Halloween 2 (Dimension Films)
All Trick, No Treat
Rob Zombie directed the latest episode of the Halloween series and he adds more guts and gore than ever before. Once again Michael Myers hulks around town on Halloween night leaving a path of path and destruction. This has all been done before and this time it is done to death.
Once again the attention of the movie is spotlighted on Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton). In the original Halloween which was released in 1978 Laurie Strode was played by Jamie Lee Curtis. That film was all about suspense whereas this one is all about gore.
Laurie has supposedly killed Michael when the movie opens but we all know that Michael just cant stay dead. She is living with Sheriff Lee Brackett (Brad Dourif) and his daughter Annie (Danielle Harris). Laurie still has nightmares and is seeing a psychiatrist (Margot Kidder).
Meanwhile Michael is marching towards her town, and while on his way he is killing people right and left. He seems to be more bloodthirsty than ever. He is inspired by visions of his mother (Sheri Moon Zombie) and his younger self (Chase Wright Vanek). His mother always seems to have a white horse with her.
There is basically no plot to this movie. It just moves from one horrific scene to the next, although there is a side story featuring Malcolm McDowell as Sam Loomis, Michaels former psychiatrist, who has written a book about him. There is some comic relief in McDowells scenes especially when Weird Al Jankovic makes an appearance.
Watching this movie is a gruesome experience as the violence has certainly escalated in this series. You can now hear the sounds of Michaels knife cutting into the flesh of his victims.
The acting in the movie is over the top. Taylor-Compton acts with high decibel screaming, as do most of the female victims. McDowell is creepy and Dourif is creepier. Kidder appears to have done her part for the paycheck and after her one scene she is MIA.
The movie is rated R for violence, profanity and nudity.
Halloween 2 offers nothing new to the series and should be dismissed and forgotten quickly. Odds are it wont still be in theaters when the actual Halloween rolls around.
I scored Halloween 2 a boo-ed 3 out of 10.
