| Halloween: Resurrection (2002) Dir: Rick Rosenthal Cast: Busta Rhymes, Bianca Kajlich, Daisy McCrackin, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Sean Patrick Thomas, Tyra Banks, Katee Sackhoff, Luke Kirby, Jamie Lee Curtis Rated R, Approx: 84 minutes A Dimension Films Release |
| Matt's Rating: A Colossal ZERO |
| Reviewed by Matt Serafini 08/01/02 |
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| In some twisted way, this serves me right for complaining about Halloween H20, a limp sequel in every sense of the word; at least it had the decency to be a competently made film. With this eighth film in the series (arguably the fourth if you follow this film's absurd logic of ignoring Halloweens 4-6) the filmmakers have finally shot the franchise in the foot. Prior to 1998, the title "Halloween" was synonymous with words like suspense, atmosphere and most importantly, scares. Like 'em or loathe them, let's be honest, if there was one thing that Halloweens 4-6 did right, they paid great respect and homage to John Carpenter's original. Each film made the effort to provide the suspense and eerie atmosphere that first immersed moviegoers in 1978, each progressed with love for the series and the intimidating presence of The Shape. No matter what the result, the look and feel of Halloween was abundant in every sequel pre H20. With this post H20 offering, the look and feel of Halloween absent from the last film is all but a forgotten memory here. Gone is the suspense, the continuing mythology and most importantly, likeable characters. A real first for the series, we're forced to watch a group of characters so unlikable, we can't wait for The Shape to pop up and whack them off as soon as possible. Following the events of the previous film, we meet up with Laurie Strode (Curtis looking just about as disinterested as you can get) some three years later who is now institutionalized (the reason for this takes the cake as one of the most shameless attempts at backpedaling ever). Soon, her madman brother shows up for one last visit and before long, it's back to Haddonfield (or was Laurie committed in the area? The script never makes the locations very clear) where enterprising businessman Freddie Harris (Rhymes) is planning an internet web cast excavation of the old Myers house. Each attached with their own camera, six college students are assembled to explore the den of the infamous murderer none of them realizing that Michael Myers has indeed come home to inform them that guests aren't welcome. Resurrection is the first time in the series where not only do we get a whole slew of terrible performances, but characters so damn thin that it's quite a challenge remembering anything about them other than their immediate, stereotypical characteristics. This makes it tough to care about any of them. Whereas the plights of Laurie in 1 and 2, or little Jamie in parts 4 and 5 were compelling, just try and muster any sympathy for these bozos. In the lead, Bianca Kajlich is pretty and likable on the surface, but her character is given little to do and becomes quite laughable by the finish (horrible acting and dialogue as she tries and fight the killer off while wielding a chainsaw). Sean Patrick Thomas (of Save the Last Dance fame, anyone remember that laugh riot?) manages to come off the best as the laid back cook, but even he grates on the nerves as his character first gets stoned and reverts into a black stereotype as he tries to fight off Michael with two knives while shouting idle threats. While on the subject of insulting black stereotypes, I feel compelled to mention Busta Rhymes' entrepreneur who begins the film as a real enough character but transforms into an unbeatable kung fu purveyor tough enough to fight off Michael on several occasions. To carp on such moments would be a waste of precious space here, but why filmmakers feel the need to inject obnoxious humor into every genre film these days is something I'll never know. While any of Halloween's earlier incarnations would've showcased real characters dealing with Myers' evil (one of many appeals to the series I've always thought), the geniuses at Dimension have opted for the approval of the brain-dead MTV-audience. Such embarrassing product as this will surely make some cash at the box office, but will never have the status a sequel such as Halloween 4 has achieved. Rounding out the cast of forgettables is Daisy McCrackin as a redhead with a nice set of tits and of course, Jamie Lee Curtis who took her paycheck and bolted from this mess very early on. The three-ring circus that is Moustapha Akkad (the series' executive producer), Paul Freeman (the series producer) and Dimension Films (the distributor since part 6) have done an excellent job of not only mucking up the continuity of the series, but have seemingly gone out of their way to distance themselves from the middle sequels in just about all respects, perhaps the most unnecessary detriment being the absence of Alan Howarth's great music. Having been involved with the scores to varying degrees as early as Halloween II, his scores were strong and memorable throughout the series and his final Halloween score (for part 6) was truly the best soundtrack since the first. This time around, the score is courtesy of one Danny Lux (previously responsible for such television fare such as Ally McBeal along with the Miramax, Project Greenlight film Stolen Summer) and while I've never heard another sample of the man's work, his score here keeps the entire film in the gutter. With an overuse of creaky sounds and dull, repetitive themes, it's all quite stale and boring. Returning to the series for a second time (the only alumni to direct twice) is Rick Rosenthal and while I don't have anything personally against the man, he should be ashamed of himself for having taken part in this dookie (I would've liked to see him stick to directing Buffy episodes). Rosenthal's Halloween II was an acceptable sequel but this is a terribly directed movie that makes Birds II (the director's own, under the Alan Smithee banner) look like the Hitchcock original by comparison. Rosenthal fails to generate any suspense here. Instead, he puts on display a host of bad lighting (just try and focus on the details during any major sequence), clunky action sequences (check out the beginning where Michael walks through another door) and slow motion shots which do nothing to enhance the picture or generate suspense. Another problem is the atrocious script by Sean Hood (from a Larry Brand story). Presumably under Dimension's strict directions, Hood's screenplay is a bottom of the barrel slasher story devoid of elements that once made the Halloween series so memorable. Halloween: Resurrection is in every way a bastardization of both the franchise and the character, a poorly made film fashioned to appeal not to genre fans, but rather to those suckered into theatres by the popular cast names on the marquee. This isn't the teenybopper horror film that H20 was, it's worse, a badly rushed attempt to ride a popular trend all the while raking the Halloween name across the coals. |
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