Halloween: Resurrection 2002 Buena Vista   Buy It Now

How much of a good thing is too much? Who can say. But what I can say is that the Halloween series hit too much long ago. Don’t get me wrong…Halloween has always been my favorite horror franchise, mainly due to the fact that it was the first sequel-spawning hack and slash that I ever saw. But seriously folks, sometimes things need to grow old gracefully…couldn’t we try that just once with a horror series? I digress. 

One nice thing happens when a series has gone way too far into overtime though…you cease to be so passionate about it. After your initial feelings of betrayal and disgust, a wonderful metamorphosis happens…you start to find things funny. Ludicrous. Ridiculous. Asinine. But entertaining and quite funny regardless, and you can to begin to enjoy your franchise all over again. Such it is with Halloween: Resurrection.

We are all familiar with Michael Myers’ affection for butcher knife homicide by now (and if you are not then let me be the first to welcome you to our planet), and we know that the reason that he kills is because he is crazy…wait, no…pure evil…hold on, that wasn’t it…he’s a Celtic demon or something…who cares really. What we do know is that he wants to kill off his family, right? He will hunt high and low until the last remaining Myers or Strode is no more…then he will be satiated. That’s how it goes right? Wait…apparently I am wrong again, it seems Michael will kill just about anything that moves as long as it is on or around Halloween night. So I guess my point is that the mythos of Michael Myers is just about shot…so you might as well jump on board this pop-culture collage of a movie and enjoy the ride.

See, in Halloween: Resurrection Michael goes home…again. Only this time, the reality-television company DangerTainment (dear god) has messed with his crib. Seems this company, run by Freddie Harris (thespian Busta Rhymes) and his skin-deep qualified assistant Nora Winston (actress extraordinaire Tyra Banks), has decided that it would be a fantastic (and original) idea to place a group of stereotype teenagers inside Myers’ house to spend the night while being monitored via internet broadcast.  

Bet ya can't guess what happens next...

Oh yeah...Michael comes home!  Thank God they cut the scene which shows Michael drive up to the house, get out of his car and turn on the alarm with the familiar >bee-deep< sound.  You think I'm kidding...think again, the scene is on the DVD.  But meanwhile, inside the house, things seemed to be going so well!  I mean there was this one guy, at this one party, who had actually tuned in to watch the DangerTainment presentation.  He gets a front row seat as Michael begins to clean house and do what he does best.

Through a combination of head mounted camera's, surveillance monitors, and choppy internet feeds, we are treated to the usual slaughter of young people...in the usual ways.  As horror movies progress, it seems that home security gets better and better; so good in fact that six twenty-somethings can never seem to get out of a house, locked or not.  This works to Mr. Myers advantage and makes for much easier and timelier stalkings. 

This film does have one treat for enthusiasts of the series...a return of Jamie Lee Curtis in the role of Laurie Strode.  She was under contract to appear for at least a 30 second cameo, but apparently enjoyed the script well enough to sign on for more.  This, in and of itself, should be enough to bring back the true fans.  As if you needed more of a reason than Busta Rhymes? Geesh.

I don't need to go on and on about the film itself because you could guess what exactly takes place anyway, but I do want to mention some of the bonus features on this DVD, which make the disc worth owning if you are a fan of the Halloween series.  There is a 40+ minute special which features all the events of the film as seen on the fictional webcast.  As the actors did their scenes, the video headgear they wore was actually filming what they saw, and this made a complete web broadcast possible, which is in many respects better than the film itself.  Fans of Blair Witch Project...you'll love this!

The tour of the set reassures that although these continuous sequels are primarily for monetary gain at the expense of the true franchise fans, there are people involved that share that love and do their best to be sure we get a movie that doesn't disappoint.  There is also a great short featuring Jamie Lee Curtis as she describes some of the things that brought her back to the set, and gives us a little deeper look into her character.

So is this gonna be the last sequel to grace the silver screen? Nope.  Can I say that this was one of the better sequels? Not really, although it was a clever attempt.  Should you go out and buy it right now? Yep.  Will you laugh your butt off and be entertained with ridiculous taglines and catchphrases while you watch annoying MTVers get slaughtered?  Hell yes.  Remember, any Halloween is better than no Halloween. And any Halloween is better than any other tired sequel.  So as long as The Shape keeps stalking, I'll keep watching.     

-aaron-
 

Directed by: Rick Rosenthral    Written by: Larry Brand & Sean Hood    Based On Characters By: John Carpenter & Debra Hill   Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis Brad Loree Busta Rhymes Tyra Banks Bianca Kajlich Katee Sackhoff Ryan Merriman Sean Patrick Thomas Thomas Ian Nicholas Daisy McCrackin Luke Kirby

DVD Features: Widescreen Presentation 1.66:1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound Commentary With Director Rick Rosenthal and Editor Robert A. Ferretti Deleted And Alternate Scenes With Director Commentary Web Cam Special W/Commentary Photo Gallery Tour Of The Set With Production Designer Troy Hansen On The Set With Jamie Lee Curtis Head Cam Featurette Storyboard Comparisons       All Photos: © Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.