I often tell my husband he is the luckiest man in the world. I don't nag or tell him what to do. I always let him drive and have the remote. Hell, I love football more than he does, and I either like or at least don't mind any other sport. His affection for horror movies is the only one I don't share or at least tolerate. I love my husband, and I love being a part of things that excite him. Rob Zombie movies, most recently the Halloween remakes, have him giddy as a school boy.
When I was in high school Halloween 5 came out. I'd never liked Freddy or Jason movies, but everyone got all excited about this new movie, so I figured I'd give it a try. Michael Myers as a character isn't quite like the other two anyway. Before seeing #5, my best friend and I watched the first four Halloween movies in order over a weekend with our boyfriends. That's when I realized that other horror movies had never really scared me. I'd been more grossed out and startled more than anything.
Michael Myers, on the other hand, scared the ever-living shit out of me, and he still does.
There is no other way to put it. Something about the white mask and the coveralls and the steady way he unceasingly stalked through the movie silently was by far the scariest thing I'd ever seen. The weekend after seeing #5, I had to babysit of course! My boyfriend, who was a typical teenage boy (jackass), thought it would be hysterical to come scare me. He brought my best friend's boyfriend, and they scratched the windows behind me while I watched TV. I stayed calm, but quickly put the kids to be and proceeded to turn on every light inside and outside the house. The doors were already locked, and once I was sure nothing was inside the house, I calmed down. Piece of cake.
Then, they tapped on the door thinking they'd jump out from behind the bushes to scare me when I opened it. What they didn't know is my mother has raised me to NEVER open a door without looking out a window to see who's there. Forget the peep hole.I ended up being the one giving the scare when I opened the door and yelled for them to get up immediately or I was was coming out after them. Ha!
I saw the first remake of Halloween last year with my husband and was actually a bit disappointed. This new movie was pretty good in terms of story, but Zombie gave Myers more of a back story. With the increased depth to the character, he wasn't scary any more. I actually felt sorry for him. Someone must have told Mr. Zombie how I felt about his take on Myers, because he certainly went out of his way to rectify the situation in this second remake.
Hubby couldn't wait to see the movie, but he also knows if he wants more than a snowball's chance in hell to get me to the theater for this event, it had better be daylight. Thus, at 9:30AM today, we sat at the AMC theater in Tysons Corner for the nearly empty showing.I made a couple of mistakes here, besides the obvious of going in the first place. While morning movies avoid crowds and are cheaper, it's best to stick with movies that are less jarring to the senses. This was too much volume too early. It was also a bit more graphic detail than expected or wanted first thing, especially if you'd like to keep your breakfast down.
The movie itself was fine. As an artist, I can appreciate others' art even if it's not my taste. The story was nothing like the original, but like the first remake, it had more of a story than I remember from the original. Really nice twist near the end. The cinematography was incredible. It really added to the movie. The special effects were very realistic -- not sure that really helped MY viewing experience. The soundtrack was good. The sound effects were more realistic that he visual effects though, and I definitely didn't need that.
The grand total? If you like slasher flicks, you'll love this movie. It's not just brainless killing of anything that walks by, but you'll definitely dig the squish, crunch and blood factor. Want proof? I've been home more than an hour. I've still got a headache, was barely able to eat a piece of toast due to nausea and probably won't sleep well for a week. Not sure what more of a pedigree a horror movie could want.
I'm just not the horror movie kinda gal. My husband will have to live with me wanting to watch the NFL draft and play fantasy football. I love that man more than anything in the world, but for the next one, he's on his own.
Rachel, I had no idea that you have a blog! I just added you to my google reader account. Regarding this post, the sheriff of my very small hometown (1900 people) when I was growing up was, ironically, named Michael Meyers. I don't like horror movies, and I only have vague memories of seeing parts of the Halloween series during slumber parties, but I will never forget that my hometown sheriff shares the same name as the slasher. Creepy!
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