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Originally Posted by tarcher80
wow it’s been a while since i posted here - i've been super busy w/ grad school, work, life, etc. still that's no excuse and i don't intend many of you here recognize me, accept for the ones that have been on for awhile.
anyway... was V the only one to view the movie so far? and if so this question is for him.
i've been hearing a lot about this movie from people i know in the industry and the two overall complaints seem to be that one, it lacks the original's suspense and two, in the way zombie displays the myer's back story he draws sympathy towards him and makes him less of the creepy supernatural boogieman that he was in the original. people vilified gus van sant for his "to the tee" remake of psycho b/c he didn't add anything to the original, so i guess my question is that in taking away these two original elements and making it more brutal does zombie ruin the film or just disrespect the original?
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Welcome back, T. Yes its been awhile since I saw you here...(last time it was voting in my tournament bout 9-10 months back I think)...
No, I am not the only one who has seen it...as is apparent from the 3 replies above ^^^ - Illdojo, Shady and Doc have seen it too. As regards your double query...
First, there is NONE of the creepiness of the original in this one. The stalking is perennially non-existent, and in the second half of the movie, you can actually count the minutes before a person on-screen would turn up dead. There's not much character development for the supporting cast of Laurie's 2 friends...Annie and Linda...(come to think of it, they share a couple of scenes together before their respective death scenes, which isnt much at all)...and you actually DONT get a chance to feel anythin for em... (**possible spoiler**)its like a moment taken out of
Hostel...watch em sizzle the screen for a sec, then a gruesome death the next...and then Loomis finds em...so it goes again...
Its overall a very gory and violent movie...like I said in the first post...think of
The Devil's Rejects with a Michael Myers storyline...the buildup to the background of Michael itself has many holes {{**SPOILER** 1) He is shown killing his pet in the very first frame, yet Zombie explores the "why" part of it which is totally unnecessary IMO, and 2) He kills everyone of his family on Halloween except his baby sister (whom he loves?!) yet goes after her in the climax?}}
If you ask me, Zombie himself seemed puzzled about how to develop this remake. Its like a series of disjointed sequences (at least after the first 30 minutes or so) and I thought it was a tad too lengthy. Even during the climactic scenes there is no feeling of dread or foreboding (which was so chillingly apparent in JC's original), and Tyler Mane's huge bulky existence "nullifies" much of the suspense factor (oddly, when it should have added to it).
About your second query, I watched Zombie's take with a totally open mind (forgetting that JC's original and its sequels ever existed), and Zombie's Halloween comes across as a violent slasher MINUS the atmosphere. Period. Its fierce, brutal...it hits your stomach like a series of violent blows, the acting's flawless and taut...and the script's pacy. BUT where this one fails...is the EFFECT. You d feel like coming out after watching
Rambo in a slasher...thats what this one is. The deaths look ultra-realistic, and some of the effects done in em are visually stunning. Those are the only two redeemingly good qualities of this one - acting and gore effects.
And yes, the background does make you feel a bit sympathetic towards Michael (just like the feeling
The Devil's Rejects left you with), BUT, pardoning the pun...if all kids with similar backgrounds went on to become Michael Myers' we would have ended World War XX by now.
Zombie has TRIED to make this one "his own", but in doing so...he has tarnished himself...because JC's masterpiece still stands tall on its pedestal, still the superior movie by all counts. It cannot be disrespected (heck 6 weaker sequels couldnt do it) and Zombie sure as hell hasnt ruined it...he has only ruined himself and his image as a movie-maker.
I just hope that fans of the original forgive him...and give him another chance for his next one...