Halloween (2007) - Rob Zombie Makes Michael Myers Interesting
It's almost Halloween, so this is timely, so shut up.
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It's almost Halloween, so this is timely, so shut up.
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The problem with that is that I was likewise detached from Michael and the rest of the film. Humanizing Michael made him more real, and made the films events seem like they could actually happen. Besides, a mute giant who shrugs off gunshot wounds with the power of psychotic determination is plenty inhuman.Vausch said:Michael being a killer that seems to have no real motive and simply wants to see his family dead and all those that try to stop him is a scary thing because that's inhuman. It's monstrous. It makes Michael seem so detached from humanity that he becomes nothing but an embodiment of evil with but a single goal.
I disagree about that "working." The original Michael and Loomis were one-note stock characters. Again, this didn't make Michael seem as detached as I felt watching that film.Dr. Loomis in the first movie saying that he was never able to connect with Michael, never able to find a shred of humanity behind his eyes and seeing nothing but pure evil was a lot more frightening than "He had a bad childhood". It broke the movie rule of "Show, don't tell" but it did it right because in his exposition Loomis displays nothing but absolute fear that Michael is loose.
The new Dr. Loomis isn't really much better if you think about it. I mean all he really does in the movie is tell Michael about how horrible he is and what he did was so bad, and then when he's an adult spends the whole time saying how he failed him. I mean I love Malcolm McDowell but he really just didn't have anything to work with. Not to mention what they did to Laurie. I mean Jesus Christo, if you want us to sympathise with the character how about try making her at least a little likeable?!EiMitch said:I disagree about that "working." The original Michael and Loomis were one-note stock characters. Again, this didn't make Michael seem as detached as I felt watching that film.Dr. Loomis in the first movie saying that he was never able to connect with Michael, never able to find a shred of humanity behind his eyes and seeing nothing but pure evil was a lot more frightening than "He had a bad childhood". It broke the movie rule of "Show, don't tell" but it did it right because in his exposition Loomis displays nothing but absolute fear that Michael is loose.
And he sold out like a whore. You forgot about that part. That technically makes him more complex. Not to mention that created a bit of antagonistic tension between him and the police. A bit of filler I admit, but I enjoyed it.Vausch said:The new Dr. Loomis isn't really much better if you think about it. I mean all he really does in the movie is tell Michael about how horrible he is and what he did was so bad, and then when he's an adult spends the whole time saying how he failed him.
Granted, there is no replacing Jamie Lee Curtis. But I didn't find the new Laurie unlikable. She acted like a more believable kid. And frankly, creating sympathy by making someone a Mary Sue sweetheart is just lazy writing.Not to mention what they did to Laurie. I mean Jesus Christo, if you want us to sympathise with the character how about try making her at least a little likeable?!
The sad part is that you seriously undermined your argument by bringing up the Joker, a far far more interesting character. How does Michael Myers stand out? By being a mute, mask-wearing, stabby-slashy killer? I'd be a smart-ass and call him Jason Voorhees, but even Jason was a more interesting character. I stand corrected: that last is actually the sad part.Diddy_Mao said:I look at Meyers much in the same way as I view the Joker. I don't need to know where he comes from or what his motivations are, in fact the force of nature style in which they're presented is part of their charm.
What I think works about this origin is we come into it late. We see Michael just before he completely snaps, but he's been building up to it for some time.Diddy_Mao said:I've always felt that was makes the original such a standout film is that Meyers doesn't really have much of a backstory.
While that approach doesn't work for every villain in every slasher flick it makes him stand out.
I look at Meyers much in the same way as I view the Joker. I don't need to know where he comes from or what his motivations are, in fact the force of nature style in which they're presented is part of their charm.
That being said, I don't view the backstory from the remake with nearly the same venom that I view Jack "I killed the Waynes" Napier. It may strip the story of the element of the unknown, but it doesn't ruin the story.
Exactly. Myers in the original had a normal family background but he just snaps one night and murders his sister. That's far scarier than the back story Zombie gives him in the remake. The idea that a killer's persona could be lurking beneath the guise of a seemingly ordinary kid is waaay scarier than the inevitable slide into serial killer because of a crappy white trash upbringing in the remake.Vausch said:I honestly think this movie is a testament to what is wrong with the remakes of horror icon movies. The problem is that showing more about the killer and trying to humanise them doesn't work. Michael being a killer that seems to have no real motive and simply wants to see his family dead and all those that try to stop him is a scary thing because that's inhuman. It's monstrous. It makes Michael seem so detached from humanity that he becomes nothing but an embodiment of evil with but a single goal.
Except Zombie didn't establish that Myer's redneck home was the cause. He was already set down his dark path before the movie started. One of the first scenes was of him killing his pet, and not for the first time. And Loomis had stated that Michael's descent was due to (and I'm paraphrasing because its been awhile since I've watched it) a perfect storm of genetic and environmental factors. So that killer persona was probably inside Myers the entire time. His crappy upbringing merely sped along the inevitable.MikeN said:The idea that a killer's persona could be lurking beneath the guise of a seemingly ordinary kid is waaay scarier than the inevitable slide into serial killer because of a crappy white trash upbringing in the remake.