Did Rob Zombie Remake the Wrong Movie?
It's weird that the hillbilly king went for Halloween, right?
Rob Zombie’s Halloween was an interesting remake.
It strayed far from the original. The Myers family was put into the traditional “trashy” tope that Rob Zombie uses in most of his films, an aesthetic that works beautifully for House of 1000 Corpses, but not so much for Halloween (1978).
Michael was made out to have the typical traits of a serial killer in the making, killing small animals to boot. Of course, his family also treated him horribly.
It was all stereotypical things that you would expect from a serial killer’s childhood. The “signs", if you will.
On top of that, the ten-year-old child was made out to be, uhhh… weirdly touchy with his teenage sister. Yeah. Um… gross. Not sure why that even had to be written in there. God, I hate that scene.
Why Halloween Was a Weird Choice
To me, Halloween was scary because of what happened to Michael.
The iconic opening gives us the POV of a little boy. A child on Halloween, dressed up for trick r treating, stalking his own home. One can assume he’s probably playing in his costume, but as the scene continues, we see that something is wrong.
Judith herself is shocked when her little brother pulls the knife out and stabs her to death.
When the parents come home, they immediately run to Michael. When your son comes out holding a bloody kitchen knife, it usually doesn’t point to good things, after all.
A child randomly snapping and murdering his own sister is beyond chilling. It’s much more scary to imagine an ordinary child becoming evil with no reasoning rather than a build-up to it. The “devil’s eyes” mean something when the child snaps, as if he were possessed by something demonic.
What I’m getting at here is this: Michael came from a well-adjusted home. Or, at the very least, we can assume he did. Perhaps that was why Rob Zombie saw it as a blank canvas, as he could take the average life of the Myers family and twist it into something sinister.
Besides, we never had any background of the family anyway.
It seemed as if Zombie wanted to explain why Michael ended up how he did, but by doing so, took away what made his character so scary to begin with.
John Carpenter never gave an explanation for Michael, because an explanation would’ve made him less frightening. The unknown would become the known, and the theories surrounding his entire character would cease to be relevant.
The uncertainty of Michael’s transformation into The Shape is half the reason people were interested.
Rob Zombie took all of this and turned it into a biography for Michael, showing us that the killer apparently suffered from ASPD due to childhood trauma and abuse. Michael attached himself to his baby sister because she was the only one who never treated him badly, if only because she was an infant.
But this all becomes strange in comparison to the original, and quite frankly, makes it into a completely different story. Rob Zombie’s Halloween is not the same as Halloween (1978), rather the characters just share the same names.
Of course, that was Zombie’s intention. He wanted to have his own vision of the franchise. While I can respect that, I also can admit that I don’t necessarily like the execution.
Zombie has no interest in mimicking what already exists, instead going all-in on Rob Zombie’s Halloween. Dimension Films gambled on Zombie, knowing Zombie’s aesthetic choices ensured his Halloween would be fresh, bold, and impressively mean-spirited. It’d be his Halloween, which is the approach all remakes should strive for. - Matt Donato, Halloween’ – How Rob Zombie Made a Horror Classic Entirely His Own [Revenge of the Remakes]
And, when looking at Rob Zombie’s past work, Halloween (1978) was nothing like anything he had ever done before. Zombie’s films were famous for their aesthetics, featuring “trashy” characters that typically weren’t seen in film. It was a refreshing breath of fresh air in comparison to the many horror movies filled with middle-classed, hormonal teenagers.
But Halloween (1978) had no hillbillies. The Myers were a middle-class family, seemingly happy in their infamous abode. They were a far cry from the Firefly Family of Zombie’s famous films.
The Sawyers: A Missed Opportunity
Staring Zombie right in the face was a classic film that fit the bill perfectly.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
When you think of this iconic franchise, what do you picture? A man wearing a skin mask? An inbred family? A hillbilly aesthetic? Doesn’t that fit in perfectly with the Rob Zombie brand?
It seemed as if he missed the chance to elevate the perfect franchise with his own flair.
In fact, I don’t believe Leatherface was ever on Zombie’s brain.
Of course, one could argue that House of 1000 Corpses is his own Texas Chainsaw film, but I can’t help but think how interesting a fresh take on the franchise would feel. After the horrid Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), Rob Zombie could be the saving grace in reimagining the movies.
There is, however, a reason as to why Rob Zombie went for Mikey instead of Bubba.
To call The Texas Chainsaw Massacre a “slasher film” or “just” a horror movie is an insult at best. It is a film that stands side by side with some of the best films of it’s time – one every bit as powerful as Taxi Driver, Jaws, A Clockwork Orange and The Godfather. It is a true classic. - Rob Zombie on Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Or Was It?
The film is perfect in Zombie’s eyes.
Why remake something that doesn’t need it? I can understand the sentiment. If someone were to ask me, “If you had the chance, would remake American Psycho (2000), would you?”
It’s my favorite movie, but I would say no. A sequel, maybe, but not a remake. The film is perfect how it is, and it should be left alone.
I completely understand why Rob Zombie wouldn’t want to touch it. Even with Halloween (2007), Zombie asked for the blessing of John Carpenter before going through with the film.
Still, it’s at least interesting to think about what a Rob Zombie version of the film could be. How would he tackle the Sawyer family? Would they still live in the iconic farmhouse? Would they still serve human chili? Would we see the childhood of Leatherface?
And while we could speculate and fantasize all day, I don’t think such a film will ever happen. As unfortunate as it is, Rob Zombie’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre will only ever be but a concept by salivating fans wanting a proper redemption of the franchise.
Final Thoughts
As you can guess, I’m not a big fan of Zombie’s Halloween remakes. I can appreciate them for what they tried to do, and certainly understand why people like them, but I just prefer the originals.
Although, he definitely beat Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, so he did something right by my book.
I enjoy Zombie’s other films as well. He definitely has a unique style that’s easy to spot. A style that is clearly influenced by Tobe Hooper’s horror classic.
Maybe one day we’ll get Zombie’s version of the Sawyers. Until then, we got the Firefly Family.