Halloween

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At best a curiosity for fans

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. When it comes to pitching a remake, that old pearl of wisdom should be reeled out to anybody planning on tampering with Hollywood gold, let alone John Carpenter's 1978 classic 'Halloween'.

Having carried the torch on from Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho', Carpenter's tightly-woven slasher-fest set the standard for the modern day horror movie, marrying suspense with random violence and carving out a template of screaming teenagers, masked killers and big-chested women, that would serve as the blueprint for the genre from 'Friday the 13th' to 'Saw'.

That the film still stands the test of time nearly 30 years on is testament to Carpenter's unique style of camera work and his ultra-tight script. It is also reason enough to suggest that any updated version is unlikely to surpass the original. Throw in 'House of 1000 Corpses' director Rob Zombie to the mix, and any confidence in such a project is likely to be tepid at best.

Yet - on paper - Zombie's approach to a remake of 'Halloween' brings all the right ideas to the table. Rather than merely try to ape Carpenter's original (ala Gus Van Sant's unnecessary 'Psycho' remake), Zombie tackles the storyline from a different angle and sweetens the deal with some original content.

For those unfamiliar with the original's storyline, the plot concerns six-year-old Michael Myers who, on Halloween night 1963, stabs his 17-year-old sister Judith in their hometown of Haddonfield. Sentenced to life in an institution, he is cared for by psychiatrist Dr Sam Loomis for 15 years until he escapes in 1978 and makes his way back to Haddonfield where he stalks a girl named Laurie Strode and kills numerous others in the process.

Carpenter's original largely focussed on Laurie, though it was not until 'Halloween II' that he would reveal that Laurie and Michael were siblings. Zombie, on the other hand, makes this known from the outset and his attention throughout is firmly on psychopathic killer Michael Myers.

With this in mind, Zombie fleshes out a backstory for Myers (played by Faerch as a youngster and Mane as an adult) and so 'Halloween' (2007) combines elements of a prequel in detailing Myers' troubled childhood to trailer-trash parents and his time in a mental institution.

We learn why Michael wears the mask he does, what prompted his behaviour and why he returns home for Laurie (Taylor-Compton). It's these early scenes which serve as the most impressive elements of 'Halloween' (2007). Critically, however, the film falters when Zombie turns his attention to the 'remake' element of the project and Myers' return to Haddonfield.

Although his version is 18 minutes longer than the original, Zombie spends nearly half of the movie in prequel territory before having to cram Carpenter's original hour-and-a-half into just over 45 minutes. It means that little time is spent in fleshing out the other characters and so Myers' murders draw little response from the audience.

With little time spent in endearing Laurie to the viewer, we become indifferent to her plight and this drains the element of suspense from Zombie's movie. We aren't rooting for her survival and so aren't engaged in the mental outbursts which characterise the best horror/ suspense stories. There isn't one moment when you want to scream at the screen "he's behind you" or "don't run upstairs". In fact, there isn't one moment when you'll find yourself screaming at all. Though gory in places, 'Halloween' (2007) simply isn't scary. More likely you'll laugh, particularly at some hammy dialogue, much of which is pushed in the direction of Malcolm McDowell's underdeveloped Dr Sam Loomis.

As expected, 'Halloween' a patch on the original. At best, the film serves as a curiosity for fans interested in learning more about Michael Myers. Those unacquainted, however, with Myers' kitchenware skills are best advised to make a trip to the video store and rent the original instead.

Steve Cummins