Halloween (2007 film)
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| Halloween | |
|---|---|
| Image:Halloween2007.jpg Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Rob Zombie |
| Produced by | Malek Akkad Bob Weinstein Harvey Weinstein Rob Zombie Andy Gould Patrick Esposito |
| Written by | 2007 Screenplay: Rob Zombie 1978 Screenplay: John Carpenter Debra Hill |
| Starring | Malcolm McDowell Scout Taylor-Compton Danielle Harris Kristina Klebe Tyler Mane Daeg Faerch |
| Music by | Tyler Bates |
| Cinematography | Phil Parmet |
| Editing by | Glenn Garland |
| Distributed by | USA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for Dimension Films UK: Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 31, 2007 |
| Running time | Theatrical Cut: 109 min. Unrated Cut: 121 min. |
| Country | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $15,000,000[1] |
| Official website | |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Halloween is a reimagining of the 1978 film of the same name. The film was written, produced, and directed by Rob Zombie, and was released in the United States and Canada on August 31, 2007 , September 28, 2007 in the UK, and internationally throughout October 2007. The film stars Malcolm McDowell, Sheri Moon Zombie, Tyler Mane, Brad Dourif, Danielle Harris, Danny Trejo, and four unknowns in other roles, including Daeg Faerch as young Michael Myers, Hanna R. Hall as Judith Myers, Kristina Klebe as Lynda Van Der Klok, and Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
On Halloween in Haddonfield, Illinois, Deborah Myers (Sheri Moon Zombie) is called into her son Michael's (Daeg Faerch) school after the principal becomes concerned with Michael's behavior, as well as the discovery of a series of Polaroids of dead animals Michael keeps in his locker. Present at the meeting is Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell), a child psychologist, who informs Deborah that Michael displays the warning signs of a psychopath and urges her to allow him to further assess the boy. Earlier that day, Michael had been bullied in the bathroom over a flier advertising Deborah's strip club, where she was a star dancer. Michael followed one of the bullies (Daryl Sabara) into the woods and brutally beat him to death with a tree branch.
That night, Michael goes home and murders his mother's boyfriend Ronnie (William Forsythe), his sister Judith (Hanna R. Hall), and her boyfriend Steve (Adam Weisman). Deborah returns home to find Michael bloodied and sitting on the porch with his baby sister Laurie in his arms. Michael is convicted of first degree murder and taken to Smith's Grove Sanitarium, where he is placed under the supervision of Dr. Loomis. For the first eleven months, Michael cooperates with Dr. Loomis, claiming no memory of killing anyone. Deborah visits him regularly, where he shows her the papier-mâché Halloween masks he has been constructing in his room and wearing all day. One night, Michael befriends orderly Ismael Cruz (Danny Trejo), an ex-con who teaches Michael to cope with incarceration by internalizing himself. Michael takes the advice literally, entering a state of semi-catatonia. Shortly thereafter, he kills a nurse (Sybil Danning) who claims he couldn't be related to Laurie through a picture; Deborah Myers, who saw the event, returns home that night and kills herself.
For the next fifteen years, Michael (Tyler Mane) continues making his masks and not speaking to anyone. Dr. Loomis, wanting to move on with his life, retires, deeming his former charge a true psychopath and writing a book about his time working with Michael. Michael is scheduled to be transported to maximum security, but breaks free of his chains, murdering all of his guards, and escapes. He finds his way to a truck stop and murders a driver (Ken Foree) for his clothes. Michael returns to his childhood home and retrieves a kitchen knife and a Halloween mask he stole from his sister's boyfriend from underneath some floorboards.
The story shifts to Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), and her friends Annie Brackett (Danielle Harris) and Lynda Van Der Klok (Kristina Klebe) on Halloween. Throughout the day, Laurie witnesses Michael watching her from a distance. That night, she heads to the Doyle residence to watch their son Tommy, who persistently asks her about the boogeyman. Meanwhile, Lynda meets with her boyfriend Bob (Nick Mennell) at Michael's childhood home, where they drink beer and have sex. After they finish, Michael appears, murders them, and then heads to the Strode home, where he murders Laurie's parents. Having been alerted to Michael's escape, Dr. Loomis comes to Haddonfield looking for Michael. After obtaining a .357 Magnum handgun, Loomis approaches Annie's father, the town sheriff, telling him that Michael has returned home and that people's lives are in danger. Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif) and Dr. Loomis head to the Strode home, Brackett explaining along the way that Laurie is actually Michael Myers' baby sister. He was the responding officer the night of Deborah Myers' suicide; not wanting the infant to grow up with the stigma of being related to Michael, he faked her disappearance and left her at a nearby hospital.
Meanwhile, Laurie gets a call from Annie, who is babysitting Lindsey Wallace (Jenny Gregg Stewart) across the street from the Doyle home; Annie convinces Laurie to watch Lindsey long enough so she can have sex with her boyfriend Paul (Max Van Ville). Annie and Paul return to the Wallace home; during sex, Michael murders Paul and beats Annie until she is unconscious. Bringing Lindsey home, Laurie finds Annie on the floor, bloodied, and calls 911. She is attacked by Michael, who chases her back to the Doyle home. Sheriff Brackett and Loomis hear the 911 call and head to the Wallace residence. Michael kidnaps Laurie, and takes her back to his home. When Laurie wakes up, she finds Lynda's dead body in front of Deborah Myers' tombstone. Michael approaches Laurie and tries to show her that she is his younger sister. Unable to understand, Laurie grabs Michael's knife and stabs him before escaping the house; Michael chases her, but is repeatedly shot by Dr. Loomis. Loomis and Laurie are just about to leave when Michael grabs Laurie and heads back to the house. Loomis intervenes, but Michael attacks him by squeezing Loomis's skull with his hands. Laurie takes Loomis' gun and runs upstairs; she is chased by Michael, who, after cornering her on a balcony, charges her head-on and knocks both of them over the railing. Laurie finds herself on top of a bleeding Michael. Aiming Loomis' gun at his face, she repeatedly pulls the trigger until the gun finally goes off just as Michael's hand grips Laurie's wrist.
[edit] Development
On June 4, 2006, Dimension announced that Rob Zombie, director of House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, would be creating the next installment in the Halloween franchise.[2] The plan was for Zombie to hold many positions in the production; he would write, direct, produce, and serve as music supervisor.[2] Bob Weinstein approached Rob Zombie about making the film, and Zombie, who was a fan of the original Halloween, and friend of John Carpenter, jumped at the chance to make a Halloween film for Dimension Studios.[2] Before Dimension went public with the news, Zombie felt obligated to inform John Carpenter, out of respect, of the plans to remake his film.[3] Carpenter's request was for Zombie to "make it his own".[4] During a June 16, 2006 interview, Rob Zombie announced that his film would combine the elements of prequel and remake with the original concept. Zombie insisted that there would be considerable original content in the new film, as opposed to mere rehashed material.[5]
Moreover, Michael would not be able to drive in the new film, unlike his 1978 counterpart who stole Loomis' car so that he could drive back to Haddonfield.[7] Zombie also wants the Dr. Loomis character to be more intertwined with that of Michael Myers, as opposed to what Zombie saw, in the original film, as showing up merely to say something dramatic.[6] On December 22, 2006, Malcolm McDowell was announced to be playing Dr. Loomis[8] McDowell stated that he wants a tremendous ego in Loomis, who is out to get a new book from the ordeal.[7] Although Zombie has added more history to the Michael Myers character, hence creating more original content for the film, he chose to keep the character's trademark mask and Carpenter's theme song intact for his version (despite an apparent misinterpretation in an interview suggesting the theme would be ditched).[5] Production officially began on January 29, 2007.[9] Shortly before production began, Zombie reported that he had seen the first production of Michael's signature mask. Zombie commented, "It looks perfect, exactly like the original. Not since 1978 has The Shape looked so good".[10]
Filming occurred in the same neighborhood that Carpenter used for the original Halloween.[7]
[edit] Reception
As of December 3, 2007 on Rotten Tomatoes, 26% of critics gave the film positive feedback based on 88 reviews (23 "fresh", 65 "rotten").[11] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 47 out of 100, based on 18 reviews.[12]
Bill Gibron of PopMatters gave the film a 9 out of 10 and said the film was "brilliant" and "a stroke of slice and dice genius."[13] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film 2 out of 4 stars and said "Although it's not saying much, this is director Rob Zombie's most impressive outing behind the camera."[14]
The film broke box-office records for the Labor Day weekend. It pulled in USD$31 million dollars over the four-day holiday weekend, surpassing the record set in 2005 by Transporter 2 of $20.1 million dollars, making it the most successful Labor Day weekend opening in history. Furthermore, it surpassed the record set in 1999 by The Sixth Sense of $29 million dollars (in its fifth weekend), making it the highest grossing film over the Labor Day weekend ever. [15] Despite the film's opening weekend success, Bob Weinstein told Reuters that he doubts there would be another Halloween film, stating "I never say never... but it would have to be something very, very different".[16]
As of January 2, 2008, Halloween has grossed $72,595,099 worldwide ($58,269,151 domestic; $14,325,948 overseas) making it the highest grossing entry in the franchise to date (not adjusting the grosses of earlier films for inflation).
[edit] DVD release
The film was released to DVD on December 18, 2007 in both rated and unrated director's cut versions. Both are two-disc special editions containing identical bonus features.[17]
[edit] Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released August 21, 2007 which includes 12 dialogue tracks and 12 songs, mostly original songs from the 1960s-1980s including Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" Kiss's "God of Thunder" and "Tom Sawyer" by Rush.
[edit] References
- ^ "Boo! ‘Halloween’ scares up record 4-day debut", MSNBC, 2007-09-03. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
- ^ a b c New “Halloween” film. HalloweenMovies.com (June 4, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
- ^ a b Halloween: On Set With Director Rob Zombie!. Bloody-Disgusting (March 19,2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
- ^ Rob Zombie to Re-Make Halloween. TheGauntlet.com (June 4, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ a b c Interview with Rob. HalloweenMovies.com (June 16, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
- ^ a b Evil Reborn: Zombie resurrects a horror classic. MTV. Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
- ^ a b c d Zombie Kills 'Halloween' Theme Song, Revokes Myers' Driver's License. MTV (March 7, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
- ^ Rob Zombie's MySpace. MySpace (December 22, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
- ^ Official Halloween Casting Breakdown, Synopsis. Bloody-Disgusting (November 22, 2007). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ The Big Question Answered Halloween (January 4, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ Halloween - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-09-07
- ^ Halloween (2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-09-07
- ^ Bill Gibron (2007-08-31). Short Cuts - In Theaters: Halloween (2007). PopMatters. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
- ^ James Berardinelli. Review: Halloween (2007) accessdate=2007-08-31. ReelViews.
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/09/03/ap4076822.html
- ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/technology-media-telco-SP/idUSN0130290720070903?pageNumber=1
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Halloween-Mcdowell/dp/B000VKL6ZC/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-4122209-5204916?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1191381849&sr=8-1
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Halloween at the Internet Movie Database
- Halloween at Rotten Tomatoes
- Halloween at Metacritic
| Preceded by ''Superbad'' | Box office number-one films of 2007 (USA) August 31, 2007 | Succeeded by ''3:10 to Yuma'' |
The Halloween series | |
|---|---|
| Films | Halloween • II • Season of the Witch • The Return of Michael Myers • The Revenge of Michael Myers • The Curse of Michael Myers • H20 • Resurrection • Halloween (2007) |
| Characters | Michael Myers • Samuel J. Loomis • Laurie Strode • Jamie Lloyd • Other characters |
| People | Moustapha Akkad • John Carpenter • Debra Hill • Rick Rosenthal • Irwin Yablans • Rob Zombie |
| Media tie-ins | Halloween: 25 Years of Terror • Comic Books • Novel Adaptations • Video Game |
| Related topics | Curse of Thorn • Haddonfield • Smith's Grove - Warren County Sanitarium |
Rob Zombie | |
|---|---|
| Rob Zombie · John 5 · Piggy D · Tommy Clufetos Mike Riggs · John Tempesta · Blasko | |
| Studio albums | Hellbilly Deluxe · The Sinister Urge · Educated Horses |
| Live albums | Zombie Live |
| Compilations | American Made Music to Strip By · Past, Present & Future · 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection |
| Singles | "Dragula" · "Living Dead Girl" · "Superbeast" · "Demon Speeding" · "Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy)" · "Feel So Numb" · "Foxy Foxy" · "American Witch" · "Let It All Bleed Out" |
| Related articles | Discography · White Zombie · The Electro-Industrial Tribute to Rob Zombie |
| Filmography | House of 1000 Corpses · The Devil's Rejects · The Haunted World of El Superbeasto · Grindhouse: "Werewolf Women of the SS" · Halloween |
| Fictional characters | Captain Spaulding · Baby · Otis B. Driftwood · Charlie Altamont · Banjo and Sullivan · Mother Firefly · Grandpa Hugo · Doctor Satan · Tiny · George Wydell · John Wydell |
fr:Halloween (film, 2007) it:Halloween - The Beginning nl:Halloween (2007) pl:Halloween (film 2007) fi:Halloween (vuoden 2007 elokuva) zh:月光光心慌慌·殺清光
