Halloween 2: Movie Review
By JC
He’s baaaaack. After an eighty-million dollar box office success in 2007 with Halloween, Rob Zombie will re-introduce everyone’s favorite neighborhood whack job: Michael Meyers. Halloween 2, starring Scout Taylor-Compton, picks up where the last film ends, but this time there’s even more blood, screaming, and senseless killing. Shocker.
Check out the plot, the good, and the bad…
The Plot:
Zombie’s second installment of Halloween features the torturous aftermath of Laurie Strode’s near-death encounter with Michael Meyers. That’s really all you need to know…
The Good:
Brutal honesty. I am struggling to form concrete opinions in the “GOOD” department. Here are my generous conclusions:
- ACTING: The performances, on the whole, were impressive. Scout Taylor-Compton (who just wrapped The Runaway’s with Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning) reprised her role as Laurie Strode, which was surprisingly emotionally demanding…even for a slasher film. Typically, the blood-curdling screams and flooding displays of tears from every horror film’s protagonist are a direct result of them being chased with a dagger or power tool. Laurie’s character, however, is slowly discovering the magnitude of her fractured state of mind since having witnessed the brutal death of her parents one year ago, by our pal, Mr. Meyers. Taylor-Compton is playing a deeply traumatized teenage girl battling her own sanity. That being said, I applaud her painfully honest portrayal of Laurie.
The Good/Bad
(Depending on your preference)…
- The Gore: Yes, it’s a Rob Zombie film, so unwarranted slaughter-scenes come with the territory. But there were probably about 10 minutes of tape, in total, that weren’t speckled with blood. For eighty percent of the screening my eyes were staring at the back of their lids. Since press screenings are free, I endured the cinematic nightmare. Will the general movie-going audience willingly muster up the stamina required to get through this two-hour circus of executions??
The Bad:
- Zombie made the choice to give this installment more depth, sure. The dream sequences and sub-conscious visits from “young” Michael Meyers were an attempt to feature a back-story of some sort. Lovely. Elaborating on Laurie’s story to highlight her madness gave her character some potential substance. Even lovelier. But the excessive, sickeningly vivid, overtly gruesome slaughter scenes every six minutes served as an enormous deflection. Nobody in the audience cared about these fresh character explorations – they were trying to anesthetize their nausea.
Overall:
Again, it’s a Rob Zombie picture – an audience should know what to expect. This is not my favorite genre, so I admit, it was not my cup of tea. If you’re into the guts, go for it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you…
Rating: 5/10
Watch the bloodbath in theaters August 28th!
Further Reading:
Friday, August 28, 2009 4:16AM
I'm sure the movie may be crap if it is anything like the other Halloween movie Rob Zombie made, but if you're that strongly put off by gore, you have no business going to see and then trying to review a slasher movie. I like horror and gore doesn't bother me; the dream sequences and visits from young Michael sound much more nauseating to me.
Friday, August 28, 2009 6:01AM
im sorry destroyer but who r u to dictate who is allowed to review something.
People are so ignorant. Thanks for the review!
Friday, August 28, 2009 6:33AM
I just got done watching this movie and im a big fan of the halloweens. The first remake wasnt to bad but not an o my god film but this one totally sucked. the whole michael has issues with his mom and killing for her was completely stupid and the whole ghost of her and the stupid white horse. the grunting he does when he kills was horrible also. the whole gothic theme crap that rob zombie puts in his films totally ruined this one. i strongly recommend not goin to see this in theaters.
Friday, August 28, 2009 6:31PM
@ Kreg, Destroyer is right. Why have a critic who is not a fan of the horror genre go in a review a horror movie? That makes no sense watosever. Obviously they're going to give it a bad review.
Friday, August 28, 2009 7:40PM
Do any animals die?
Friday, August 28, 2009 1:05PM
[...] II | Screencrave Review | Reviews | Interviews: Rob Zombie, Scout Taylor-Compton | Tickets and [...]
Saturday, August 29, 2009 3:17AM
Yes animals die! To all of you who posted before me, GROW UP! since when did you see a horror movie as good as this? When we go to see a horror movie we are going to WATCH PEOPLE GET KILLED!!! How they die is another story but In my honest to god opinion no movie has done what this halloween just did! Im honestly tired of camera angles messign up right hwne ur about to see the good stuff and this movie definately doesnt take the pussy way out, go Rob Zombie make a true part 3 now PLEASE! o and what? would you rather have some dumbass teens doing dumbass things and getting killed? Nope and thats what I loved about this movie it actually tugged at my heart and made me feel for these characters, whether happy or sad.
Sunday, August 30, 2009 5:18AM
All that I can say is I was trying desperately to find even ONE thing that I liked about this movie, but there is nothing here for Halloween series fans, original Halloween II fans, Rob Zombie fans, or slasher movie fans. This film was a total "You hated my last one, well eat this suckers" from Zombie. What a disgusting, pointless, non-entertaining piece of garbage. I love the Halloweens, when I heard Zombie was remking the original I couldn't wait to see it, then was disappointed. I saw this hoping to see a loose remake of the 1981 Hallowwen II, or at least something a little clever that was new if that's what Zombie was going for. Instead I feel like he held me at knifepoint for the price of admission. Even Halloween 6 was a better picture, fans of the series know what that means!
Sunday, August 30, 2009 5:18AM
The music was horrible (no recognizable themes until the final two minutes), the characters all did a complete 180, Michael was portrayed almost as a member of the Leatherface wannabe fan club, and the ending made NO sense. SPOILER ALERT (Don't read if you don't want the "plot" spoiled), after taking numerous close range direct gunshots, Michael is finally shot again by police snipers, then eventually dies by being impaled on sharp farm equipment. If the police hit him, why don't they storm the shack? And why is this farm stuff so fatal? And what's with the stupid white horse, does Zombie have endorsements from Columbia Tristar or something. The whole movie should have stayed on the editing room floor. Thank you.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 2:57AM
I am a very big Halloween fan and have been since the first one hit the movie screen. But this latest Halloween II sucks!!!!! Rob Zombie should be fired and never asked to do another one in my opinion. Maybe the directors of Texas Chainsaw can take on Halloween since they did such a good job with Friday the 13th. Going to see Halloween was such a waste of my money and time of my life that I will never get back
Sunday, September 13, 2009 10:30PM
I was so looking forward to a good remake of this film! Halloween movies have always been a favorite of mine. But…this one was awful!!! I just wanted to walk out! The music was bad, and the screaming just got on my nerves! I was also very disappointed with the Dr. Loomis character. Ugh.