Halloween (2007)

Director:

Rob Zombie

Writers (WGA):

Rob Zombie (screenplay)
John Carpenter (1978 screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

31 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Evil Has A Destiny

Plot:

After being committed for 17 years, Michael Myers, now a grown man and still very dangerous, escapes from the mental institution (where he was committed as a 10 year old) and he immediately returns to Haddonfield, where he wants to find his baby sister, Laurie. Anyone who crosses his path is in mortal danger.

Plot Keywords:

Boyfriend | Suicide | Dysfunctional Family | Teenager | Stripper

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Malcolm McDowell	...	Dr. Samuel Loomis
Scout Taylor-Compton	...	Laurie Strode
Tyler Mane	...	Michael Myers
Daeg Faerch	...	Michael Myers, age 10
Sheri Moon Zombie	...	Deborah Myers
William Forsythe	...	Ronnie White
Danielle Harris	...	Annie Brackett
Kristina Klebe	...	Lynda
Skyler Gisondo	...	Tommy Doyle
Danny Trejo	...	Ismael Cruz
Hanna Hall	...	Judith Myers
Tom Towles	...	Larry Redgrave
Bill Moseley	...	Zach 'Z-Man' Garrett
Leslie Easterbrook	...	Patty Frost
Steve Boyles	...	Stan Payne
Brad Dourif	...	Sheriff Lee Brackett
Richard Lynch	...	Principal Chambers
Clint Howard	...	Doctor Koplenson
Jenny Gregg Stewart	...	Lindsey Wallace
Lew Temple	...	Noel Kluggs
Udo Kier	...	Morgan Walker
Adam Weisman	...	Steve Haley
Sydnie Pitzer	...	Baby Boo
Myla Pitzer	...	Baby Boo
Stella Altman	...	Baby Boo (as Lela Altman)
Dee Wallace	...	Cynthia Strode
Max Van Ville	...	Paul
Nick Mennell	...	Bob Simms
Pat Skipper	...	Mason Strode
Daryl Sabara	...	Wesley Rhoades
Richmond Arquette	...	Deputy Charles
Ken Foree	...	Big Joe Grizzly
Paul Kampf	...	Officer Lowery
Sybil Danning	...	Nurse Wynn
Micky Dolenz	...	Derek Allen
Daniel Roebuck	...	Lou Martini
Mel Fair	...	Taylor Madison
Sid Haig	...	Chester Chesterfield
Nikki Taylor Melton	...	Princess
Deven Streeton	...	Princess
Andreana Weiner	...	Voice Performer (voice)
David Michie	...	Voice Performer (voice)
Paige Pollack	...	Voice Performer (voice)
Jeremy Maxwell	...	Voice Performer (voice)
Barbara Iley	...	Voice Performer (voice)
David Randolph	...	Voice Performer (voice)
Noreen Reardon	...	Voice Performer (voice)
John DeMita	...	Voice Performer (voice)
Nancy Truman	...	Voice Performer (voice)
Daamen J. Krall	...	Voice Performer (voice) (as Daamen Krall)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kazu Nagahama	...	College student #3 (uncredited)
Amanda Tepe	...	Female Student (uncredited)

Directed by
Rob Zombie

Writing credits (WGA)
Rob Zombie		(screenplay)
John Carpenter		(1978 screenplay) and
Debra Hill		(1978 screenplay)

Produced by
Malek Akkad	....	producer
Patrick Esposito	....	associate producer
Andy Gould	....	producer
Andrew G. La Marca	....	line producer (as Andy La Marca)
Matthew Stein	....	executive producer
Bob Weinstein	....	executive producer
Harvey Weinstein	....	executive producer
Rob Zombie	....	producer

Original Music by
Tyler Bates

Cinematography by
Phil Parmet		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Glenn Garland

Casting by
Monika Mikkelsen

Production Design by
Anthony Tremblay

Art Direction by
T.K. Kirkpatrick

Set Decoration by
Lori Mazuer
Stephanie Ziemer

Costume Design by
Mary E. McLeod		(as Mary McLeod)

Makeup Department
Michael Deak	....	makeup effects technician (as Mike Deak)
Yvonne Depatis-Kupka	....	department head hair stylist
Renee Ferruggia	....	key hair stylist
Luis García	....	key makeup artist
Vickie Mynes	....	key hair stylist
Douglas Noe	....	makeup department head
Brian Rae	....	makeup effects technician
Wayne Toth	....	special makeup effects artist
Chris Zega	....	makeup effects technician
Silvina Knight	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Patrick Esposito	....	post-production supervisor
Andrew G. La Marca	....	production manager (as Andy LaMarca)
Richard Saperstein	....	executive in charge of production
Ed Tapia	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stephen P. Del Prete	....	assistant director: reshoots
Stephen P. Del Prete	....	second second assistant director
Alexander H. Gayner	....	first assistant director (as Alex Gayner)
Emily McGovern	....	second assistant director
Korey Scott Pollard	....	second second assistant director (as Korey Pollard)
Tommy Harper	....	first assistant director: additional photography (uncredited)
Rawn Hutchinson	....	second unit director (uncredited)
John Pontrelli	....	first assistant director: second unit (uncredited)
David Waters	....	second assistant director: additional photography (uncredited)

Art Department
John Brunot	....	property master
Robert J. Carlyle	....	construction coordinator
Adam Chambers	....	set decorator production assistant
Susan Cho	....	set decorator buyer
Don 'Tex' Clark	....	leadman: re-shoot
Jeremy Deal	....	on-set greensman
Dennis De George	....	set dresser
Todd Devane	....	on-set dresser
Elixandro Diaz Jr.	....	plaster foreman (as Elixandro Diaz [Juju])
Jason Garner	....	design department assistant
Michael V. Maurice	....	set dresser
Kirstin Mooney	....	art department coordinator
James F. Orendorff	....	construction foreperson
Enrico Paronelli	....	paint supervisor
Neil David Pontecorvo	....	greens foreman
Nick Principe	....	props
Eugenio Quintero	....	plaster foreman
Kelsey Riach	....	set decorator production assistant
Mark Richardson	....	assistant property master
Andre Sowards	....	on-set dresser: additional photography
Chad Vachter	....	assistant property master
Vanessa Velez Boswell	....	assistant property master
Joel Venti	....	storyboard artist
Brent Williams	....	set dresser
Carl Horner	....	special props (uncredited)
James R. Lord	....	propmaker (uncredited)

Sound Department
Barney Cabral	....	supervising sound editor
Patrick Cyccone Jr.	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Drenning	....	adr mixer
Rickley W. Dumm	....	sound effects editor
Richard Dwan Jr.	....	supervising dialogue editor
Alan Freedman	....	adr mixer
Michael Kreple	....	foley mixer
Daniel J. Leahy	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brian Magerkurth	....	sound mix technician
Cynthia Merrill	....	foley artist
Sterling Moore	....	utility sound
Nick Neutra	....	foley supervisor
Rick Owens	....	foley artist
Perry Robertson	....	supervising sound editor
Brian Robinson	....	boom operator
Buck Robinson	....	sound mixer
Scott Sanders	....	supervising sound designer
Steve Schatz	....	sound mixing recordist: predubs
Eric Thompson	....	adr mixer
Kevin Zimmerman	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Rachel Leigh Arnold	....	graphic designer
Mark R. Byers	....	special effects coordinator (as Mark Byers)
Wayne Toth	....	special effects makeup

Visual Effects by
Jamie Baxter	....	digital compositor
Ryan Beadle	....	digital I/O
Sam Dabbs	....	digital compositor
Shaina Holmes	....	digital compositor
Nicholas Kim	....	digital compositor
Paulina Kuszta	....	visual effects coordinator
Amani Williams	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Michael H. Barnett	....	stunts
Alex Brown	....	stunt driver
Allison Caetano	....	stunts
Gokor Chivichyan	....	stunts
Christy Cotton	....	stunts
Lori Crowder	....	stunt driver
Ashley Cusato	....	stunts
Joe Davis	....	stunt performer
Alexandria DeFabiis	....	stunt performer
Daeg Faerch	....	stunts
Casey Hendershot	....	stunt double: Tyler Mane
Sara Holden	....	stunt double
Rawn Hutchinson	....	stunt coordinator
Irving E. Lewis	....	stunts
James Logan	....	stunt double
Deborah L. Mazor	....	stunt double: Daryl Sabara
Cassandra McCormick	....	stunt double: Hanna R. Hall
Chris Nielsen	....	stunt double
Chris Nielsen	....	stunts
Brandon Sebek	....	stunt double
Michelle Sebek	....	stunt double
Tim Sitarz	....	stunt double
Jay Torrez	....	stunt double
Shawn Lane	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Marsha Blackburn	....	still photographer
Curtis Bradford	....	gaffer
Mark Carlile	....	lighting technician
Anthony Cobbs	....	additional camera operator
Kathryn Comkowycz	....	additional loader
Hector Corona	....	electrician
Chris Cotterman	....	grip
Michael Cruickshank	....	second assistant camera: orange team
David Daniel	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Bryan Delorenzo	....	film loader
Daryl Didier	....	lighting technician
Steve Gilbert	....	rigging grip
Josh Gundling	....	second assistant camera (as Josh Gundling Williamson)
Timothy Hedgecock	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as Tim Hedgecock)
Craig Hudgins	....	rigging grip
Steve Irwin	....	24 frame video operator
Alexandra Kanal	....	additional camera loader
Benjamin Kilmer	....	grip
Matthew Kistenmacher	....	electrician
Matthew F. Leonetti	....	additional photographer
Jay Levy	....	first assistant camera
Justin M. Lubin	....	still photographer: pre-production
Daniel L. Magat	....	lighting technician
BJ McDonnell	....	Steadicam operator
BJ McDonnell	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Greg Mitchell	....	video assist operator
Rich Paisley	....	rigging electrician
Vince Palomino	....	key grip
Ernesto Pérez	....	grip
Michael Piekutowski	....	rigging electrician
Steve Rollins	....	electrician
Aaron Schnobrich	....	lighting technician
Aaron Schulte	....	rigging gaffer
Tom Schurke	....	24 frame playback supervisor
Grant Smith	....	grip
James Sprattley	....	first assistant camera: black team
Nate Wayman	....	grip
Kevin Wilt	....	electrician

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Gene Vassilaros	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Artemio Carpio	....	costumer
Ivory Stanton	....	head costume ager/dyer
Jennifer Wolf	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Brian Hayashi	....	post-production assistant
Matthew W. Johnson	....	IQ editor
Joel T. Pashby	....	associate editor
Joe Patnaud	....	post-production assistant
Matthew Schmidt	....	assistant editor
Dennis Virkler	....	additional film editor

Music Department
John Carpenter	....	composer: theme music
Amy Decker	....	music coordinator
Michael Farrow	....	scoring mixer
Darrell Hall	....	music editor
Tom Rowland	....	music supervisor
Robin Urdang	....	music consultant
Tim Williams	....	conductor
Tim Williams	....	orchestrator
Rob Zombie	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Rich Bennetti	....	transportation
Rob Byer	....	transportation office coordinator
Jack R. Campbell	....	driver
Dan Gearhart	....	driver
Barry E. Golob	....	driver
Billy R. Hass	....	transportation co-captain
Jeff Hatten	....	driver
Darrell Janson	....	driver
Jerry McMullan	....	driver
Tony Mercier	....	driver
David Muntz	....	driver
Kelly Murphy	....	transportation
Tina Peterson	....	driver
Tommy Rizzo	....	driver
Richard C. Ryan	....	transportation coordinator: additional photography
Vicki Sousa	....	driver
Paul Stanbrough	....	driver
Chuck Tomasello	....	driver
Wayne Williams	....	transportation coordinator
Randall Wolff	....	driver

Other crew
Renato Avenia	....	stand-in: Michael Myers
Hunt Baker	....	stand-in: Paul
Michael Beatrice	....	assistant accountant
Paul Belenardo	....	production accountant
Adrian Lee Borden	....	stand-in: Laurie Strode
Alexander T. Carey	....	production assistant
Justin Carville	....	first assistant accountant
Lana Dandan	....	set production assistant
Srdjan Dobic	....	set production assistant
Diane Durant	....	script supervisor
Glen Evans	....	assistant: Mr. Zombie
Jonn Faircrest	....	stand-in: Dr. Samuel Loomis
Patrick Fogarty	....	production assistant
Alex Franklin	....	development executive
Karen E. Gilbert	....	key assistant location manager
Jason Michael Hatfield	....	assistant to director
Jason Michael Hatfield	....	assistant: Rob Zombie, additional photography
Justin Haut	....	assistant production coordinator
Shawn Hueston	....	assistant location manager
Michael Kehoe	....	key craft service
Angela Kodicek	....	stand-in: Deborah Myers]
Dena Kollar	....	stand-in: Michael Myers, age 10
Erin Kolpek	....	stand-in: Tommy Doyal
Christian Labarta	....	set production assistant
Ashley Lamont	....	production assistant
Louis A. Lanni	....	set production assistant
Sheila Louie	....	rigging medic
Jeff Maynard	....	post executive
Julian Meiojas	....	production assistant
Don Mink	....	post-production accountant
Sammy Montana	....	assistant: Mr. Akkad
Michael Neale	....	location manager
Mark Noland	....	production assistant
Josh Novak	....	production assistant
Peter Onsmark	....	set production assistant
James Payne	....	production accountant
Jeremy Platt	....	production executive
Karen Shane	....	second assistant accountant
Andrew Stahl	....	production assistant
Jessica Jane Stewart	....	production assistant
Chris Stiles	....	production assistant
Sophia Tapia	....	payroll accountant
Nate Taylor	....	key assistant location manager
Ron Vaccaro	....	stand-in: Sheriff Brackett
Sasha Veneziano	....	assistant production coordinator
J.D. Woods	....	production assistant
Alex L. Worman	....	unit publicist
Donald E. Wygal	....	production coordinator
Hans Hernke	....	photo double: Adam Weisman (uncredited)

Thanks
Rima Akkad Monla	....	thanks
Moustapha Akkad	....	in memory of
Patricia Akkad	....	thanks
Moustapha Monla	....	thanks
Tarek Monla	....	thanks
Ziad Monla	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Dimension Films (presents)
• Nightfall Productions
• Spectacle Entertainment Group
• Trancas International Films
• Weinstein Company, The

Distributors

• Dimension Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Medyavizyon (2007) (Turkey) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2007) (Cyprus) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2007) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• Prorom Media-Trade (2007) (Romania) (theatrical)
• Roadshow Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Senator Film (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Viva International Pictures (2007) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• West Video (2007) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Xanadeux Company (2008) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Lucky Red (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
• Noori Pictures (2009) (South Korea) (all media)
• Nordisk Film Theatrical Distribution (2007) (Finland) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• PlayArte Filmes (2009) (Brazil) (all media)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2008) (Germany) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Veronica (2009) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Weinstein Company, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Weinstein Company, The (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Special Effects

• Custom Film Effects (opticals and visual effects)
• Post Logic Studios (opticals and visual effects)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• EarCandy  sound post-production
• Hip-O Records  soundtrack
• Movie Movers  cast trailers
• Movie Movers  production trailers
• Wilshire Stages, The  ADR recording facility

Also Known As:

Hall9ween (USA) (working title)
Halloween 9 (USA) (working title)
Halloween: Retribution (USA) (working title)
Rob Zombie's Halloween (USA) (complete title)
Untitled Rob Zombie Halloween Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal bloody violence and terror throughout, sexual content, graphic nudity and language.

Runtime:

109 min | USA:121 min (unrated version) | Brazil:83 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Ireland:18 | UK:18 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Netherlands:16 | France:-16 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:R | Norway:18 | Hong Kong:III | Taiwan:R-18 | Finland:K-18 | Germany:18 (cut) | Philippines:R-13 (cut) | Argentina:16 | Italy:VM14 | USA:R (certificate #43755) | Portugal:M/18 | Germany:18 (SPIO/JK) (uncut) | New Zealand:R18 | Japan:R-15 | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:R21 (director's cut) (cut) | Brazil:14 (heavily cut)

Filming Locations:

Altadena, California, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

Max Van Ville auditioned for the role of Steve, but was cast as Paul instead.

Goofs:

Continuity: During their struggle when Michael kills Laurie's adoptive mother (Dee Wallace), the phone gets knocked off the hook. Yet when the sheriff calls the house later to inform them of the danger, he gets a ring and an answering machine.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Michael Myers - Child: Come on, sweetie pie. Morning, Elvis. You're a pretty Elvis, aren't you? Yes, you are.

Movie Connections:

Features Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)

Soundtrack:

Let It Ride

One giant failure

When I heard that Rob Zombie had been chosen to remake "Halloween" I thought it was an interesting pick. Interesting as in wrong and not suited for this kind of project, but, hey, maybe that was exactly what was needed: someone who had a completely different approach to the story of a man we've all come to know so well since 1978 (why they didn't just wait one more year for the remake to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the franchise, God only knows). So, was Zombie the right choice? Nah!

Personally, I'm not a big fan of anything the man has made up until this point. Each of his previous movies has been an incoherent and chaotic mess. Zombie thinks foul language, twisted story lines and perverted freaks make for a scary horror movie. Well, not in my book, they don't. You can tell that for the remake of "Halloween" Zombie was trying to restrain himself, but his "style" still shines through. Worse still, his obvious weaknesses in writing dialog and making his actors play naturally become apparent in a story as dependent on suspense and likable characters as this one.

The whole idea of making this movie part prequel, part remake of the original is stupid. It seems like the craziest overestimation of a movie's capabilities since Sam Raimi decided to have three villains in one "Spider-Man" movie. There's just no way this whole story can be told within one motion picture. Besides, who ever really wanted to see Michael's origins? What made Michael Myers so scary in the first place was that he was an evil, dehumanized monster. Getting to know him means taking away half of his appeal.

Of course, it's hard to make a "Halloween" movie in 2007 and still surprise an audience that has seen this kind of movie countless times by now. Then again, no one forced Dimension to green-light this project in the first place. It has just been a bad idea all along and the outcome isn't even good enough to be a throwaway, by-the-numbers slasher-flick, let alone a remake of the mighty "Halloween".

Rob Zombie is to blame most of all. He turned all the characters into Southern rednecks who curse, f..k and drink 24/7. Michael Myers himself is now a long haired metal-head (who listened to KISS in the 70's because... THEY WERE MASKED! Isn't that a great analogy?). In this version of "Halloween" Laurie is a faceless heroine who is every bit as foul-mouthed as her bitchy friends. And Dr. Loomis - well, Malcom McDowell does his best, but Donald Pleasence owned this role and there's not one scene in which it isn't apparent that Pleasence could have done the job ten times better.

McDowell is still the shining light in this ensemble. Most of the cast doesn't do as well as him, most notably the "teenage" girls, but maybe they're not to blame for the horribly contrived dialog they have to recite. Then there are names like Brad Dourif, William Forsythe or Udo Kier - all very cool actors, but what purpose do they serve here in roles that mostly don't have any significance at all? It's typically Zombie to throw together people and ideas like that and hope that the sum of all he thinks is cool will be bigger than the individual parts.

What about the death scenes? Well, they are as trite as they come. There's not one original kill in the movie and some deaths have simply been lifted from the original and repeated with more blood and less tension. Add to that more than a few obvious continuity errors and some scenes that are downright laughable (for instance, when young Michael tapes his sleeping stepfather to a chair and the guy doesn't even wake up) and you got yourself one of the messiest horror movies of the year.

I like Rob Zombie for his passion about horror movies, but let's face it: the guy isn't a good director. He was given a great opportunity here and he messed it up. "Halloween" is one giant failure and an indicator for Zombie that maybe it would be better for him to give up making movies.