THE BLACK SHEEP is an ongoing column featuring different takes on films that either the writer HATED, but that the majority of film fans LOVED, or that the writer LOVED, but that most others LOATH. We’re hoping this column will promote constructive and geek fueled discussion. Dig in!
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Directed by Rick Rosenthal
“What the movie does get right is having Mike doing what he does best – killing and killing a lot.”
Last time in the Black Sheep, I argued that Halloween: H2O wasn’t exactly the shit. Sure, it had an actual story line and had character development, but as a member of the Halloween family, it was too glossy, too perfect, too clean. Halloween had always been a franchise that looked like kinda like Tara Reid or Harry Dean Stanton. Rough. But that’s what I’ve always liked about the series. It always played gritty, always felt haunted. However, I give it credit for roping in Jamie Lee Curtis to return. That’s fine and all, but I actually prefer it’s follow up: Halloween: Resurrection.
Why? Halloween: Resurrection is a return to form. Directed by Rick Rosenthal, who piloted the great follow-up to the original movie, Resurrection doesn’t take three quarters of the run time to make Mike Myers earn his paycheck. Instead, it picks up right after the events H2O with an explanation that Laurie decapitated the wrong man. (Right….) This allows for us to jump right into the story, which plays like a return to Halloween 2 with Laurie back it the hospital and all f*cked up because her brother tried to kill her (again). Mike is on the hunt immediately, slicing and dicing fools so he can finally knock off Laurie and finally be done with her nagging. And he does. It only lasts 15 minutes, but I like that producers gave a conclusion to the Laurie saga.
With that said, the opening sequence really doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of the movie. Instead, the remaining hour and 15 minutes deals with a group of young thrill seekers who enter into the Myers home on Halloween all while being filmed live on the Internet. Now I remember when I first saw Resurrection. I found the reality angle a little too unoriginal. It seemed as if every horror franchise back then was jumping on the first person camera POV format. It was too obvious. A decade later, though, reality is bigger than ever, and it just works now. This technique no longer feels like its ripping off Blair Witch Project because it’s become its own genre. Plus, it’s a new take on an old character.
Now the movie is far from perfect. For one it has Busta Rhymes, who plays Busta Rhymes. It’s not that he’s completely awful, but every time he appears my mind could only think of those fisheye music videos who made back in the day (look it up kids). However, Busta does have one of the best scenes in the film where he’s dressed as Myers to scare the kids in the house until the real Myers comes after him. Busta gives him a stern talking to, and Myers, unsure how to respond to verbal criticism, walks away in despair. However, just when I found a scene I enjoyed, Busta does a cringe worthy Bruce Lee impression. Painful. Then there’s Tyra Banks who plays Tyra Banks. Yeah, she’s really hot and likes to shake her booty, but she’s a lousy actress.
What the movie does get right is having Mike doing what he does best – killing and killing a lot. Resurrection doesn’t wait all day to have him do something. He brings his A-game to the party as he kills in various and unique ways: stabbings, decapitations, impalings, head squishes. My favorite is the tripod. I do believe it’s the first time a tripod has been used as a murder weapon since… Bob Crain. Poor guy. Also, the lack of drawn out story line allows the franchise to return to what fans really want. Blood, death, and boobs. Yeah, that seems pretty sick to say during the holiday season, but sometimes we needs to sample our animal instincts. Oh, and the movie breaks the stereotype that the black guy has to die. I love a good cliché that’s broken.
My favorite scene? The loon in the Looney Bin who recites the stats of any serial killer. He’s the one wearing the clown mask at the start of the film. After Mike finally makes Laurie dead, Mike runs into the loon. Instead of making him dead too, he gives him his knife. It’s a nice, sweet touch from a mass murderer.