Halloween: Resurrection is a 2002 American horror film and eighth instalment in the Halloween film series. Directed by Rick Rosenthal, who had also directed Halloween II, the film builds upon the continuity of Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. It continues with the masked serial killer Michael Myers continuing his murderous rampage in his hometown of Haddonfield, but this time, in his old childhood home, now derelict, which is being used for a live internet horror show.
Although more sequels were planned to follow Resurrection, they were later replaced by Rob Zombie’s remake/re-imagining of the original Halloween in 2007. A sequel to the remake was released in 2009.
Three years after the events that happened in California in Halloween H20, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) had been sent to a psychiatric hospital after it is revealed that she had beheaded a paramedic instead of her brother Michael; the paramedic had located the body of Myers in the dining hall of Laurie’s school, but Myers had attacked the paramedic, crushed his larynx so he wouldn’t cry out and forcefully switched clothing and his mask. Myers then goes into hiding for the next three years.
On October 31, 2001, still in captivity, Laurie, pretending to be heavily medicated, prepares herself for the inevitable confrontation with Michael. When Michael finally appears, Laurie lures him into a trap, but as she attempts to kill Myers, she second guesses herself and goes to remove his mask to make sure that it is really her brother this time. Myers takes advantage, and stabs her in the back before sending her off the roof to her death.
The following year, six college students – Bill Woodlake (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Donna Chang (Daisy McCrackin), Jen Danzig (Katee Sackhoff), Jim Morgan (Luke Kirby), Rudy Grimes (Sean Patrick Thomas), and Sara Moyer (Bianca Kajlich) – win a competition to appear on an Internet reality show directed by Freddie Harris (Busta Rhymes) and his assistant, Nora Winston (Tyra Banks), in which they have to spend a night in the childhood home of Michael Myers in order to find out what led him to kill. On Halloween, each equipped with head-cameras as well as the cameras laid throughout the house, they start the show, searching the entire house for something that can provide a clue to Michael’s past…
‘The only thing this tired slasher flick may resurrect is nostalgia for when the genre was still fresh and scary. It’s so devoid of joy and energy it makes even ’Jason X‘ look positively Shakespearian by comparison.’ Lou Lumenick, New York Post
“No, it’s not as single-minded as John Carpenter’s original, but it’s sure a lot smarter and more unnerving than the sequels.” Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News
‘If H20 took the “television star” theory of Scream, this one attempts to be self-referential – and fails, mostly. Sure, a few bits work, like when the Internet audience starts to act like typical fans watching an 80s stalk-and-slash (i.e. “Don’t go in there…he’s right behind you…” etc.). Most of the time, though, the jibes and jests brought on by the Internet webcast gimmick fall on their ass.’ Nate Yapp, Cinema Blend
‘There is not an intelligent line of dialogue muttered in the film and we are forced to listen to the six moronic teens screeching and doing dumb things that inspire spoof flicks like Scary Movie. For example the heroine at one point actually runs back into the house after she has spent half the film trying to get out.’ Guylaine Cadorette, Hollywood.com
‘Unlike the recent Jason X, which made up for its brain-dead script with some hilarious death scenes, Halloween: Resurrection can’t even manage to pull off a decent claret-stained money shot. An audacious nod to classic British serial killer flick Peeping Tom aside, Rosenthal handles the action with all the flair of a contributor to You’ve Been Framed, leaving us to ponder how any self-respecting director can fail to make a huge guy in a white mask carrying a ten-inch blade frightening.’ Total Film
Buy Halloween: Resurrection on Miramax Blu-ray from Amazon.com
