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Halloween is one of those franchises that I gravitate towards, it’s been
that way since I was a teenager. The first Halloween was revolutionary when it comes to the slasher genre
and the second one was almost as good – unfortunately the other sequels aren’t recognized as good movies by most
critics and are unforgettable to say the least. Miramax Echo Bridge recently released Halloween: The Curse
of Michael Myers, Halloween: H20 and Halloween: Resurrection on Blu-ray – are they as bad as some say? Halloween:
The Curse of Michael Myers is one of those forgettable sequels that I was talking about, I’ve seen it a handful
of times, but can never remember anything about it – other than the fact that a young Paul Rudd stars as the hero of
the film. After watching Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers in high-def (1080i) I must say that it wasn’t
half bad. In fact, I think it’s one of the more gruesome installments to the Halloween legacy.
I just feel that they tried to throw too much plot into the movie by creating too much of a back-story to Michael and
his seasonal misbehaving. The kills were great and reminiscent to the original and Michael himself was
more enjoyable than most of the sequel failures, but trying to give Michael a reason behind his behavior was a little too
much.
Halloween: H20 is based upon a story by Kevin Williamson (the writer behind Scream) and a story more
developed by Robert Zappia. I remember seeing H20 twice in the theaters back in 1998, and I remember not
really liking it the first time around. But after soaking in my own thoughts – I grew to really enjoy
H20. And to this day I feel it is the second strongest of the Halloween sequels – falling behind
Halloween II of course. Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her iconic role as Laurie Strode – this is the
first time we see her character since the second movie. Michael Myers has returned and is in search for
Laurie and her son (played by newcomer Josh Harnett). Halloween: H20 is without a doubt the best acted
Halloween movie of all time, of course Jamie Lee is more polished as an actress, and the rest of the cast is above par when
it comes to comparing the previous installments… yes, even LL Cool J isn’t that bad. Halloween:
H20’s story was fun and seemed to fit perfectly in the Halloween story – and the ending is exactly what I wanted
to see in the final chapter. Too bad it didn’t stay that way. Ok, let’s talk about Halloween:
Resurrection. I was semi excited to see this movie when it was originally released – until
I remembered the ending of Halloween: H20. Without giving any spoilers – the ending of H20 should
have been the end, but it wasn’t. And of course they give a laughable explanation to what happened
and how Michael returns once again to bring hell to Halloween night. Resurrection opens in an insane asylum
where Laurie Strode (once again played by Jamie Lee Curtis) resides – I have no problems with the opening, especially
since we finally see and know Laurie’s fate. But the movie goes south shortly after.
The plot is based upon a reality internet show called Dangertainment that recruits a young and attractive cast to enter
into Michael Myer’s childhood house that is boarded up and shut off to the outside world. And very
much like House on Haunted Hill they cannot exit the house until morning. Wired with cameras – the
reality cast is picked off one by one by an angry Michael Myers. One of my main gripes with this movie
is the performance by Busta Rhymes – or lack thereof. Busta is without a doubt the worst actor in
Halloween history – squinty eyes and all. And unfortunately the movie isn’t much better than
his performance. The main concern of mine is the plot of this movie, I understand the reality TV aspect
of it and how it could be considered a good decision, but to me Michael Myers is so much more than this movie.
After killing off Laurie Strode in the first fifteen minutes, each and every kill after that just seemed unnecessary.
They stripped Michael Myers from his motives and threw in a plot that turned this movie into a cheesy 80’s slasher
flick. There was also no sense of danger – in fact, it was appalling to see them “trapped”
in a house when all they needed to do was jump from the second story or break through some old flimsy wood that was blocking
the windows. The Bottom Line: I love the Halloween movies, well most of them.
This set is definitely worth checking out – especially if it’s been a while since you’ve seen them.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is a welcomed installment with a little too much plot, Halloween: H20 is without
a doubt one of the best Halloween movies that gives great homage to the original, and Halloween: Resurrection is without a
doubt the worst in the franchise – yes, even worse than Halloween III: Season of the Witch. It was
so great to see these movies in high-def (Curse of Michael Myers is in 1080i and the other two are 1080p) --- and finally
– we see a Halloween movie without Donald Pleasence!
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