I am not, nor have I ever been, a real big fan of horror films. I find that I like reading, discussing and thinking about horror movies more than I actually like watching them. Most of the time they are just flat out retarded. I’ve often felt that, by and large, the horror genre is the “special ed” of the filmmaking craft. The writers and directors who couldn’t achieve in other filmmaking styles sink to the bottom. (With a million exceptions that there’s no reason for me to list here.)
One horror film I absolutely love, though, is John Carpenter’s Halloween. Why? Because it oozes craft. Should you ever get a chance to see it in a theater, you will see that it is one of the most visceral examples of visual storytelling. It doesn’t rely (too much) of revolting gore, but gets all of its really great moments out of camera movement, framing and editing.
Surprisingly, Rob Zombie’s version has craft coming out the wazoo, too. The film is wonderfully shot and, the real shocker, some of the performances are good and many scenes are well directed. (And the masks! Awesome.) My problems with the film are more of a prudish nature.
The gore is absolutely disgusting. Carpenter’s Halloween is fun. Zombie’s is brutal and painful to watch. Furthermore, the new twist he puts on the film, giving Michael “The Boogey Man” Myers a backstory, adds and unwelcome element of moral ambiguity. One can’t help but feel the film is rooting for Michael as he so horribly bashes skulls with aluminum bats. And for this I truly question if le cinema du Zombie isn’t a bane on our society’s morals. I rarely endorse anything even slightly resembling censorship . . .but what “good” does this movie bring to the world? (Hell, it isn’t even original – it is a remake!)
As cinematic craft, it is very, very well done. The rest just gross and makes me uncomfortable.
