Halloween (2007 film)

Infobox Film
name = Halloween


caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Rob Zombie
producer = Malek Akkad
Rob Zombie
Andy Gould
writer =2007 Screenplay:
Rob Zombie
1978 Screenplay:
John Carpenter
Debra Hill
starring = Malcolm McDowell
Sheri Moon Zombie
Tyler Mane
Scout Taylor-Compton
Daeg Faerch
music = Tyler Bates
cinematography = Phil Parmet
editing = Glenn Garland
distributor = USA:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Dimension Films
Canada
Alliance Films
UK:
Paramount Pictures
released = August 31, 2007
runtime = 109 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget = $15,000,000
gross = $78,301,528
preceded_by = ""
website = http://www.halloween-themovie.com/
amg_id = 1:351975
imdb_id = 0373883

"Halloween" is a 2007 remake of the 1978 slasher film of the same name. The film was written, produced, and directed by Rob Zombie. The film stars Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Sam Loomis, Tyler Mane as the adult Michael Myers, and Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode; Daeg Faerch portrays a ten year old Michael Myers. Rob Zombie's "reimagining" follows the premise of John Carpenter's original, with Michael Myers stalking Laurie Strode and her friends on Halloween night. Zombie's film goes deeper into the character's psyche, trying to answer the question of what drove him to kill people, whereas in Carpenter's original film Michael did not have an explicit reason for killing.

Working from Carpenter's advice to "make [the film] his own",cite web |url=http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/338/4589/Zombie,-Rob.html |title=Rob Zombie to Re-Make "Halloween" |publisher=TheGauntlet.com|date=2006-06-04 |accessdate=2006-12-19] Zombie chose to develop the film as both a prequel and a remake, allowing for more original content than simply refilming the same scenes. Despite mostly negative reviews, the film, which cost $15 million to make,cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20575961/|title=Boo! ‘Halloween’ scares up record 4-day debut|publisher=MSNBC|date=2007-09-03|accessdate=2007-09-04] went on to gross $78.3 million worldwide.

Plot

On Halloween in Haddonfield, Illinois, having already shown signs of psychopathic tendencies, ten year old Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch) murders his sister Judith (Hanna R. Hall), her boyfriend Steve (Adam Weisman), his mother’s boyfriend Ronnie (William Forsythe), and a school bully (Daryl Sabara). After the longest trial in the state’s history, Michael is found guilty of first degree murder and sent to Smith's Grove Sanitarium under the care of child psychologist Dr. Sam Loomis (Malcolm McDowell). Michael initially cooperates with Dr. Loomis, claiming no memory of the killings; his mother, Deborah (Sheri Moon Zombie), visits him regularly. After a year, Michael becomes fixated on his papier-mâché masks, closing himself off from everyone, even his mother. When Michael kills a nurse (Sybil Danning) during one of her visits, Deborah can no longer handle the situation and commits suicide. For the next fifteen years, Michael (Tyler Mane) continues making his masks and not speaking to anyone. Dr. Loomis, having continued to treat Michael over the years, attempts to move on with his life and closes Michael’s case. Later, while being prepared for transfer to maximum security, Michael escapes Smith’s Grove, killing the sanitarium guards and a truck driver (Ken Foree) for his clothes, and heads to Haddonfield. On Halloween, Michael arrives at his old home, now abandoned, and finds a kitchen knife and Halloween mask he stored under the floorboards the night he killed his sister.

The story shifts to Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), and her friends Annie Brackett (Danielle Harris) and Lynda Van Der Klok (Kristina Klebe) on Halloween. Throughout the day, Laurie witnesses Michael watching her from a distance. That night, she heads to the Doyle residence to watch their son Tommy (Skyler Gisondo). Meanwhile, Lynda meets with her boyfriend Bob (Nick Mennell) at Michael's childhood home. Michael appears, murders them, and then heads to the Strode home, where he murders Laurie's parents. Having been alerted to Michael's escape, Dr. Loomis comes to Haddonfield looking for Michael. After obtaining a handgun, Loomis attempts to warn Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif) that Michael has returned to Haddonfield. Brackett and Dr. Loomis head to the Strode home, with Brackett explaining along the way that Laurie is actually Michael Myers' baby sister.

Meanwhile, Annie convinces Laurie to babysit Lindsey Wallace (Jenny Gregg Stewart), a girl Annie is supposed to be watching, long enough so she can have sex with her boyfriend Paul (Max Van Ville). Annie and Paul return to the Wallace home; during sex, Michael kills Paul and attacks Annie. Bringing Lindsey home, Laurie finds Annie on the floor, bloodied but alive, and calls 911. She is attacked by Michael, who chases her back to the Doyle home. Sheriff Brackett and Loomis hear the 911 call and head to the Wallace residence. Michael kidnaps Laurie, and takes her back to his home. Michael approaches Laurie and tries to show her that she is his younger sister. Unable to understand, Laurie grabs Michael's knife and stabs him before escaping the house; Michael chases her, but is repeatedly shot by Dr. Loomis. Laurie and Loomis are just about to leave when Michael grabs Laurie and heads back to the house. Loomis intervenes, but Michael attacks him by squeezing Loomis's skull with his hands. Laurie takes Loomis' gun and runs upstairs; she is chased by Michael, who, after cornering her on a balcony, charges her head-on and knocks both of them over the railing. Laurie finds herself on top of a bleeding Michael. Aiming Loomis' gun at his face, she repeatedly pulls the trigger until the gun finally goes off just as Michael's hand grips Laurie's wrist.

Production

Development

On June 4, 2006, Dimension announced that Rob Zombie, director of "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects", would be creating the next installment in the "Halloween" franchise.cite web | url=http://www.halloweenmovies.com/h9/zombierelease.html | publisher=HalloweenMovies.com | title=New “Halloween” film |date=2006-06-04 | accessdate=2007-04-09] The plan was for Zombie to hold many positions in the production; he would write, direct, produce, and serve as music supervisor. Bob Weinstein approached him about making the film, and Zombie, who was a fan of the original "Halloween", and friend of John Carpenter, jumped at the chance to make a "Halloween" film for Dimension Studios. Before Dimension went public with the news, Zombie felt obligated to inform John Carpenter, out of respect, of the plans to remake his film.cite web | title=Halloween: On Set With Director Rob Zombie! |url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/feature/354 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071211100941/http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/feature/354 |archivedate=2007-12-11 |publisher=Bloody-Disgusting |date=2007-03-19 |accessdate=2007-04-11] Carpenter's request was for Zombie to "make it his own". During a June 16, 2006 interview, Zombie announced that his film would combine the elements of prequel and remake with the original concept. He insisted that there would be considerable original content in the new film, as opposed to mere rehashed material.cite web |url=http://www.halloweenmovies.com/h9_lobby.html |publisher=HalloweenMovies.com |title=Interview with Rob |date=2006-06-16 |accessdate=2007-04-09]

His intention is to reinvent Michael Myers, because, in his opinion, the character, along with Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Pinhead, has become more familiar to audiences, and as a result, less scary.cite web | url=http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/flickd/z/rob_zombie_061026/ | title=Evil Reborn: Zombie resurrects a horror classic | publisher=MTV | accessdate=2007-04-10] The idea behind the new film was to delve deeper into Michael Myers' back story. A deeper back story would add "new life" to the character, as Zombie put it. Michael's mask will be given its own story, to provide an explanation as to why he wears it, instead of having the character simply steal a random mask from a hardware store, as in the original film.cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1554005/20070306/story.jhtml |title=Zombie Kills 'Halloween' Theme Song, Revokes Myers' Driver's License |publisher=MTV |date=2007-03-07 |accessdate=2007-04-10] Zombie explained that he wanted Michael to be truer to what a psychopath really is, and wanted the mask to be a way for Michael to hide. He wants the young Michael to have charisma, which would be projected onto the adult Michael. Zombie has decided that Michael's motives for returning to Haddonfield should be more ambiguous. As Zombie explains, "was he trying to kill Laurie, or just find her because he loves her?"

Moreover, Michael would not be able to drive in the new film, unlike his 1978 counterpart who stole Loomis' car so that he could drive back to Haddonfield. Zombie also wants the Dr. Loomis character to be more intertwined with that of Michael Myers; Zombie said that the character's role in the original was "showing up merely to say something dramatic". Although Zombie has added more history to the Michael Myers character, hence creating more original content for the film, he chose to keep the character's trademark mask and Carpenter's theme song intact for his version (despite an apparent misinterpretation in an interview suggesting the theme would be ditched). Production officially began on January 29 2007.cite web | title=Official "Halloween" Casting Breakdown, Synopsis |url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/7683 |publisher=Bloody-Disgusting |date=2007-11-22 |accessdate=2006-12-19] Shortly before production began, Zombie reported that he had seen the first production of Michael's signature mask. Zombie commented, "It looks perfect, exactly like the original. Not since 1978 has The Shape looked so good". [cite web | url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/7927 | title=The Big Question Answered "Halloween" | date=2007-01-04 |publisher=Bloody-Disgusting |accessdate=2007-01-04] Filming occurred in the same neighborhood that Carpenter used for the original "Halloween".

Casting

On December 19, 2006, Zombie mailed "Bloody-Disgusting" in wich he announced that Deag Faerch would play the part of ten year old Michael Myers. [cite web | url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/36/16536.php | title=Daeg Faerch to Play a Young Michael Myers in the Next Halloween Movie | publisher=Movieweb.net | date=December 19, 2006 | accessdate=2007-06-13] On December 22, 2006, Malcolm McDowell was officially announced to be playing Dr. Loomis. [cite web |url=http://profile.myspace.com/28735418 |publisher=MySpace |title=Rob Zombie's MySpace |date=2006-12-22 |accessdate=2007-04-09] McDowell stated that he wanted a tremendous ego in Loomis, who is out to get a new book from the ordeal. On December 24, 2006, Zombie announced that Tyler Mane, who had previously worked with Zombie on "The Devils Rejects", would portray the adult Michael Myers. [cite news|url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/7875|title=MICHAEL MYERS CAST IN ROB ZOMBIE'S 'HALLOWEEN'|publisher=Bloody-Disgusting|date=2006-11-24|accessdate=2008-10-10] Mane stated that it was very diffucult to act only with his eyes.cite web|url=http://www.movieweb.com/video/V07H58cwCDEHJY|title=Exclusive: Cast Interview Featurette|publisher=Movieweb|accessdate=2008-10-10] Scout Taylor-Compton, was one of the final people to be cast for a lead role after Faerch, Mane, McDowell, Forsythe and Harris. [cite news|url=http://www.aceshowbi.com/news/view/00006948.html|title=Scout Taylor-Compton Is Laurie Strode in "Halloween"|publisher=Aceshowbiz|date=2007-01-29|accessdate=2008-10-10] A contest was held for a walk on role in the next "Halloween" film, at the time called "Halloween 9"; it was won by Heather Bowen. [cite news|url=http://www.halloweenseries.com/heatherboweninterview|title=Webmaster(Chad) Interviews Halloween 9 contest winner Heather Bowen!|publisher=Halloween Series.com|date=2005-08-16|accessdate=2008-09-20]

Release

Approximately four days before the theatrical release of the film, a workprint version of the film appeared online and was circulated around various BitTorrent sites. Upon hearing of the leaked copy, Zombie stated that whatever version had been leaked was an older version of the film, unlike what was about to be released in theaters. [cite news|author=Elizabeth Cline |url=http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/08/rob_zombies_halloween_remake_l.html|title=Rob Zombie's ‘Halloween’ Remake Leaks, Rob Zombie Shrugs|publisher=New York Entertainment|date=2007-08-28|accessdate=2008-08-18] The leak of Zombie's workprint led to speculation that the film's box office success could be damaged the same way director Eli Roth attributed the financial failure of his film, "", to the leaking of a workprint version of that film. [cite news |author=Peter Sciretta |url=http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/08/28/rob-zombies-halloween-workprint-leaked-online/|title=Rob Zombie’s Halloween Workprint Leaked Online|publisher=Slashfilm|date=2007-08-28|accessdate=2008-03-01] Dark Horizons webmaster, Garth Franklin, notes that watching the workprint allows a viewer to see what things were changed after the test screenings in June 2007. One particular scene, the rape of one of the Smith's Grove female inmates, Franklin was glad to see replaced in the final version of the film. [cite news|author=Garth Franklin|url=http://www.darkhorizons.com/news07/070828i.php|title="Halloween" Workprint Leaked|publisher=Dark Horizons |date=2007-08-28|accessdate=2008-08-17]

Box office

"Halloween" was released on August 31, 2007, taking in $10,896,610 in 3,472 theaters. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=daily&id=halloween07.htm|title=Daily Box Office Totals|publisher=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=2008-08-17] The film broke box-office records for the Labor Day weekend by pulling in USD$30.59 million dollars over the four-day holiday weekend, surpassing the record set in 2005 by "Transporter 2" of $20.1 million dollars. [cite news|author=Gregg Kilday
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/05/AR2007090500182_pf.html|title="Halloween" pulls neat trick at box office|publisher=Washington Post|date=2007-09-05|accessdate=2008-08-17] It still currently resides as the top Labor Day weekend grosser. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/weekends/laborday.htm?page=LABDAY&p=.htm|title=Labor Day Record|publisher=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=2008-08-17] Despite the film's opening weekend success, Bob Weinstein told Reuters that he doubts there would be another "Halloween" film. [cite news|author=Dean Goodman|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/technology-media-telco-SP/idUSN0130290720070903?pageNumber=2|title='Halloween' slashes holiday box office record|publisher=Reuters|date=2007-09-03|accessdate=2008-08-17] "Halloween" dropped 64 percent in its second weekend, bringing its ten day total to $43.7 million in the United States. [cite news|author=Brandon Gray|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2383&p=.htm|title='3:10 to Yuma' Arrives at Top Spot|publisher=Box Office Mojo|date=2007-09-10|accessdate=2008-08-17] The film opened with "Michael Clayton" and "Mr. Woodcock" in foreign markets on the weekend of September 29. "Halloween" led the trio with a total of $1.3 million in 372 theaters – "Michael Clayton" and "Mr. Woodcock" took in $1.2 million from 295 screens and $1 million from 238 screens, respectively. [cite news|author=Conor Bresnan|title=Around the World Roundup: 'Bourne' Stays in Charge|publisher=Box Office Mojo|date=2007-10-03|accessdate=2008-08-17] By November 1, 2007, "Halloween" had taken in an additional $7 million in foreign markets. [cite news|author=Conor Bresnan|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2410&p=.htm|title=Around the World Roundup: 'Ratatouille' Still Served at Top Spot|publisher=Box Office Mojo|date=2007-11-01|accessdate=2008-08-17]

By the end of the film's box office run, it grossed $58,272,029 in the United States; an additional $20,033,660 was taken in by overseas markets, with a worldwide total of $78,305,689. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=halloween07.htm|title="Halloween" box offic total|publisher=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=2008-08-17] "Halloween" was the eighth highest grossing R-rated film of 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/mpaarating.htm?rating=R&yr=2007&p=.htm|title=R-rated 2007 films|publisher=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=2008-08-17] Comparing this film to the rest of the films in the "Halloween" film series, Zombie's remake is the highest grossing film in unadjusted US dollars, beating out "" and John Carpenter's original at $55,041,738 and $47,000,000, respectively. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=halloween.htm|title=Halloween film series box office|publisher=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=2008-08-17] When adjusting for the 2008 inflation, Zombie's "Halloween"—which adjusts to $59.9 million domestically—is fourth, behind Carpenter's "Halloween" at $160.8 million, "Halloween H20" at $71.1 million, and "Halloween II" at $64.2 million. [cite web|url=http://www.halfhill.com/inflation.html|title=Tom's Inflation Calculator|publisher=Half Hill|accessdate=2008-08-17] Among other horror remakes, the film places ninth overall in box office gross in the United States. [cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=horrorremake.htm|title=Horror remake box office numbers|publisher=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=2008-08-17]

Reception

Based on 96 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, "Halloween" received an average 26% overall approval rating; [cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1179254-halloween/|title=Halloween|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=2008-04-26] the film had a lower approval rating with the 18 critics in Rotten Tomatoes' "Cream of the Crop", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, [cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/pages/faq#creamofthecrop|title=Rotten Tomatoes FAQ: What is Cream of the Crop|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=2008-04-26] receiving a 17% approval rating. [cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1179254-halloween/?critic=creamcrop|title=Halloween: Rotten Tomatoes' Cream of the Crop|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=2008-04-26] By comparison, Metacritic calculated an average score of 47 out of 100 from the 18 reviews it collected. [cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/halloween2007|title=Halloween (2007): Reviews|publisher=Metacritic|accessdate=2007-09-09] Peter Hartlaub, of the "San Francisco Chronicle", felt Zombie was successful in both " [putting] his own spin on "Halloween", while at the same time paying tribute to Carpenter's film"; he thought Zombie managed to make Michael Myers almost "sympathetic" as a child, but that the last third of the film felt more like a montage of scenes with "Halloween" slipping into "slasher-film logic". [cite news |author=Peter Hartlaub |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/08/31/DDHPRT64J.DTL&type=movies|title=Zombie's 'Halloween' follows Michael Myers' psychotic roots|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|date=2007-09-01 |accessdate=2008-04-26] Nathan Lee of "The Village Voice" disagreed in part with Harlaub, feeling that "Halloween" may have placed too much emphasis on providing sympathy for Michael Myers, but that it did succeeded in " [deeping] Carpenter's vision without rooting out its fear". [cite news|author=Nathan Lee|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0736,lee,77659,20.html|title="Halloween" review|publisher=The Village Voice|date=2007-08-28 |accessdate=2008-04-27] The "ViewLondon"’s Matthew Turner believed the first half of the film, which featured the prequel elements of Michael as a child, were better played than the remake elements of the second half. In short, Turner stated that performances from the cast were "superb", with Malcolm McDowell being perfectly cast as Dr. Loomis, but that the film lacked to scare value of Carpenter’s original. [cite news|author=Matthew Turner|url=http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/films/halloween-film-review-20549.html|publisher=The ViewLondon|title=Halloween review|date=2007-09-28|accessdate=2008-08-11] Jamie Russell from the BBC agreed that the first half of the film worked better than the last half; she stated that Zombie’s expanded backstory on Michael was "surprisingly effective"—also agreeing that McDowell was perfectly cast as Loomis—but that Zombie failed to deliver the "supernatural dread" that Carpenter created for Michael in his 1978 original. [cite news|author=Jamie Russell |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2007/09/24/halloween_2007_review.shtml|title=BBC review|publisher=BBC|date=09-25-2007|accessdate=2008-08-11]

"New York Daily News" critic Jack Matthews believed the film lacked tension, and went more for cheap shocks—focusing more on enhancing the "imagery of violence"—than real attempts to scare the audience; he gave the film one and a half stars out of five. [cite news|author=Jack Matthews|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2007/09/01/2007-09-01_rob_zombie_hacks_away_at_halloween_horro.html|title=Rob Zombie hacks away at 'Halloween' horror classic|publisher=New York Daily News|date=2007-09-01 |accessdate=2008-04-27] Dennis Harvey, from "Variety" magazine, echoed Matthew's opinion that the film failed to deliver on the suspense; he also felt that you could not tell one teenage character from the next, whereas in Carpenter's original each teenager had real personalities. [cite news|author=Dennis Harvey|url=http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117934509.html?categoryid=31&cs=1|title="Variety" review|publisher=Variety|date=2007-08-27|accessdate=2008-04-27] In contrast, Rossiter Drake of "The Examiner" applauded Michael's backstory, feeling that it was a "compelling take on the mythology" that managed to be "unique" and "shocking" at the same time. [cite news|author=Rossiter Drake|url=http://www.examiner.com/a-910880~_Halloween___Once_more__with_flaying.html|title='Halloween': Once more, with flaying|publisher=The Examiner |date=2007-08-31 |accessdate=2008-04-28] In agreement with other critics, "Empire" magazine's Kim Newman felt that, because Zombie seemed less focused on the teenagers being stalked and killed by Michael, the film " [fell] flat" when it came to delivering suspense or anything "remotely scary"; Newman did praise McDowell for his portrayal of the "dogged pschiatrist". [cite news|author=Kim Newman|url=http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=134964|title="Empire" review|publisher=Empire|accessdate=2008-08-13] Ben Walter, of "Time Out London", felt Zombie added "surprising realism" to the development of Michael Myers’ psychopathic actions, but agreed with Newman that the director replaced the original film’s "suspense and playfulness" with a convincing display of "black-blooded brutality". [cite news|author=Ben Walter|url=http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/84559/halloween.html|title=Halloween review|publisher=Time Out London|accessdate=2008-08-11]

Frank Scheck, of the "Hollywood Reporter", believed that even though Zombie's remake of Carpenter's "Halloween" was better than getting another sequel in the long running franchise it still was not comparable to the 1978 original. For Scheck, Zombie replaced Carpenter's building suspense, which made it so "brilliant", with graphic violence and extended scenes of nudity; he also criticized McDowell for lacking the intensity that Donald Pleasence brought to the Loomis character. [cite news|author=Frank Scheck|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/home_entertainment/dvd_reviews/article_display.jsp?&rid=10337|title=Halloween review|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|date=2007-08-31|accessdate=2008-08-13] "BeepCentral"'s Jeff Schwister concurs that Zombie spent more time trying to use graphic violence to disgust the audience than truly scare them, and criticized Zombie's choice in dialogue exchange and drawn out finale; for Schwister, the best part of the film was the use of John Carpenter's original score. [cite news|author=Jeff Schwister|url=http://www.beepcentral.com/story.aspx?story=18211|title=Jeff: Let’s not celebrate this ‘Halloween’|publisher=BeepCentral|date=2007-08-31|accessdate=2008-08-13] By contrast, TV Guide's Ken Fox felt that Zombie did deliver a "scary horror movie", not by copying Carpenter, but by making the film his own. Fox noted that Zombie seemed to follow more in the footsteps of Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper's "savage, greasy-haired '70s" films, which allowed him to bring Michael back to his roots and successfully terrify an audience has grown accustomed to the recent "torture porn" horror films. [cite news |author=Ken Fox |url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/halloween/review/289890 |title="Halloween" review|publisher=TV Guide|accessdate=2008-08-15] Bill Gibron, of PopMatters, believes that audiences and critics cannot compare Carpenter's film to Zombie's remake; where Carpenter focused more on the citizens of Haddonfield—with Michael acting as a true "boogeyman"—Zombie focuses more on Michael himself, successfully forcing the audience to experience all of the elements that Michael went through that would result in his "desire for death". [cite news|author=Bill Gibron|url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/47762/short-cuts-in-theaters-halloween-2007/|title=Short Cuts - In Theaters: Halloween (2007) |publisher=PopMatters.com|date=2007-08-31|accessdate=2008-08-17]

"Halloween" won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Film of 2007, drawing in 550 votes, the most ever in the history of the award. [cite web|title=Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards |publisher=RondoAward.com|url=http://www.rondoaward.com/ |date=2008-03-12|accessdate=2008-08-17|quote=Click on "Enter Site" and scroll down to the press release.] Dan Mathews, vice president of PETA, sent Rob Zombie a thank-you letter for what he perceived as Zombie sending a message to audiences when he depicted the young Michael Myers torturing animals, something he felt demonstrated that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals are likely to move on to humans. Mathews went on to say, "Hopefully, with the attention focused by your movie on the link between cruelty to animals and human violence, more people will recognize the warning signs among people they know and deal with them more forcefully. We wish you continued success!" [cite web|url=http://blog.peta.org/archives/Dan_Mathews_to_Rob_Zombie.pdf|title=Thank you letter to Zombie|publisher=PETA|accessdate=2008-10-11]

oundtrack

The soundtrack was released on August 21, 2007; it includes 24 tracks, consisting of 12 dialogue tracks and 12 instrumentals. The album contained both new tracks, as well as ones recycled from the original "Halloween" and its sequel. Tyler Bates' interpretation of John Carpenter's original "Halloween" theme is the first musical track, with "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Mr. Sandman", which appeared in "Halloween II" and "Halloween H20" respectively, performed by Nan Vernon. [cite web|title=Halloween soundtrack review|url=http://www.filmedge.net/Halloween/soundtrackrev.htm|date=2007-08-22|work=filmedge.net|accessdate=2008-10-11] Writing about its selection from the 1981 film, one reviewer for the BBC commented that it worked well to "mimic Laurie’s situation (sleeping a lot)", making "the once innocent sounding lyrics seem threatening in a horror film".cite web|title=More of the Night He Came Home|work=BBC.co.uk|author=BBC Collective|date=2003-10-23|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A1910459|accessdate=2006-04-19] The album also includes Kiss's "God of Thunder" and Rush's "Tom Sawyer". [cite news|first=Matt|last=Marcheschi|title=Rob Zombie's Halloween soundtrack to include vintage recordings...|url=http://www.soundtrack.net/news/article/?id=1051|date=2007-08-17|work=soundtrack.net|accessdate=2008-10-11]

Home video

The film was released on DVD on December 18, 2007 in the United States. Both the theatrical and an unrated director's cut were released as two-disc special editions containing identical bonus features. [cite web |url=http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VKL6ZC|title=Halloween (Two-Disc Special Edition) DVD release |publisher=Amazon.com |accessdate=2008-08-17] The film was released on DVD in the UK on April 28, 2008 known as the "Uncut" edition. [cite web |title=Halloween: Uncut |url=http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/halloween-uncut.html |publisher=DVDactive|accessdate=2008-09-20] In June 2008, it was announced that Dimension Extreme will release a Collector's Edition of "Halloween" on a Three-Disc DVD set and a Two-Disc Blu-ray set. The set will include the same bonus features as the previous unrated edition, but it will also include Rob Zombie's 4-and-a-half hour "making-of" documentary similar to the "30 Days in Hell" making-of Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects". The 3-disc set was released on October 7, 2008,cite news |url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/12872 |title=Cover Art, Full Specs For 3-Disc 'Halloween' DVD Set |publisher=Bloody-Disgusting |date=2008-07-10 |accessdate=2008-08-29] and the 2-Disc Blu-ray will be released on October 21, 2008.

References

External links

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* [http://www.myspace.com/officialhalloweenmovies Official Halloween Movies MySpace]
* [http://www.myspace.com/rzofficialhalloween Rob Zombie's Official Halloween MySpace]
* [http://www.halloween-themovie.com/ Official site]
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Box Office Leaders USA
before = Superbad
date = August 31
year = 2007
after =