Rob Zombie's Halloween

[Bengal]

Rob didn't make him a sympathetic character at all actually. He toyed with it and he should have been one way or the other. He aluded to some sympathies but ultimately showed that he was heartless. The killing of Danny Trejo summed that up

While I agree that killing Trejo made him appear heartless, he still knew what he was doing. I'm refering to the scene with Laurie and him where he gives her the picture. That scene showed he still knew what the deal was...

And I totally believe all the "home movie" footage in the end credits was to show how happy and normal Michael was before all this. Happy and smiling and playing and all that. If Rob didn't want to make him a sympathetic character, he wouldn't have made his family so fucked up that we all wanted them to die. His sister wouldn't have been such a slut that she couldn't take him trick or treating. He set it up so you'd hate his family, save his mother. So in some way you were happy when he killed them. Hence the sympathy for his character...

And the bully scenes? Who hasn't felt like that once when they were young? Who wouldn't have wanted to do what he did to that one prick back in Jr. High? He's totally making him a sympathetic character...

[outsider666]

I heard John Carpenter say in an interview once that the whole premise behind the original was to give Myers no back-story to make him a "blank slate" to project more horror into the character, and make him almost a "mythological character, an urban legend or a force of nature" as opposed to a maniac in a mask killing people........
Just though I'd throw that out there for FYI's sake.......

[toejam]

While I agree that killing Trejo made him appear heartless, he still knew what he was doing. I'm refering to the scene with Laurie and him where he gives her the picture. That scene showed he still knew what the deal was...

And I totally believe all the "home movie" footage in the end credits was to show how happy and normal Michael was before all this. Happy and smiling and playing and all that. If Rob didn't want to make him a sympathetic character, he wouldn't have made his family so fucked up that we all wanted them to die. His sister wouldn't have been such a slut that she couldn't take him trick or treating. He set it up so you'd hate his family, save his mother. So in some way you were happy when he killed them. Hence the sympathy for his character...

And the bully scenes? Who hasn't felt like that once when they were young? Who wouldn't have wanted to do what he did to that one prick back in Jr. High? He's totally making him a sympathetic character...

It did seem a little sympathetic in a way, as Michael seemed to know exactly what he was doing.
Michael made his point with the first few beatings of the bully. He didn't "need" to kill him. The pet rat and other pics of the animals were the first of what was about to come. To me, his family life didn't seem as fucked up as it could have been; though, it definitely contributed. I think he was just a really disturbed little kid, regardless.

[Tetsuo]

While I agree that killing Trejo made him appear heartless, he still knew what he was doing. I'm refering to the scene with Laurie and him where he gives her the picture. That scene showed he still knew what the deal was...

And I totally believe all the "home movie" footage in the end credits was to show how happy and normal Michael was before all this. Happy and smiling and playing and all that. If Rob didn't want to make him a sympathetic character, he wouldn't have made his family so fucked up that we all wanted them to die. His sister wouldn't have been such a slut that she couldn't take him trick or treating. He set it up so you'd hate his family, save his mother. So in some way you were happy when he killed them. Hence the sympathy for his character...

And the bully scenes? Who hasn't felt like that once when they were young? Who wouldn't have wanted to do what he did to that one prick back in Jr. High? He's totally making him a sympathetic character...

He alluded to a sympathetic character but never made him one. He was always more brutal than sympathies would allow. ie Toejam mentioned it why kill the Bully. Or better yet why kill the boyfriend? All he did was allowhim to not trick or treat and was pretty nice to him. I mean his mothers boyfriend yeah you get that. Danny Trejo was cold and merciless as any. I think he was well established as having no sypmathy but Rob tried to play that card with the picture which just didn't fit.

[Bengal]

He alluded to a sympathetic character but never made him one. He was always more brutal than sympathies would allow. ie Toejam mentioned it why kill the Bully. Or better yet why kill the boyfriend? All he did was allowhim to not trick or treat and was pretty nice to him. I mean his mothers boyfriend yeah you get that. Danny Trejo was cold and merciless as any. I think he was well established as having no sypmathy but Rob tried to play that card with the picture which just didn't fit.

Ah, well it is us that make him what he is. It's our perception that does that for us. You see it one way, I see it the other...

Why kill the bully? Because he was picking on him...

Why kill the boyfriend? You mentioned it, the boyfriends presence made it so he couldn't go trick or treating. Nice to him? Because he said "Sorry Sport"? I doubt Michael thought he was being nice...

Why kill Danny Trejo? Well, Danny was nice to Michael, but was Michael ever nice to Danny? Who knows? We didn't see any evidence of that at all. So while you might have taken away from the movie that they are friends, there really was no evidence of that...

The original Michael was much more un-sympathetic. No reason for his murder at all. I'm saying the average viewer could understand killing his family. They are a bunch of idiots with no compassion. But then again, it's just a movie...

Which is really what I like about movies, everyone takes away something different...

[Spivonious]

Get ready in 2009 for the remakes of

The Thing and Escape from New York. Two of my favorite movies when I was younger. The Thing freaked me out when it came out, it was so over the top in the gore effects. Escape from New York I though was just badass. Hope they do them justice.

Please no. Hollywood has ruined enough movies by remaking them. Doesn't Carpenter own any rights to his movies?

[Tetsuo]

Ah, well it is us that make him what he is. It's our perception that does that for us. You see it one way, I see it the other...

Why kill the bully? Because he was picking on him...

Why kill the boyfriend? You mentioned it, the boyfriends presence made it so he couldn't go trick or treating. Nice to him? Because he said "Sorry Sport"? I doubt Michael thought he was being nice...

Why kill Danny Trejo? Well, Danny was nice to Michael, but was Michael ever nice to Danny? Who knows? We didn't see any evidence of that at all. So while you might have taken away from the movie that they are friends, there really was no evidence of that...

The original Michael was much more un-sympathetic. No reason for his murder at all. I'm saying the average viewer could understand killing his family. They are a bunch of idiots with no compassion. But then again, it's just a movie...

Which is really what I like about movies, everyone takes away something different...

I think we are more on the same page than not with this. I also agree about the tapestry of art each person taking away what they want is the beauty of it.

[markD]

Please no. Hollywood has ruined enough movies by remaking them.

no....hollywood just has lost the ability to create something new.....most movies seem to be remakes, or just plain crappy anymore...

[Bengal]

I think we are more on the same page than not with this. I also agree about the tapestry of art each person taking away what they want is the beauty of it.

I agree with you on this point...

One way I think Rob could have totally turned the audience off to Michael is to actually show him killing an animal instead of dancing around it. I'm kinda surprised he didn't...

But I remember reading early "treatments" online and reading something about Michael masturbating after killing animals. Glad that was bullshit...

I think I also read somewhere about a remake of "Big Trouble In Little China"... Ugh...

[Thrust]

Well, my wife and I along with a couple of friends saw it on Sunday. We all thought it was really well done. I didn't think it was particularly gory (esp after Hostel and the Saw series). I LOVED the intro scene and thought it was well done. The development of young MM was cool to see. I thought it was cool to see how they showed him to be fully evil w/o any type of conscious. Tata's were a great addition as well . Still, fell way short of Devil's Rejects, IMO.

Overall, I'd say 8/10 with the original being 8.5/10.