Following the Halloween remake in 2007, Rob Zombie returns with a sequel to his version of the Halloween series. He takes the story in a much darker and bizarre direction. This time, he delves deeper into the psychology of Michael Myers with some disturbing hallucinations, an increasingly unhinged Dr Loomis and a Michael Myers has been wandering the wilderness for the last year. This is an ambitious sequel but whilst some of the choices are questionable, I liked how much he was willing to try something completely different with the franchise.
The film begins with a really cool sequence in the hospital. This is a very dark tribute to Rick Rosenthal’s Halloween II (1981). Laurie Strode is recuperating from her last encounter with Michael but doesn’t have much time to recover as her murderous brother returns to finish the job. Caroline Williams and Octavia Spencer appear as nurses. The latter suffers one of the most brutal attacks in the franchise. Michael stabs her multiple times with his knife in a long scene. This is extremely violent and there is no mercy given. Whilst the violence was very brutal and Zombie did a fantastic job of capturing the atmosphere of the hospital, the whole scene was actually a nightmare. Whilst it made sense in the story, I wish we had seen more of the hospital setting.
When we meet a new Michael Myer again, Tyler Mane returns but this time he looks like a wild bearded lumberjack. His hair is long, he has a beard and a hood on. His iconic mask is also worn and damaged. However, I actually think he looked very cool. Throughout the original franchise he always looked pretty decent despite running around for years trying to escape the hospital, hide and kill people. This version of him looks like he has truly been living rough which gives a realistic feel to someone who seems unstoppable.
Tyler Mane is once again brilliant. This time however he plays a much more animalistic Michael. He growls, pants heavily and attacks with a vengeance. He is extremely violent and uses his large frame to completely dominate anyone in his path. His attack on some rednecks in the fields are brutal and show us Myers is still no stranger to his violent nature. Whilst I liked Tyler Mane’s portrayal in the first film, I loved how much more feral he was in this one. Whilst this was a completely different take on the Shape, it worked really well.
One of the most bizarre elements of the film was the constant references to Deborah Myers (played by Sheri Moon Zombie again) and the white horse. At first I was confused as to what Zombie was trying to do with these scenes but the more I think about them, the more interesting they become. For once it feels like we are seeing things from Michael’s point of view. The hallucinations of his mother and the white horse suggest that he has a psychological connection to his past. Laurie also begins to have these visions to. Whether this is supernatural, symbolic or just a reflection of their broken minds, I liked how unique this was. This is definitely not your typical Halloween but that is probably why I found it interesting.
One of the most memorable scenes was Michael returning to the Rabbit in Red Lounge. This was his mothers workplace. This felt like a personal attack for Michael. A lot of his childhood was miserable due to his family situation. His mothers job was constantly used against him by bullies. I felt like this was Michael’s way of getting revenge. Perhaps he associates this place with everything going wrong in his childhood. He may blame this place for making his family a laughing stock and putting him on the path he is on. Whilst this is not confirmed in the film, I felt this added another interesting element to the violence. In his twisted mind, he may feel like he is doing the right thing.
Malcolm McDowell returns as Dr Samuel Loomis. However, he is completely different to the caring psychiatrist we met in the first film. He has become a conceited celebrity and is more concerned with selling books, appearing on TV and getting publicity. He is a real arse throughout the majority of the film but it does make sense. People can change when they get money and fame. Zombie has definitely not held back and McDowell does a great job of playing this character. Whilst he tries to redeem himself in the climax, it was a nice touch to remind us of who he used to be. Unfortunately Michael is not interested in giving him a second chance.
Brad Dourif and Danielle Harris return as Sheriff Brackett and his daughter Annie. The relationship between the two was much more emotional this time. Annie was understandably very withdrawn and traumatised after her horrific experience with Michael in the last film. She is no longer the carefree, outgoing teenager we met. She is much more reserved and Brackett has become very protective of her. This made Michael returning to their lives devastating. Whilst Annie’s death was brutal, Brackett’s reaction really stuck with me. To see a father find out that his daughter has been murdered after trying so hard to protect her was heartbreaking. Dourif put in one of the best performances of the film.
The final battle takes place in a remote shack. In the theatrical version Michael brutally attacks Loomis and is shot by the police. Laurie then approaches her brother and stabs him. This was a very chaotic and violent ending. The final moments with Laurie and the white horse left everything on a very creepy note. I liked the ending but I couldn’t help but wonder what Zombie could have done with the story if he had been able to make a third film.
This is probably one of the things I was most disappointed about with this version of Halloween. Tyler Mane was a very imposing Michael Myers and Zombie had already shown he was not afraid to take the franchise in a new direction. I would have loved to see what they could have done with a third film. If they had focused on Michael then I would have loved to see what they could have done. It was fascinating to see this huge, almost supernatural creature running around the country with violent urges and disturbing hallucinations.
Overall, Halloween II (2009) was an ambitious sequel. It will not be to everyone’s taste especially if you like Michael Myers to be a silent mysterious character like in the original. Zombie definitely took the violence to a whole new level. He introduced some very bizarre psychological elements and gave us a much more feral Michael. The opening scene in the hospital was amazing, Tyler Mane was impressive as always and the performances from Malcolm McDowell and Brad Dourif added some much needed emotion. Whilst not all the choices worked, I liked how much Zombie was willing to experiment.
Whilst Rob Zombie’s version of Michael Myers is very different to the clean cut Shape from 1978, this grizzly, bearded and extremely angry killer definitely makes his presence known.
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