I've been feeling irritable and lacking in faith in humanity lately. I'm at complete odds with most of today's pop culture, and frankly, find most of it appalling.
I'm happy to report that I've regained my faith in our country's ability to yield something that I really admire...The recent remake of John Carpenter's Halloween, tastefully redone by musician/film maker/horror afficionado, Rob Zombie!
I am a HUGE fan of 80's horror movies, the Halloween series in particular. I had put off seeing it (the remake) until now, fearing that it would (like every other recent remake of a movie, comic book, etc) be a complete bastardization of the original concept, and attach stupid, modernized concepts to this classic. I didn't care for Rob Zombie's other movies - The Devil's Rejects and House of a Thousand Corpses, as I found them distastefully gory and annoying at some points. Basically, I didn't want to see Michael Myers doing any martial-arts fighting with a celebrity rapper to the latest Rob Zombie hit, which is what I had expected....Until...One of my long-time friends, Mike, the biggest Halloween fan I know, and co-perpetuator of this Halloween obsession (he has several versions of the Michael Myers mask and figurines, etc) assured me that it was not a steaming pile. I watched it with him for the first time earlier tonight, and I was absolutely impressed! I can tell it was scrutinized by even the most hardcore Halloween fans to ensure it's acceptability. Rob Zombie is a huge horror movie buff, and I believe he is one of the only people that could have done this right. He didn't take any liberties that I think a lot of other people would have (like include his own music or include comical moments that capitalize on today's pop-culture trends). The violence and gore were "hard" enough to give a great effect, but not overly done or distasteful. More of a creepy/evil factor than a slasher/gore-fest, although there is plenty of blood and knife action. The music didn't deviate from the original score enough to even seem new, and although a relatively sizable portion of the movie dealed with his childhood, it was still in tastful accordance with the classics.
I'm so glad I finally decided to give it a chance, because now I can enjoy this new addition to the Halloween series!
Believe it or not, there was a moment there where I felt myself relax, realizing that there was still hope... The American Idol crap has to go!
btw, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake was another that I found surprisingly well-done.
I'm happy to report that I've regained my faith in our country's ability to yield something that I really admire...The recent remake of John Carpenter's Halloween, tastefully redone by musician/film maker/horror afficionado, Rob Zombie!
I am a HUGE fan of 80's horror movies, the Halloween series in particular. I had put off seeing it (the remake) until now, fearing that it would (like every other recent remake of a movie, comic book, etc) be a complete bastardization of the original concept, and attach stupid, modernized concepts to this classic. I didn't care for Rob Zombie's other movies - The Devil's Rejects and House of a Thousand Corpses, as I found them distastefully gory and annoying at some points. Basically, I didn't want to see Michael Myers doing any martial-arts fighting with a celebrity rapper to the latest Rob Zombie hit, which is what I had expected....Until...One of my long-time friends, Mike, the biggest Halloween fan I know, and co-perpetuator of this Halloween obsession (he has several versions of the Michael Myers mask and figurines, etc) assured me that it was not a steaming pile. I watched it with him for the first time earlier tonight, and I was absolutely impressed! I can tell it was scrutinized by even the most hardcore Halloween fans to ensure it's acceptability. Rob Zombie is a huge horror movie buff, and I believe he is one of the only people that could have done this right. He didn't take any liberties that I think a lot of other people would have (like include his own music or include comical moments that capitalize on today's pop-culture trends). The violence and gore were "hard" enough to give a great effect, but not overly done or distasteful. More of a creepy/evil factor than a slasher/gore-fest, although there is plenty of blood and knife action. The music didn't deviate from the original score enough to even seem new, and although a relatively sizable portion of the movie dealed with his childhood, it was still in tastful accordance with the classics.
I'm so glad I finally decided to give it a chance, because now I can enjoy this new addition to the Halloween series!
Believe it or not, there was a moment there where I felt myself relax, realizing that there was still hope... The American Idol crap has to go!
btw, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake was another that I found surprisingly well-done.
