Review: Halloween II Director’s Cut (2009)

It’s taken me quite a long time to gain a liking for Rob Zombie’s Halloween films, especially this one.  I’m quite the stickler for the traditions set in place by the original series.  A silent Michael.  An adversarial Loomis.  A survivalist Laurie.  Rob Zombie’s H2 presents us with the literal polar opposites of their predecessors.  Michael makes noises, walks around without his mask on, and is loud and almost completely lacking in silent hunter quality of the Shape.  This is not the Shape.  Malcolm McDowell, though a fine actor, is the antithesis of Donald Pleasence’s Loomis.  Whereas the original Loomis was a man concerned with stopping Michael, this one is nothing short of a pompous asshole.  Neither of these variations hold my ire like I do Scout Taylor-Compton’s Laurie Strode.  I could forgive her for her role in Rob Zombie’s first Halloween romp, but this, this is just too much.  She’s a victim who doesn’t try being anything but.  H20 explored a similar theme of Laurie coping with the events of Halloween and Halloween II (1981) and while she was clearly traumatized by it, she chose to face it.  Remake Laurie chooses to drown her spiraling psyche with pills, booze, and a bad attitude.  As said by Danielle Harris’s Annie: “I am not impressed.”

Don’t take that opening tirade as my whole opinion of the movie, in fact this is one of my favorites in the series as a whole, far superior to the first remake in almost every way.  The movie is thick with atmosphere, an achievement not done well since the original Halloween.  The majority of the film has a very open air, autumn quality to it and is interestingly almost devoid of the John Carpenter theme that permeated every film that came before it.  Originally this was a point of contention for me, as the theme is a classic and chilling piece of work.  However the music that the film does utilize succeeds fantastically.  I can’t help but enjoy the music that plays as Laurie escapes the dream hospital, a frenetically repeating cacophony that goes hand in hand with stressful mood.  The most common piece used is a series of spread out, single piano strokes followed by a droning arrangement and is a perfected set up to the quiet scenes that quickly descend into madness.  The score overall is sparing, restrained, and accommodates every scene perfectly.  Halloween II, unlike Rob Zombie’s firs take, isn’t muddled down with an overuse of rock n roll tunes, and when songs are used it is both tasteful and complimentary to the corresponding scene.

Thematically the film is a gem.  We have an actual Halloween movie, akin to the first six films in the series, which to me, is a breath of fresh air.  The fall atmosphere is ever present, as are the obligatory costumes and pumpkins.  Michael (Tyler Mane) trudges ominously through crop fields making his way to Haddonfield, giving you the impression of an impending doom.  This is coupled with Michael’s surreal visions of his mother (Sheri Moon Zombie); visions that are later shared with Laurie.  These visions range from tonally quiet and visually subdued escapes from reality to frenetic montages of disturbed imagery.  Rob Zombie presents us with a more artistic side through these visions and gives us a look into the mind of Michael Myers.  His ghostly figment of a mother spurs him on and keeps him back, letting him know when the time for a kill is right.  Sheri Moon has a really ominous presence in certain scenes, especially with her interactions with Laurie and can be visually striking. Michael is a mac truck with a knife.  Descending upon his victims with utter ferocity, literally throwing his body weight into every stab.  This Michael loves damaging heads and faces, with two kills in particular in the strip club involving stomping in a head and smashing a face repeatedly into a mirror.  Some of these deaths are hard to watch, especially the death of Annie, played here by series vet, Danielle Harris who played Jamie Lloyd in Halloween 4 and Halloween 5.  Her death serves as the climax of the film, with her dying in Laurie’s arms, its rather touching given how they bicker the majority of the film.  The true tear-jerker here though is when her body is happened upon by her father, Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif) and a real life home movie of Harris as a child plays.  This feels like the proper send off Harris never received after her character was recast in Halloween 6; this is my favorite moment in the film, it moved me.  Her character seems to be the subtle backbone of this cut of the film, she’s the object of Laurie’s guilt and the fuel of her father’s rage upon her death.

Halloween II contains several subtle homages to the originals in addition to the Danielle Harris send off.  The mental connection between Michael and Laurie is lifted straight from Halloween 5, albeit used in a slightly different fashion.  In one of the earliest Loomis scenes we see him bitching about a promotional photo of him prominently displayed.  In his dialogue, the dismayed Loomis stresses that this is the “old Loomis”.  Oddly enough, the Loomis in the photo, while McDowell, is wearing the trademark get up of the classic, Donald Pleasence Loomis.  It was a fun little quirk that I enjoyed.  The hospital dream is a nice throwback to the original Halloween II, the entire story of which took place in a hospital.

The film’s finale is a true showmanship of Rob Zombie’s skills as a filmmaker.  Michael, his visions, and an abducted Laurie are all in an abandoned house where Michael intends to enact his “reunion”.  As the lights of a helicopter shine through the damaged roof, it brings an atmosphere that visualizes the insanity taking place.  The tonal quality is demonstrated when Loomis enters the house and the shift from the outside to the inside is stunning.  I enjoy his visuals in this, especially his use of pentagrams and inverted crosses, motifs reminiscent of House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects.  Halloween II is certainly his vision of the classic mythology and is one that I’m thankful to have witnessed.

Halloween II is far from your usual remake, if you can even call it that.  The film stands easily on its own two legs and while I may have some reservations on how it handled its source material, it is clear that is a new take that desires to honor its predecessors while treading new ground.  The cast, save for Scout Taylor-Compton, is one of the best assembled for any horror movie.  Brad Dourif, known as the voice of Child’s Play’s Chucky, is one of the best characters in the film as Sheriff Brackett.  Danielle Harris is fantastic as Annie Brackett, providing a great deal of attitude and a grounded counter to the bipolarity of Laurie.  Malcolm McDowell plays Loomis with flair, infusing his lines with narcissism to distinguish the character’s inflated ego.  As made clear before, Scout Taylor-Compton is insufferable in this film.  I hate almost every scene she’s in as she bounces between brat and psycho at an unconvincing pace.  If not for her, this film would’ve been perfect.  However, the scene where Annie dies is where Scout shows exceptional skill as an actor: skill that I wish she would’ve tapped into in more of her scenes. Halloween II is an analysis of survivors and provides an emotional lens through which to see them.  Its tragic ending is nothing short of perfect and fits the tone of the film like a glove.  Watch this movie, make sure its the director’s cut, and see the most innovative and different film in the franchise in decades.