Its hard to believe that Rob Zombie’s Halloween turns 15 this year.
With the series in a serious rut following the poor box office and critical response to 2002’s Halloween Resurrection; it was decided to inject fresh blood into the franchise.
We were post-Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, which made serious box office dollars, so Malek Akkad decided to offer Zombie the chance to put his stamp on Michael Myers.
Zombie, for context, was on a hot streak following the success of The Devil’s Rejects, the sequel to his Texas Chainsaw homage House of 1000 Corpses. The musician turned filmmaker had previously spoken out as a huge fan of the series and also someone who could bring Michael Myers into the 21st century.
One of the initial plans was to have a two-part reboot, with the first film serving as a prequel story which largely focused on Michael’s time at Smith’s Grove. This plan ended up being scrapped and Zombie was forced to incorporate his two film idea into one film.
This can largely be visible throughout, as once Michael escapes as an adult, the film feels like a loose remake of John Carpenter’s film, with a few surprises.
Instead of regular-sized man Zombie wanted to make Michael a physical threat and employed the services of former wrestler Tyler Mane to play Myers. Malcolm McDowell was Dr. Loomis and fairly newcomer Scout Taylor Compton was Laurie with Halloween veteran Danielle Harris coming in to play Annie. Her father would be played by Brad Dourif, plus we have cameos from Ken Foree, Danny Trejo, Udo Kier, Richard Lynch plus Sheri Moon-Zombie as Deborah Myers, Michael’s mother.
While the film is still being debated to this day, it did take $80 million at US box office, which was over double what Resurrection brought in. It also held the crown of best Labor Day weekend takings up until Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in 2021.
How has the film aged for you? Let us know your take on Halloween (2007) in the comments.
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