Rocker / Director Rob Zombie follows up the “original” Halloween with a gruesome, senseless sequel that makes his first take on iconic serial killer Michael Myers look like a horror classic. A complete mess from confusing start to predictable finish, H2 is a needless return to the tired tale of poor Laurie Strode (Taylor Scout Compton), her long-lost brother Mike (Tyler Mane) and crazed psychologist / author Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell). With the addition of some silly nightmare imagery and twice the brutality and bloodletting, the film is tough to watch and painful to endure.
Plot details involve survivor Laurie Strode trying to shake the memories of last Halloween, only to relive the horror when Myers once again decides to paint the town of Haddonfield red. Compelled by the apparition of his dead mother (and his own self as a child) lurking around with a white horse, the unstoppable killer conducts some unfinished business. Meanwhile, Loomis begins a book tour capitalizing on his experiences with Myers, and reveals that Laurie is in reality Michaels’ baby sister Angel. Laurie responds to the revelation on Halloween night accordingly: she goes out partying with her foul-mouthed, whorish girlfriends! Bloody boredom ensues – much to the dismay of shocked moviegoers everywhere.
Looks like Alice Cooper feels the same
about Zombie's new Halloween.
Zombie throws everything but the kitchen sink at the audience: tripped-out dream sequences, never-ending scenes of brutality, old-school star cameos, and flashing light shows that may induce seizures in some viewers. But he also presents his sequel with reckless abandon and half-hearted contempt for the material. Characters returning from his first Halloween are nearly unrecognizable here due to illogical story progression, and he makes Myers into a supernatural killing machine (a la Jason Voorhees). The dialogue seems written by a teenaged degenerate, especially during the ambulance “f-bomb” sequence.
Even to a diehard horror junkie, H2 comes across as pointless, stupid and overly violent. And Zombie (who has shown some talent and originality in the past) is definitely headed in the wrong direction here, if he even cares at all. As far as horror sequels go, this may be the worst second act since the ridiculous Exorcist II: The Heretic.
Walt is Senior Writer for www.featurefilmreview.com. Email comments to walter (at) featurefilmreview (dot) com.
