HALLOWEEN Sequel moving forward

According to producer Melek Akkad, pre-production on a sequel to Rob Zombie’s 2007 HALLOWEEN is scheduled to get underway this January, with filming to begin in March. Akkad also confirms that the follow-up will be a theatrical release and not the direct to DVD project that was speculated about just a few weeks ago. While director Rob Zombie will not be back, Tyler Mane, who played the grown up Michael Myers, will return. Negotiations are also underway with members of the remakes cast to come back for this new installment. Considering that Zombie’s Halloween was financially successful, none of this surprises me. It is further proof, however, that there are very few people currently in the movie business, from the executive side, who have any real understanding of what they’re doing.

Money aside, Zombie’s version was a complete mess from a creative point of view. He took John Carpenters great horror story, which was fully realized, and focused on only half of it, leaving the viewer with almost no rooting interest. While Carpenter’s original used three characters; Laurie Strode, Dr. Sam Loomis and Micheal Myers to create a balanced screenplay, Zombie focused on Myers 75% of the time. While he gave decent screen time to Loomis, his tragic mistake was the writing of Laurie Strode. He took the heart and center of the original and used her like a discarded afterthought. That decision created a totally off-balance movie which wore out its welcome well before the half way mark. If you’re going to make another one without Zombie, why do a direct sequel to his botched work? Zombie was given something special when he received the chance to re-explore Carpenter’s original but, unfortunately, he dropped the ball. I say it’s time to wipe the slate clean! Having said that… Zombie’s movie made money so producers will go with a continuation of his story. SORRY fans but we lose out.