When I initially read Rob Zombie would be writing and directing a sequel to his remake of Halloween (2007) I was somewhat disappointed. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy his take on the franchise (I think I’m one of the few that did!) I was simply hoping a filmmaker with his talent would turn back to creating his own characters and worlds. After all of the rhetoric he’d spewed on how he would never return to the franchise I was certain he wouldn’t go back on his word.
Shame on me for thinking so. One should know better than to never say never when it comes to the everlasting clash between art and commerce in Hollywood. Money talks and bullshit walks. Period.
In addition to being slightly disillusioned with Zombie’s decision making, I was also saddened when I came to the realization I’d have to wait another year (most likely two) to see what Zombie had in store for us with his other impending celluloid effort, Tyrannosaurus Rex. With every little tantalizing tidbit Zombie was mysteriously releasing my anticipation was beginning to grow. I just hope it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle after Zombie’s done with H2.
As far as H2 goes, however, I will say I’m glad Zombie is now free from some of the constraints of doing a remake. While Zombie peppered the remake with plenty of his own spice, there were a few scenes in his version that too-closely mirrored the original Carpenter masterpiece. This won’t be the case on the second go-around, so says Zombie himself when chatting with fellow writer/director Tim Sullivan. For this new chapter Zombie plans on switching gears, taking the focus away from Michael Myers and shifting things to the heroine of the saga, Laurie Strode:
“Well, it’s going to pick up right at the next second. Ya know, when I was making that movie, it was really funny… I had struggled with the Laurie Strode character through the whole movie. Within the sense that, I usually work with darker characters like Captain Spaulding and Otis. Those are the characters I really feel like I understand. By the time I got to the end of the movie when Laurie Strode was all smacked up and covered in blood, holding a gun, and screaming, I was like “THAT’S the Laurie Strode movie I want to make!
“For this movie… this movie is really going to be Laurie’s movie. The first one is really Michael’s movie. But that was my goal, too. Carpenter’s movie is really about Laurie, and I was more interested in Michael.”
And on the off-chance you’ve been living on Mars Scout-Taylor Compton will be returning to reprise her role as Laurie Strode. Zombie says she still hasn’t had a chance to read his script “but I put a lot of good stuff into her character. It’s a real kick-ass film.”
If you’re expecting Zombie to have any elements of the Rick Rosenthal-directed Halloween II, you’ll be in for a disappointment; Zombie plans to to jettison any elements of that sequel and pretty much have a stand-alone story with this one, pretty much as he did with The Devil’s Rejects. The only similarity with the Rosenthal version will be the fact Dr. Loomis is returning, yet again to be played by Malcolm McDowell.
To check out more of Zombie’s chat with Tim Sullivan head on over here.