Writer: Ezekiel Lee Zhiang Yang

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Watch this if you liked: The "Halloween" franchise, the "Nightmare On Elm Street" franchise

Does the 1978 Jamie Lee Curtis horror classic of the same name really need a remake? In fact, does the franchise need another addition at all? The question isn't really important, so long as we get to see a trashy Rob Zombie film on the big screen every now and then. Since "The Devil's Rejects" and "House Of 1000 Horrors", the rocker's directorial career seems to be taking off. It sure helps if you can keep casting your Scream Queen wife (Sheri Moon Zombie) in every film though!

Alright then - so here we are with yet another look at Michael Myers, the crazed 10-year-old murderer character that spawned so many sequels, spin-offs and remakes. According to some production notes, John Carpenter (director of the benchmark 1978 version) told Rob Zombie to make this movie his own - but the results are not encouraging. From the story, it seems that the point is to give more motive and background to the troubled child early in the game. This wasn't done too well. Rob Zombie's efforts to add charisma to the Myers kid doesn't pack enough punch. The mask is no longer scary either - we're too used to it now. Explaining the mask is already beyond the point.

However, the performances were tolerable. This Daeg Faerch kid sure has a look about him. He's got that 'evil' mole and a pasty face with uncomfortable eyes - precisely the sort of pale personality that you would think make future axe killers. In fact, the movie does try to colour him a little, displaying the suffocating family and school environment he grows up in. Still, it wasn't really engaging and we get lost in the blood before anyone could explain the need to spill some.

As an old school slasher, this isn't better than something like, say, "The Hills Have Eyes" or "Hostel" but it does beat some of the more mediocre stuff out there. You'd be lucky if you caught this in a territory without censorship because lots of skin and swearing make up the movie.

Right, Mr Zombie. We're bought, so hurry up with "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto"!

Cinema Online, 23 September 2008