Halloween 2

I feel as though i am in the minority by saying that i liked rob zombie's first halloween movie. I understand that it was far from perfect but i couldnt help but feel as though it was just the spark that this dead franchise needed. Rob Zombie clearly had complete creative control on his sequel to, what seemed like, a very restrained "Re-imagining" of the classic horror movie. Especially with the Unrated version that, in my opinion, should have been the version released to theaters with the only differences being a hell of a lot more character development and a more satisfying ending.

The movie begins with a slight homage to the original sequel almost making you think that this is going to be another cookie cutter sequel like the 1981 Halloween 2. Don't get me wrong though, the first 20 minutes of this movie are some of the most intense 20 minutes that the american horror genre has produced in some time, but i didnt like the direction it was headed. H2 turns out to be anything but a straight forword, by the books, horror movie. The movie more or less picks up 2 years later after the events of the first with laurie still struggling with the events of "the night he came home". Laurie now lives with her friend annie(only living friend from 2007 remake) and her father sheriff bracket. She is a complete mess as her constant lashing out at annie and her therapist would suggest. She seems to be making progress until dr. loomis releases his new book and michael decides to drop by on halloween night.

There are several less significant characters who meet their demise by the knife of michael. The kills in this movie are brutal and definately not for the faint of heart though zombie shows some class with his smart use of camera work and editing choices he made with certain scenes. H2 is shot using 16mm film stock giving it the proper grimy feel and grainy image that this sort of movie thrives in.

There are severy dream sequences that are absolutely bat-SH** CRAZY so just bear with it, they are entertaining to say the least. The main concern i have heard are people bitching about michaels mom making a return in H2 and the white horse concept that seems to be a bit out of place. So to be clear, Michael is psychotic, he is seeing a twisted version of his mom in his mind, as she is not the Loving mother shown in zombie's first Halloween. The White Horse is symbolism for the release of rage through acts of extreme violence. check, plenty of that to go around. The acting is generally solid with stand out out performances by Brad Dourif as Sheriff Bracket and Tyler mane as Michael. A lot of credit should also go the Cinematographer Brandon Trost for the often stunning cinematography shown on display for the 119 minute running time of H2. Overall I cannot reccomend this movie enough, one of my very favorite horror movies of all time.