were changed after the test screenings in June 2007. One particular scene, the rape of one of the Smith’s Grove female inmates, Franklin was glad to see replaced in the final version of the film. Halloween was officially released on August 31, 2007 to 3,472 theaters in North America, giving it the widest release of any of the previous Halloween films.<wikipedia>
I have always wondered why I loved the original film. To me it was always a case of revenge. A huge payback for what happened to the young Michael Myers. I always thought that this had been one of the first horror films that I had seen as a child that made me fall in love with the movies.
So when I heard of a remake of this film, my first thought was WTF! After seeing the film, I am glad that they gave the film to Rob Zombie to write and direct. I thought that the film was a lot better that I had expected.
HEAVY SPOILER ALERT
The opening few minutes of the film, we see Mike as a boy who likes to kill animals and we see that his home life is just horrible. You see that the boy only gets love from his mother and his so called step-father is one huge joke. You also see the start of his fascination with wearing a mask. You also start to see that he loves his baby sister, Laurie.
We see Mike kill his first victim, a school yard bully. You see him kill with the mask on, then when he takes the mask off, he’s a kid, once again. This was the start of a not so nominal Halloween night for the younger Mike. As in the original film, he kills his older sister’s lover and his sister, he also kills his evil step-father. When his mother returns from work, she see Mike with his baby sister, outside, in the cold, when Michael states, “It’s all better now.” The aftermath of this horrible scene was well directed.
Then you see a young Michael kill one more time in the hospital and after that, his mother, realizes that she has helped to create pure evil, kills herself at her home, while watching home movies with her little boy.
What I also really liked about the film was the music, they even used “Don’t Fear the Reaper” as in the original. Another part I liked was the small role of Ismael Cruz, played by Danny Trejo. You see him as a janitor/guard that always treats Michael with respect and you see that Michael never hurts him. Its implied that only when disrespect comes to Michael that he kills.
The rest of the film is your typical slasher film. A innocent girl, that, for some unknown reason to her, the killer wants her dead. Over sexed teenagers, that are killed while they are having sex, and the one person, Dr. Sam Loomis, who claims to understand the killer.
END SPOILER ALERT…………………………………………………………………………
It was an excellent choice to select Malcolm McDowell to replace the late, Donald Pleasence, as the role of Michael’s surrogate father, Dr. Sam Loomis.
If you want to see a good horror film, then this one will do. Please remember, if you download the workprint, it will not be the same film you see in the movie cinema. Please see the film and the workprint when it opens in South Korea on 14 May 2009.
Grade B+
(Dr. Loomis.) These eyes will deceive you, they will destroy you. They will take from you, your innocents, your pride, and eventually your soul. These eyes do not see what you and I see. Behind these eyes one finds only blackness, they absence of light, these are of a psychopath.
Halloween (2007)
How I saw it. Leaked Workprint DVD Screener.