Horror movie month #19 - Halloween (2007)

I never was a big fan of John Carpenter's Halloween franchise.  I've seen most of the movies, but the Michael Myers character just never appealed to me in the way other horror villains have.  When I heard Rob Zombie was releasing his own version of Halloween I didn't know what to expect, but I eventually saw it anyway.  Wow.  What an intense ride. 

So there was this big debate over John Carpenter versus Rob Zombie and which version of the movie and or Michael Myers is more terrifying.  Who cares.  I read that John told Rob to make the movie "his own" and that's what Rob did.  Both are great movies and you can't go wrong with either.  I just found Rob's version of the movie a little more, well, violent.

In the original you don't get to see Michael's family much so you really don't know why he turns out as he does.  In Rob's version you get a more in depth look at Michael in his early years and his dysfunctional family.  For me this helped set up the movie a little bit more.  I get the whole argument of we the movie viewer isn't supposed to feel compassion for the killer (who felt sorry for Freddy Kruger?) and not knowing what sets off someone and turns them into a killer is far more scary.  I get all that.  Valid points.  Remakes aren't for everyone, but if you can be subjective enough and separate the two movies and take them for what they are I think you'll see that both movies stand on their own as fantastic additions to the slasher genre.

It's Halloween and I've got two more movies coming up.  Stay tuned for my favorite horror movie of all time.