Rob Zombie
Halloween - The Beginning

It was the movie's commercial that gave me that frantic urge to rush to the cinema to watch that horror film I hadn't seen since "Saw III".

"The birth of the greatest serial killer in history" (or something like that) read the said ad, which gave me all the reasons to have an "anguishingly unforgettable" evening (and a few sleepless nights).

Damn advertising.

"Halloween - The Beginning", Rob Zombie's personal remake of the famous Halloween saga, is, in my very humble opinion, one of those horror films with "only violence, (almost) no artistic depth".

The film is clearly divided into two parts: Michael Myers' childhood and his adult life. The first of these two parts is by far the best; the director shows through highly effective scenes the reasons for Michael's hatred, an introverted child born to a stripper mother and unknown father, mistreated both at home, by his stepfather and sister, and by the usual school bullies. On Halloween, he begins his long series of murders, killing those who mistreated him while also showing feelings of compassion towards his infant sister and his mother, his only sources of affection.

Up to this point, the film would be rated 4-5 stars, but the second part, which, after a chronological leap of 15 years, tells of Michael's escape from the criminal asylum and his return to his hometown, turns everything upside down: the suspense is replaced by boredom. From here to the end, there is merely the narration of a lengthy series of senseless killings (the most inexplicable among these is the killing of the prison guard Ismael, Michael's only remaining friend, which overturns the image the viewer has formed of Michael Myers, that is, of a mad killer who, however, spares those who treat him kindly) and they are all the same.

The most glaring mistake of the director is, -I emphasize- in my very humble opinion, not explaining the reason behind the protagonist's apparent immortality and why he searches for his long-lost infant sister, now a teenager, all things that, for someone who hasn't seen the Halloween saga (where they are explained), represent those question marks that don't allow for a perfect understanding of the plot.

Only two reasons to watch it... If you're a horror enthusiast or if you want your girlfriend to cling to you for the entire duration of the film due to the violence of the executions.