Horror The Halloween Film Series Thread... - Part 4

I'm not the first to say it but H20 does feel a lot like a Scream movie (or depending on who you ask, an episode of Dawson's Creek) starring Michael Myers.

Also, speaking of Laurie's offspring, I'm gonna go on a tangent here but has anyone noticed over the years that it seems almost like Danielle Harris is obsessing over the franchise? Like she feels the series owes her something & she has to be in EVERY new installment?

Ever since Zombie's two films, I've gotten the feeling she thinks she's this mega-star that deserves to star in every Halloween related movie. Especially if you listen to her explain how she basically forced her way into Zombie's H2 by not allowing them to film her planned death scene in the first the way it was intended & Zombie kinda just went with it.

On top of that aside from the original it seems she talks down about any of the movies she wasn't in. And then there was that time she didn't understand why Karen wasn't named Jamie in the 2018 version or that it wasn't connected to her movies.

It's weird, and honestly I'm okay with not seeing her in the series anymore ever again.

 

Thats why i forgive it for being a lot more Scream than Halloween...Lauries arc in this is fantastic.

I mean i get it, it gave her the career she has...so its not a surprise if she is attached to it and all.
But she goes overboard with it.
Because its not like her Movies are in anybodys top 20 lists or so.
She was good as Jamie llyod and i dont want to lie, im kind of into the idea of doing a Halloween that is set after 4 or 5 because they ****ed up the characters arc in the end...but her being a bit more gratefull and all would be nice instead of acting arrogant about it all.

 

That's all I'm saying pretty much. I don't mind her being attached & I wouldn't say she needs to let it go. Because as much as I hate any family related (hehe) angles involving Michael as a main plot, if there's a good story I wouldn't mind seeing it. I just don't like her sense of entitlement as if it's something she is undeniably owed.

I can admit, however, that Halloween Ends is essentially what Halloween 5 should have been. It shouldn't have been rushed out like it was. They should have taken a year or two to let Danielle age just a little, don't use any stupid mute/telepathic crap and it could've been a great story to tell.

Instead, we got thick neck Myers who cries and Tina, probably the most despised character in horror history. Definitely top 5 in that regard.

 

The ending is fantastic. In a perfect world, I'd say stick that ending on Halloween 2018 and call it a day. Even though I still think Halloween 2018 is the best sequel, H2Os ending feels so final.

 

Damn, that looks even more gnarly than it seemed in the actual film! Absolutely brutal!

Also, this just went live & I figured you guys would also enjoy this updated animated evolution of Michael Myers:

The Evolution of Michael Myers 1978-2022 (RE-ANIMATED) - YouTube

 

Which influence do you prefer more, the Scream influence that reinvigorated the slasher genre or the Zombie films that adopted the torture porn/trailer trash aesthetic? I'm clearly biased, but I prefer the Scream influence x10, and I recognize how absolutely trash Resurrection is. I don't see any appeal or saving grace in the 2 RZ Halloween movies.

I have such a massive crush on Judy Greer. She's incredible.

 

I can respect Zombie's more because it at least it's his own, however you feel about it versus H20 which is reactionary and more generic. Though in terms of personal preference and quality yes, one could say H20 is better!

 

My opinions on this franchise would be so different from many other peoples for sure. And that’s probably the same for me and other big horror franchises too. Which ones I love and which ones I put lower down ranking wise etc.

 

The torture porn/trailer trash ers of horror was awful honestly. Some good films here or there, but once the 2010s arrived, and we got films like The VVitch and Get Out, I realized more than ever how bad that era was for horror. I didn't realize it much when I was living during yet, but hindsight is 20/20.

The scream era had it's tone bleed into movies like H2O unfortunately, but even with my issues on that film, I'd rather watch H2O any day over the RZ Halloween films.

 

Here's a comparison from different transfers.

This one I grabbed off of Youtube. It's the terrible ECHO BAY release.


The 2014 Shout Factory box set.


The 2022 Shout Factory 4k. This is apparently what it's supposed to look like. The tv look of previous releases is due to the transfers being butchered. The movie with it's color timing in tact looks nothing like a tv movie.

 

I'd easily take the Rob Zombie films over H20/HR any day of the week. While I feel Zombie's films aren't perfect by any means & has too much inspiration from Texas Chain Saw Massacre, it still worked better than the more Scream inspired elements before it. At least in my opinion.

My top 5 would probably read like this:

1. Halloween (1978)
2. Halloween Kills
3. Halloween (2018)
4. Halloween Ends
5. Rob Zombie's Halloween 2

This is based more so on personal enjoyment than outright quality, which is why I put HK above the 2018 movie. I enjoy HK a little more & it feels more fun, but from a filmmaking aspect '18 is the superior one of the two.

 

Happy Halloween everyone!

 

My shirt for the day

 

Also they announced the next film today. Can’t wait.

 

Very nice! That's a dope shirt.

My favorite has always been this one I got back while I was living in MN for most of 2021. Was one of those instances where as soon as I saw it I knew I'd regret it I didn't buy it.

 

Good **** man. Yeah mine is Fright Rags. They’re my go to for shirts, I’ve got about 40 of them.

 

Watching the immortal classic right now as we speak. First time watching my 4K edition actually. And damn does it look great, what a transfer.

 

Just watched the original.

the widescreen version is great especially when watching Michael walk up the stairs and standing behind Laurie when she’s talking to the kids.

 

Seriously lost count of how many times I’ve watched the original. But damn, it never gets old. Every viewing is always amazing.

 

Just finished watching Halloween Ends.

I will say, to a certain point, I totally get why people going into this we’re probably expecting a different film than what they got, and ended up being totally disappointed.

However, let me go along with what others in this thread have been saying about this, and say that I had a ***ing blast with this film.

Spoiler

I totally got the Christine vibes in this film people were talking about, as well as the Friday the 13th, Part V concept, but done much better here. As someone who watched that film for the first time only about a couple weeks ago and still has it fresh in my mind, this is basically the premise of that film, but what if you replaced the obsession over a car and it’s infecting evil with the infecting evil of Michael Myers/The Shape. The last 20 minutes or so of this film are ****ing energizing and invigorating.

Even if this doesn’t quite directly carry over and follow through with the narrative thread of the previous two films, it most definitely thematically follows up and finishes up the arc of these three films. If the first film is about allowing your PTSD to obsessively allow evil to take hold once again, and the second film is about what happens when that evil spreads like a virus, this film is about the dangers of what would happen if that evil finally infected someone and allowed to fester from others’ misdirected hate born from previous, lingering trauma, projecting that same evil onto someone else and creating another monster. As someone who eats that s**t up in films like this, I dug the hell out of this film.

Great way to finish off Halloween. The Holiday and the film series. 9/10.

P.S—“Burn It Down” is a banger, and now I have it in my head and can’t stop listening to it.

 

I will say, this made for an entertaining quadrilogy to watch on the holiday.

 

I'm definitely going to look into them. I absolutely LOVE your shirt & it'd be awesome to have one.

 

Spoiler

Having sat on it and pondered it some more, I really like how this movie re-examines and reframes this entire new trilogy and the original 1978 film by de-specializing the Laurie and Michael relationship, and taking away Michael’s unique specialness.

It’s right there in the child victims dad’s conversation at the bar. Was the evil inside him the whole time, or did the town create him? By asking this question and answering it with Corey himself temporary early taking on the mantle, it poses that literally anyone could’ve become the Shape. Michael Myers was just someone random that this happened to. He’s only the special, mythical figure as a result of the legends surrounding him within the universe of the films themselves and his ever growing real life pop-culture status for over 44 years. People forget, in the original film, he’s just some person that the evil happened to take over. The Shape could’ve been anyone, because, like this film poses, it exists in everyone. I never thought of the evil that way in this series before, but it makes so much sense.

This film cuts through the notion that Michael was the special chosen one for the evil to takeover, and says that he was just someone that the evil happened to inhabit, and that even Michael, in his own way, was a kind of victim himself to the evil’s will. I think Laurie sort of realizes that at the end when she grabs his hand as he’s dying, and he gives her one last look as if to say, “Thank you, it’s finally over. I can finally rest.” It’s not about just killing Michael, it’s about destroying the notion that he was unique, destroying the myth. By realizing that the evil could’ve and does still exist in anyone, not just Michael, the Shape is finally able to be destroyed. You take away its power, it can no longer take form.

I ****ing love this film.

Sorry for the long wall of text, but I had a lot to say.