You have no idea how excited I was for Rob Zombie’s Halloween. I was and still am a huge fan of Rob Zombie when he was in White Zombie, Dragula is one of my favorite workout tunes and I loved House of 1000 Corpses and Devils Rejects. He seemed like the perfect man to reboot the Halloween series, especially after the less than amazing Halloween: Resurrection that came out five years prior.
How to Download Halloween (2007)
Halloween was released on August 31, 2007. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review – A Fresh Yet Familiar Take
This is one of those movies where when I was sitting in the theatre waiting for it to start, I was legit excited and so sure it was going to be great, and I am happy to say I enjoyed the movie. Some people really, really do not like Rob Zombie’s Halloween, but I thought that it was a lot of fun when I first saw it and I have watched it a few times since then and I still think that this is a damn good Halloween movie.
Not a Straight Remake, But a Reimagining
Rather than just remaking the original Halloween, with John Carpenter’s blessing and guidance, Rob Zombie was encouraged to make his own Halloween movie. The result is a movie that is part remake and part reimagining of the original Halloween. I get that for some people, there will never be anything that tops the original Halloween, and I will not dispute anyone who thinks that way, but I still think that this is a very good and entertaining movie.
The Childhood of Michael Myers
One of the biggest changes in Rob Zombie’s Halloween is that we get a pretty extended scene of young Michael. We see young Michael snap and go on a killing spree that sees him kill his school bully, his older sister, her boyfriend, and his mom’s boyfriend, but his little sister is spared. It is a pretty brutal opening, and then we get to see Michael in the mental hospital being treated by Dr. Loomis.
Halloween (2007) Cast and Characters
Seeing Michael in the hospital is something of an acquired taste. We get to see his detachment and also why he decides to wear a mask. The movie jumps forward many years later and Dr. Loomis has decided to close the case on Michael. Michael manages to escape and, of course, Michael is heading back to his home, where he discovers that his baby sister is now called Laurie Strode. This is where the movie takes the more traditional Halloween approach.
The Laurie Strode Connection and Deeper Themes
However, rather than just having Michael stalk Laurie and anyone else who gets in his way in Haddonfield, Rob Zombie tries to add a bit more depth to things. There is a real attempt to try and make a kind of connection between Michael and Laurie and like the stuff with younger Michael, it is really a personal preference thing if you like it or not.
Gore, Grime, and a Killer Cast
We get some great and very gruesome kills here as Rob Zombie is not scared to show some blood and gore, and that stuff is awesome. While the original cast of Halloween is iconic, Rob Zombie has an awesome cast here. I think that Scout Taylor Compton does a great job as Laurie and Malcolm McDowell is fantastic as Dr. Loomis. I also think that ex-wrestler and Sabretooth actor Taylor Maine brings a real physical presence to Michael.
With this being a Rob Zombie movie, you also have many of his regular contributors, including his gorgeous wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, who plays the role of Michael’s mother. We also have Sid Haig and Bill Mosely here too, not to forget great performances from Brad Dourif and Danny Trejo too. He really did put together a great cast and I feel that they all did a great job.
Final Thoughts on Halloween 2007
Even though I am a big fan of Halloween, I can see why it was not for everyone. Still, I would put this up there as one of my favorite movies in the franchise. It was a brutal and hard hitting remake/reimagining, and it has that Rob Zombie style that I liked in his first two movies. If you have never seen this or not seen it in a while, I recommend you give it a watch, it is a really entertaining slasher movie.
