Halloween III is easily my favorite, followed closely by John Carpenter’s original masterpiece. For reasons I can’t fully explain, Resurrection is third in a franchise ranking. I don’t really know exactly why I have such affection for this movie…but I do.
On paper, it sounds terrible. Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks send a group of kids into the old Myers’ house to film a web reality series? That’s the kind of shit you read on the back of terrible Direct-to-DVD boxes at Blockbuster circa 2002. I’ve never even seen a web reality series and I don’t know if they exist—I always assumed it was something the shot-on-video horror world created so they could use taglines like “The Apprentice meets I Still Know What You Did Last Summer!” And yet…I’ve watched Halloween: Resurrection probably more than any film in the franchise. There’s gotta be something there, right?
The film opens in an asylum, where we learn Laurie Strode has been a patient/inmate since the events of Halloween H20…we find out she cut off the wrong dude’s head and it was actually a paramedic that Michael had switched clothes with after crushing the dude’s throat. Of course Michael shows up at the asylum, dispatches a few guards and then comes for Laurie. It should be noted that H:R is directed by Rick Rosenthal, of Halloween II fame. The familial blood lust that was introduced in that sequel has been a ridiculous device ever since. After some struggle, Laurie is about to let Michael fall off the roof. But she has to be sure it’s the right guy this time! In trying to pull off his mask, Mikey flips the switch on her and stabs her and sends her falling to her death. RIP Laurie. I’m not a huge fan of the opening. After Michael kills Laurie, he goes back in and gives his knife to a serial killer-obsessed asylum resident who had provided a bit of expositional narration on what happened in the earlier films.
After the opening scene with weird Michael Myers bits and the unceremonious death of an iconic character, the film plays out as a fairly standard slasher film from the era, but with the aid of head cams and stationary cameras placed around the house, for the reality show aspect. And it ends with Busta Rhymes kung fu’ing Michael Myers into a bunch of wires, electrocuting the dude.
I won’t try and defend this movie. I’m just here to proclaim my love for it. Though it’s small, I’m sure the audience for Halloween: Resurrection is out there.
The rest of my Halloween franchise ranking would like something like this:
10 – Rob Zombie’s Halloween II: Just…terrible.
9 – Rob Zombie’s Halloween: Despite my dislike for the added backstory, Sheri Moon’s acting and, above all, Scout Taylor-Compton, I started to like this remake after a couple of watches.
8 – Halloween II: It’s a fun movie, but it just doesn’t do much for me overall.
7 – Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers: See remarks on Halloween II.
6 – Halloween H20: 20 Years Later: The post-Scream return of Michael Myers is pretty fun. It’s a product of its time and though ridiculous in execution, I like that Laurie is alive (whoops).
5 – Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers: In retrospect, this entry might not be as good as I once thought it was, but I have nostalgic affection for it. I don’t know if it’s the first one I saw, but it was definitely the first one I was aware of existing, as a kid.
4 – Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers: Aside from Paul Rudd, I don’t know why I like this one so much. I assume it’s the goofy mid-90s-ness of it?
3 – Halloween: Resurrection: See above.
2 – Halloween: Carpenter’s 1978 original is only second by a fraction of a degree. It’s a classic, a staple, and still affective.
1 – Halloween III: Season of the Witch: It’s a bit of a cliché now to like HIII the best, but I’ve always loved this movie and there was a time when it was almost taboo to admit. The audience has grown, thanks to time, nostalgia and the internet. It’s an out and out classic.
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