Halloween - Resurrection (DVD)

These days, it seems like "mash ups" are the next big thing: taking one thing and combining it with another to create something new. So, in an effort to get "down wiv da kidz" and take my reviews into the next century, I'm going to try a film review/recipe mash up. But first, a bit of background (it's not cheating: many good recipe books give you a short history and origins of the dish in question, by way of introduction). Back in 1978, John Carpenter unleashed the low-budget Halloween on the world, which kick-started the slasher genre and introduced the world to the blank-faced Michael Myers. After a series of increasingly poor sequels, ...  Read the complete review

If I’d hated this film, I would only have myself to blame. Having watched so many modern “stalk and slash” horror movies I really ought to know what to expect, so it would almost be repetitive to criticise such a film for being unoriginal and contrived. Surprisingly enough, although I thought I knew what to expect, I found myself quite enjoying Halloween Resurrection, which had just enough new ideas and sparkle to convince me that it was worth making. In the last instalment of the Michael Myers series, we watched his sister decapitate him at the roadside when she finally realised that he was beyond redemption. At the start of Resurrection we find out that she ...  Read the complete review

Resurrection had a bumpy ride getting to our cinemas. After the rather unexpected success of H20, the planned final film, Dimension decided to raise the knife once again and a sequel was soon green lit. It seems that studios just don’t know when to stop when they see the opportunity for more money to come their way. That was in 1999. From then on it’s been subject to more cuts, edits and name changes than most films could ever imagine. During its development time it’s been known as H2K, Halloween: Michael Myers.com and Halloween: The Homecoming to name but a few of the titles. After going through countless redrafts it was released in 2001 to an underwhelming ...  Read the complete review

If anybody noticed, they've stopped numbering the Halloween films, for the fear that if somebody noticed this was film number 8 they'd refuse to see it. There are many reasons for refusing to see it, not least the fact that Michael was apparently decapitated at the end of the shamefully brilliant H20. Two years have passed, and Laurie Strode (reverting to her real name in this installment) is in a mental institution. We quickly learn in an excellent opening sequence that Laurie accidently decapitated the wrong man, and is now silenced by guilt. Unbeknown to the medical staff though, Laurie's silence is simply patience as she waits for Michael to turn up. ...  Read the complete review

In 1978 John Carpenter made a low budget chiller named Halloween. It went on to become the most successful independent film for many years to come. It launched the careers of Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis and also brought a new figure to the world of horror icons-the brooding and haunting Michael Myers. Naturally any horror movie that makes a good profit gets a sequel and then a possible franchise. Five more Halloween films followed, each of them never coming close to the original, however they still had some enjoyment in them. Then in 1998, Jamie Lee Curtis was enticed to reprise her role when teen slashers were the in thing. Halloween H20 turned out to be a ...  Read the complete review