I tried to write a review of this at the ass-end of my marathon last year but I couldn’t seem to help sounding a little disappointed. I think part of it is that I watched this movie a lot when I was younger and I’m just … sort of done with it – not that overviewing should ever taint a truly great movie; and also that, though it’d be a crazy person who didn’t recognise this movie as a classic, not just of the genre but of all cinema, this is a genre where the classics aren’t always the best.

Watching Rob Zombie’s remake earlier in the year, unlike others I was sure coming to it that there was room for a remake; watching the original now, I couldn’t be more certain. Zombie’s remake is at least as good as Carpenter’s original – making up for what is missing with stuff all its own – and in my mind honestly better for what it adds to Michael’s childhood (even over the short institution scene here, which had totally slipped my mind).

This was the “extended” version I watched this time, and the additions really leapt out at me so rare have I seen it compared to the original cut. Gotta love that pumpkin-like hearing room, and the “sister” scrawling on the wall – I like that there’s suddenly now at least a hint at the relationship between Michael and Laurie here. I think another reason Zombie’s version works better is that we’re more aware of what originally amounted to a twist in Halloween II.

Like I said, it is a classic. The steadicam camera work was not only groundbreaking (I know, it wasn’t the first, so don’t correct me – but it’s in my mind the most notable of the few firsts) but it actually looks as good as any steadicam work done today. John Carpenter’s score, also, is superb – I’d rank that higher in a list of great movie scores than I do the movie in my list of great movies. Donald Pleasance’s Loomis is almost as iconic a figure in horror as Michael Myers, and it’s all down to his performance (one element, I’m quick to add though, which they couldn’t have done better in substituting in the remake with Malcolm McDowell). Then there’s the breathing at the end. The one thing that still actually sends shivers through me. It’d be really great if they released it to the big screen again next year for its 30th anniversary – that could really give it power again. It is a classic. I’m just, I don’t know, always kinda tired of it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 8:51 pm in 4 hearts, Movie Reviews and tagged as horror, Seventies, slasher, soundtrack. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.