Nothing beats the original H1 and H2! That being said when I first saw RZ H1 I loved it. Now I may be a lil bias because I love Rob Zombies music. Do I think RZs H1 is his best movie…no. I think the Devils Rejects was his best. I can see why people would hate it because of the white trash element and all the swearing and Michael having a backstory and being 7 foot tall but what I do like is that RZ didn’t just copy the original except for some scenes. Now when I saw the second one my first reaction was…That Sucked!! But over time it has grown on me a lil and I enjoy it more than I did the first time I saw it, but again I may be a lil bias lol.
Just explaining some past history.lol
Nothing wrong with a discussion!
I do dig RZH2 for what it is.
I remember the separate section, and I also remember when you guys joined it with General Discussion. I do have to agree with Waiting-Watching though, the scene kind of dissipated when they joined. Not to say that the fans aren’t still on here or out there, though.
For anyone wanting to read, heres the original announcement thread.
https://forum.michael-myers.net/t/rob-zombie-forum-merged-with-general-discussion/52009/1
Just explaining some past history.lol
Nothing wrong with a discussion!
I do dig RZH2 for what it is.
Absolutely! I was just saying that even though they were separate because original fans didn’t like the movies for the most part, it was actually better for the RZ fans/scene. Didn’t get lost in the mix since the originals have so many more threads.
I like that Rob Zombie didn’t do a shot-for-shot remake like some other remakes and really made it his own. But obviously Carpenter’s H1 and H2 take the cake.
To be honest the reboots should have never happened, but they did, and they were terrible, Halloween is the number one franchise/movie that should have stayed untouched.
I thought the H1 remake was… interesting. Since the goal was to do a reboot, I think it made sense that he took the characters in new directions. After all, what’s the point in doing a scene for scene remake. Once in a while I get in the mood to watch it, just for the sheer brutality of the character. Like others have said, all of the trashiness is a major distraction.
That being said, I echo the thought (as Carpenter himself has stated) that the mystery of the original Michael is what I find most appealing. Is he human? Is he somehow possessed? Is he an incarnation of evil that cannot be destroyed? Why does he do what he does? We don’t know. So many movies fail in that final act because the exposition doesn’t live up to our own internal feelings. Michael really was a blank slate, and that makes him scarier because we can’t know what he is. The other guy was just big. 
i like that part where michael tries to kill laurie with a fire extinguisher 
I have had fluctuating opinions on Rob Zombie’s remakes for years… When I first saw his H1 in theaters, I was impressed (a fan, even). I saw it twice in theaters, and bought the DVD. It felt so fresh and new. By the time the sequel was announced, the “feel” I initially liked about the film felt like the exact opposite of what I’d want in a new Halloween film. Crude characters and language, strippers, rednecks, etc. It felt like such a divergence from John Carpenter’s film. It felt like a missed opportunity to use new film strategy, or to give the original a modern replication. I’ve spent years calling the movie terrible and “trashy”.
After some fairly recent reconciliation, calling this movie “trashy” is exactly the point of the film. I stopped comparing it to the original, and recognized that this is Rob’s art, and that he and John are two very different artists. Rob discusses class disparity in his films. Myers entering the suburbs is a disruption of middle class, in the same way the film itself interrupts the middle class audience expectations. I felt like to disqualify this film for focusing on lower class issues, culture, and influence comes out to be pretty classist and reveal prejudice. I haven’t seen the movie in many years, but I’d really like to rewatch it after having this recent appreciation.
I quite enjoy the first one, but, like most have said, could do without the white trash family…very unoriginal way of explaining why Michael became Michael.
Really like the masks…and the indie masks we see on here from the movie…
was not impressed with part 2, but do need to give it another try sometime…again, enjoyed the masks in part 2 and the Halloween feel of the town…but was not impressed with the overall execution of it…maybe another viewing might help
Hate both of them .
- Michael Myers, Oversized sasquatch with a dumb looking mask.
- Terrible script. Feels like it was written by an 11 year old.
- Laurie and the gang were annoying as heck
- The back story was totally un necessary.
Let me preface by stating that I have a bit of nostalgia for the RZ films, particularly the first, which is what got me into Myers collecting in the first place. I joined the board after catching catching the director’s cut of RZH1 on TV (somehow) and RZH2 on HBO one night and solidifying my love of the franchise. It was just after Russell Lewis had finished the Destroyer mask and was holding a naming contest for it. It was really cool to have found this niche hobby/fandom for these movies and the masks.
HOWEVER, and this is something I’ve said about the remakes since I’ve seen them. You don’t explain evil. Once you take away that mystery about Michael, he becomes sympathetic and that’s wrong. In the remake, I’m rooting for Michael all the way until he kills Danny Trejo. I didn’t like that. Michael is, as Carpenter says, a force of evil. He’s not a grotesque giant of a brute like Jason, he’s a mysterious, ghostly shape, a phantom of the night, a boogeyman. Give him a backstory and you take that away, creating some exceptionally large man with a vendetta against bullies. This is, of course, not to take anything away from the performance itself. Tyler Mane, despite the writing, gave a horrifically fantastic performance as Michael. My third favorite after Nick Castle and Dick Warlock.
I’ll also say that the atmosphere is top notch in this movie, and just about saves the film for me. The movie creates a better feeling of Illinois in October from South Pasadena than the original did. Everything from the way the sun casts the shadows to the dead leaves on green grass breathes October in Illinois. I think the only Halloween movie that outshines the remake in this category is Halloween 4. The costume design for Michael is also really good. By Halloween 6, I feel like the white mask and grey coveralls starts to become stale. I feel like the Carhartt’s and rot mask was a breath of fresh air in a franchise that had gotten old by the time the '90s rolled around. I love the Carolina Logger boots, and the progression of the rot mask, as it mirrors Michael’s continuously dilapidating mental state. Now, after Zombies vision I feel ready to return to the classic and basics.
Unfortunately, the movie, particularly the second one, is bogged down by the foul mouthed and embarrassingly redneck depictions of us Illinoisans, which is hardly true in any light. It makes us look like a bunch of northern Alabamians, with chipped painted houses, couches on the front porch with a mini fridge full of Bud Lites within arms reach. It got even worse in the second movie. The depictions were “Deliverance” bad. When that guy beat down Michael for being in his field in H2, I could practically hear the “C’mon boy, squeal! Weeeeeeeee!” It’s embarrassing that this is what the depiction of my state is when you’re outside of Chicago. Farmers are intelligent people, nowhere near the white trash cliche that Zombie depicts. But, that’s his style. He has the same exact kind of characterizations in “Devil’s Rejects.”
In the inverse of that, Tyler Bates’ soundtrack is very good in both movies as are the non original compositions used like Nazareth and Rush. The soundtracks really bring these movies to life, in a similar way that they did for the original. I, for one, really enjoy the rocker culture in these movies, and I love how the music choice evokes a very 70s style. There’s even a needlepoint of JFK in the Myers home during Michael’s childhood that really makes a point to sell that 60s and 70s feel to this movie. But yeah, the music really makes this movie, and fits in with the tone of “bigger, stronger, faster” with the musical notes, especially the piano notes, striking harder and louder than any previous rendition. The little background noises added to the theme likewise was a really unique choice.
I do agree with this. I mildly protested the merging of the forums for that very reason. The argument against it was that the area wasn’t heavily trafficked in the first place and that merging them wouldn’t dissuade RZ discussion, but I feel like it honestly has. The RZ section, while never the most popular forum on the site, did have some traffic, and even attracted more RZ fans here. Nowadays, you’re lucky if you get an RZ mask post outside of anything other than “how do I contact Dela Torre about a mask?”
Ignoring the story, I liked the unique take on the progression of the mask over time.
Okay, so since making this topic, I’ve rewatched both films and I have similar feelings and different takes now to share.
If you separate these from the original, they are actually really amazing films. What I mean is, with A Nightmare on Elm Street, when I went to see it in theaters, the reboot of course, I didn’t go in expecting a Robert Englund Freddy movie. I went in knowing it will follow the mythology to some extent and would also be very different and it was. The same thing with Power Rangers. I knew the new movie from this year would differ from the Mighty Morphin stuff I loved growing up and it did, and I enjoyed it. I’m feeling the same thing now with the RZ Halloween movies.
If you look at the RZ Halloween films as something new, and kind of ignore the older movies, they are actually really good, especially after a few watches. As I’ve mentioned before too, the characters are very different too so it makes sense. In the original series I never wanted Loomis to die, but man I couldn’t wait to see him get it by the end of Halloween 2 with RZ’s version because the character was just so easy to hate. This guy was profiting off of the death and pain of others, and he was a scumbag. Laurie Strode could do without saying the F word every other word, but I guess if I were in a situation similar to her’s from the first film, I’m sure I’d be messed up too, so it makes sense how much it changed her.
The Rob Zombie films are crude, brutal, hard to watch at times, but they feel more realistic and authentic at times too. I’ve already been a fan, and they are growing on me even more.
For those who haven’t watched in years, try putting them on soon, and separate them from the original series, I think you will have fun with them.
Iv watched the films enough to know i do not like them, and i cant help by comparing… its a remake of an original movie, its an entry in the franchise. Even without comparing, Its sooo goddamn trashy and vulgar, the writting is so bad, the movie has no class at all, it even has a rape scene in rz h1 (which i have a huge problem with, i cant watch rape) the movies have no suspense either, and for people who love the brutal kills, im not big on them, i dont like how brutal it is at all, comparing to the original for a bit here, michales kills in the original were so calmy, methodically done, being precise. To each is own though
RZH2 is clearly a more interesting movie than the first. The only good parts of that first movie are the remake parts, so what’s the point? It’s like if someone made a cover of Hey Jude and added an extra verse about John Lennon skullfucking somebody. Not only will it never be as good as the original, but the additions are completely off-putting.
As movies, disassociated from the franchise, they are not worse than anything after part 4, and for better or worse there is a lot more time and effort put into them than those post-4 sequels, even H20.
I can go in detail of why both of Zombie’s movies are terrible but it’s not worth the effort.
I enjoyed the first one. 2nd one was okay at some parts. I don’t mind a remake/retelling, but it wasn’t necessary. I think if the movies weren’t called Halloween and no Michael Myers, it’d be a decent slasher flick, but thats about it
I used to like the first one around when it came out, but eh after watching it and the sequel in 2017 (10 years old kinda) they really show their age and flaws unlike the original where it is still a smokin’ hot piece of work after almost 40 years. All the male characters (besides the janitor) are unlikeable they are either white trash/rapists or have horrible attitudes, all the major female roles have all the same personality of horny teenage girl. I think showing a little more of Michael’s backstory could be interesting but it’s so predictable how it all folds out. The only things I liked were Michael being incredibly tall and the guy from spy kids getting beaten with a stick. I usually pass opportunity to watch them but hey, at least they aren’t resurrection.