Rob Zombie’s work often requires more than one appraisal. Case in point: I didn’t connect with The Lords of Salem the first time I saw it. In fact, I wrote the film off until a fellow Dread Central writer told me to give it a second chance. I did just that, and I’m glad I did. Under the inexplicable weirdness, there’s a solid film steeped in a groovy layer of satanic panic. It’s not necessarily a movie I’ll watch endlessly. But I can see real merit in the picture and am glad I paid it a repeat visit.
It seems Quentin Tarantino had a similar experience with Rob Zombie’s Halloween. A while back, the decorated director spoke with Consequence about his experience making Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. When the outlet brought up the Halloween sequel Tarantino almost directed, the discussion eventually shifted to the Rob Zombie remake. The cult director revealed that he didn’t connect with Zombie’s adaptation the first time. But like many do with Zombie’s work, he came around after a second viewing.
The setup for the Zombie-directed remake goes like this:
Nearly two decades after being committed to a mental institution for killing his stepfather and older sister, Michael Myers breaks out, intent on returning to the town of Haddonfield, Ill. He arrives in his hometown on Halloween with the indomitable purpose of hunting down his younger sister, Laurie. The only thing standing between Michael and a Halloween night of bloody carnage is psychologist Dr. Samuel Loomis.
“When I saw the first one, I didn’t like it at all,” Tarantino told Consequence. “I didn’t like the aesthetic. I didn’t like everything that he added to it and then the last hour just becomes this fast-forward remake of the first one. What the f**k is all this s**t? Eight months later, I watched it on video … and I really liked them once I got all the preconceptions out of my head. That kid [Daeg Faerch] is really good. I mean, what did I think Rob Zombie was going to do with it? Do I want him to do something else? I like his Sam Peckinpah aesthetic. So, now that I didn’t have a bug up my ass about it, I was actually able to appreciate it. And again, it’s that kid who got me into it, and Danielle Harris is fantastic.”
I still haven’t quite come to appreciate Zombie’s Halloween films. But I think a second viewing might be in order. The director packs so much shock value into his work that it can be hard to see past that to the artistic merit in an inaugural viewing. Also, I concur with Tarantino, Danielle Harris is fantastic.
Maybe I will pull out the Blu-ray box set and give Zombie’s stab at the franchise a second chance this Halloween season. What do I have to lose?
If you’re ready to do the same, you can scope the film on The Roku Channel (free with ads) as of the publication of this post!
That’s all we’ve got for you at present. Keep an eye out for more hot takes and recommendations from your favorite cinematic icons as we discover them.
Categorized:News
