Halloween: Resurrection
I'll get the compliments out of the way first, since there won't be very many. Ever since the birth of the horror/slasher movie sequels (which ironically, the original Halloween started), one of the challenges for writers and directors who bothered to put thought into it was how to keep regenerating their heroes without reality taking too much of a hit. Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees became simple, because they just made them superhuman monsters. But Michael Myers has always seemed to retain a human side to him, well as much as possible in these kinds of films. In the beginning of Halloween: Resurrection, we are given an explanation as to how Myers could have survived the end of Halloween: H20, 4 years ago. Before I criticized, I went back and watched that film (which is much better than this one) and can now laud my kudos upon the makers. The scenario presented is possible, maybe not plausible, but hey, Silence of The Lambs pulled it off, so why can't they. In Halloween: Resurrection, director Rick Rosenthal tries to breathe new blood into things by mixing in the Internet and society's fascination with reality and shock entertainment. The end result rarely works, save an online chase scene involving web cams and palm pilots and a character that can quote serial killer stats like they were baseball cards. But the majority of the film still falls victim to the typical horror movie ploys. There are sex-starved teens, token and stereotypical characters and gruesome violence, all wrapped around a semi-interesting story.
This time around, Michael is going home. It almost seems like they are trying to close everything off and give some sort of finality to it all. You see, as I stated above, Michael survived his beheading via a little Silence of The Lambs bait and switch (watch the last movie as I did, it is possible). He tracks down his sister who has now been institutionalized for the events of the previous movie. From there, we are introduced to 3 young college students (re: victims) who are chosen to take part in an online Halloween stunt by an Internet promoter (Busta Rhymes) and his sultry business partner (Tyra Banks, who must have needed the money). One is a highly energetic, image conscious airhead, one a moody, psychology major and one a cooking-obsessed token black man. They are paired together with a rebellious artist type, an oversexed male (Thomas Ian Nicholas who could easily have wandered in from his American Pie escapades) and a mysterious, gothic looking girl with an attitude. Did they miss any stereotypes? The proposition is this; they will spend Halloween night in the house where Myers killed his sister 24 years ago. The house and the teens are rigged with cameras and the whole thing will be broadcast on the Internet. This setup is mildly interesting at best, tapping into the public obsession with reality and shock entertainment. Where the story goes from here, of course, is its downfall. You see, the house isn't empty, and the teens are going to get more than they bargained for.
Rosenthal and company failed to inject the creativity of their beginning into the rest of the movie. It becomes a series of revelations, bad decisions, supposed discoveries, and of course, the 8th different way that people think they've gotten rid of Mr. Myers. I think there may have been an interesting idea here, and the last film showed that the franchise is not completely dead. Unfortunately though, the film resorts to the very tactics that have failed the predecessors, which it originally inspired. None of the performances are memorable, few of the lines are insightful or funny, and of course the violence is excessive and unnecessary. Films like Scream and The Blair Witch Project have shown that scares, humor and thrills can come from natural occurrences, sans a lot of hacking and gross-out antics. Rosenthal didn't pay attention to these films, and we become the victims for having to endure a good idea, cut to pieces by stupidity and gore.
Ultimately, Resurrection is a failed attempt to bring Myers and the Halloween legacy into the 21st Century. As in Jason X, computers and modern technology have changed the landscape but not the lack of intelligence in the characters and the script. Teenagers, apparently, are just as dumb and hormonally driven as they were 24 years ago. With the original movie, John Carpenter scared the life out of a young 10-year old. Every year after that when I went trick or treating, I was much more cautious and alert. Oddly enough, the scariest costumes were usually the simplest, i.e. a sheet with holes and glasses. Thank you John, I still have nightmares about that. Now, 8 movies later, Carpenter's franchise is beginning to show signs of aging and desperation. I tried really hard to like this movie, but by the ending, which is also by the books, I just couldn't recommend it and was slightly disappointed at the potential that was wasted.
Men in Black II
Barry Sonnenfeld really needs to learn some patience, and some new tricks while he's at it. In his effort to recapture the magic of a few summers ago, Sonnenfeld forgot to include a script with even a hint of something original outside of the makeup department. Men In Black 2 doesn't have the originality, the creativity, the laughs, the guilty fun, or even the semblance of anything entertaining beyond overgrown bugs and an alien lingerie model with worms for fingers. What we are left with is a film that is mercifully short, sporadically funny, and unevenly paced. In the search for intelligent life, this film should keep looking.
This time around, Agent J (Will Smith) is partnered with someone new as Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) has been deneuralized and is now working at a post office, oblivious of his past work. If only I could have neuralized myself and zapped all my senses of taste, maybe I would have enjoyed this movie more. But wait, unfortunately there's more. There is a new and sinister force in the universe (besides the summer sequel) and it wants to steal something that will give it great and magical powers Unfortunately it couldn't find any humor or intelligence. Agent K must be awakened and refreshed of his memory in order to recall the location of this magical light. Also, there is a female presence (Sonnenfeld didn't learn the lesson that he did in the last one, that a female presence must be a love interest as well). It must be an unwritten rule of sequels to rehash things that previously worked, expand on characters that were previously entertaining, and try to explain, justify or bring any existing mysteries full circle. Now, I have no problem with copycatting what works, as long as there were doses of originality mixed in (Lethal Weapon 2, Terminator 2) however I do take issue with making certain roles more prominent. In the film, the talking dog informant, Frank, has a meatier role. This, along with more on the worm-like creatures and Zed, the leader, becomes tedious. The reason they worked so well the first time is because we were given short doses, with each word or phrase having an impact This time, many of the jokes were either used in the preview or just fail to work. Even the pointless insertion of Michael Jackson and Martha Stewart cannot infuse this film with the original film.
Ultimately, Men In Black 2 is yet another failed attempt to cash in on a popular trend by rehashing and revamping previous successes. There is a checklist for sequels, both of do's and don'ts and this film misses most of the do's and hits the majority of the don'ts. The story is tired, confusing and poorly done, the expanded characters fail to generate the same magic as the first time around, the effects are no more spectacular than they were the first time, the humor is unchanged and all spoiled in the trailer and the only ounce of creativity went into making newer, more disgusting aliens. Sonnenfeld apparently also subscribes to the principle that a more increased presence from roles that were enlarged because apparently they think that if you enlarge something that works without putting thought behind it, it will work (The Nutty Professor/Dr Doolittle clause, all this movie was missing was Eddie Murphy) The short animated film that played prior to it, The Chubb Chubb's Are Coming, was 100 times more unique, funnier and in a short, compact dose, achieves everything that MIB 2 does not. They could take a lesson from its creators before embarking on another intergalactic scum exorcism.
For the rest of the reviews, proceed to the next page.
Also, check out other reviews by Jerry at his own site, The Reel Rambler
Issue 11, October 2002 | next article