And then enter this

First of all--it is extremely violent!  I can see how many find it nonsensical, even gratuitous.  Zombie himself has been a bit touchy on the subject in his past films--saying that if you want gratuitous violence go watch "Cannibal Holocaust" or a Italian zombie flick.  Ok--I don't quite agree with that, I do think that there is a kind of "viciousness" in the violence that he tends to film.  I do think, though, there is some genuine thought that has gone into this remake.  First John Carpenter told him "make it your own;" secondly, this is deliberately set in a time frame that is forward of the original.  Carpenter's Halloween has the elder sister being carved up on a Halloween night in 1963.  The presence of the KISS song places the remake murder as no earlier than 1977.  So Zombie has moved the time frame--that makes his Laurie Stroud a late 90's high schooler.  Having said all of that, I don't blame a horror lover for not warming up to this stuff.  It's hard and it obviously interferers, or some might say "complicates," a much intrenched, even beloved, horror icon:  Michael Myers.

There are a few moments that I find a bit amusing.  As a sort of inside joke kind of thing, Danny Trejo's character Ismael Cruz (why Ismael???) pleads to Michael "Hey I know, I spent a little time behind walls."  Trejo is an ex-con, and he spent more than just a little time "behind walls." [Future blog warning:  I might include, at some point, Trejo's first film appearance in the really strange and compromised Runaway Train]  His wife Sheri plays a striper, and she was a striper--what's amusing is that she is reputed to have been good in real life--not so much in the bit part of the film.  Finally who in the world decided that Alexander DeLarge could leave his government provided job to star in a Rob Zombie film??

Next up:  Rob Zombie's  Halloween II  

I have not watched this before (so really how big a fan can I be??).  My live blogging is ending and I will provide comments tomorrow.  I have heard that this film is really awful--so I am going to brace myself with strong drink!!  It's been a pleasure!!  See ya'll in the A.M.