Directed by Ron McLellen
The film basically follows the original (no!?) in terms of almost everything, from characters, dialouge, plot, kills, and little references to the overall series. Acting as a clone to the original, the film starts off with Dr. Richard Loomis (Daniel Burnely), wanting to see his patient Michael Myers the night before his transfer to "check him out" at Smith's Grove Sanitarium. He talks to Mikey (who's simply strapped down to a chair, real maximum security there fellas'!) about his evil and everything, and then is about to shoot the Boogeyman until the security guard stops him while getting his neck snapped in the process. Michael escapes and all hell is now broken loose.
The next day, Loomis is set on going back to Michael's home town to find him, because after all, "that's where his RAGE is!!". He speaks to another doctor (the director, looking more like a NY cabbie than a man with a medical degree) about the problem at hand. He dimisses Loomis' warnings and believes the man to be following his lunatic brother's footsteps. Despite his mis-dressed appearence, Mr. McLellen is actually quite believeable in his miniscule part; his accent is convincing, and unlike most director cameos, his felt real.
Following that day, we are introduced to Christy (Becky Biggs, a Taylor Swift lookalike); the sweet, friendly, virginal and overall Laurie Strode-esque teenager who's the new gal in town. She's getting used to life out of a big city and adjusting to the small town life. Hoping to get some extra cash, she is assigned as Bobby Hollister's (Callan Wilson) babysitter, a local munchin who has become friends with Christy. The film, from here, establishes its characters with a likeability, but the dialouge and pacing feel off and discordant. For example, the conversation between the two starts off with the babysitting, then jumps to Bobby asking about Christy living in the old Myers House, then back again. Also, the topic of the Myers House is left dead (haha) in this scene, and is never explored further for the rest of the film.
We also meet another out of place teen during Christy's walk to school, Will (Hunter Ballard). The two meet awkwardly, and it becomes clear that Will has the hots for Christy (who wouldn't?). The character of Will, is well, rather wasted from here on in. He is just sort of there, and besides being just another character, the film has little use for him. For his part as an actor, Ballard conveys a consistent, effective awkwardness while also exposing the characters deeper feelings for Christy.
McLellen, like I said before, has a way of making such cliched characters interesting and not annoying idiots (much like John Carpenter did with the original). Yes, the characters do typical teenage things, but its to the credit of the actors and director that they don't drill a whole into our brain. Such as the case with Tommy and Lindsay (nice 'lil homage) who are played with blithe by Lynn McArthur and Cesar Agurrie. Long story short, the two want to go to a party that night, so Lindsay calls in her new "best friend" Christy to look after her sister while she babysits. Throughout the movie Lindsay always comes equipt with an (lame) insult for Tommy; "jerk-o". Yup, she calls him that to put him down. I think its funny because in the original film Laurie called her friends "meatheads" (which is worse), but the script offers a little unintentional humor. Go here to see what I'm talkin' about.
"This is my lovely, kid brat sister Katie." - I love that line for some reason
The party goes on across the street with the usual booze at the ready, along with the booming music, and possible (but unseen) drug use. Havoc ensures and the rest of the night is a game of life and death for these unfortunate people.
Again, unfortunatley jumping back to the negatives, Sandman's basic plot feels too uninspired and the characters left as depth-less and unexplained people.
Now I have to talk about the acting seperately because its my favorite aspect of film in general.
First up is Daniel Burnely as Dr. Richard Loomis. While the character is an obviously direct prototype of Sam Loomis, I didn't like how he was written as a clone to his brother; shouting the same righteous dialouge, having the same mission, and basically emulating him endlessly. Burnely's performance (even after several viewings) feels overcooked; investing nothing but a constant shrill outer shell, with no emotional texture or feeling. Instead of creating his own character, he cranks Sam Loomis up a million notches resulting in a uneffecting and negligible performance.-------
Becky Biggs' role of Christy is one that could have easily slipped under the title of the typical shy teen with heart of gold, but Biggs is freshingly unique. Something about her screen presence seems new and inviting. She nails the wamth, sweetness, and likeability, yet fails to invest any real shades of complexion. She misses the essential foreboding sense of dread that the script sets out of her character to feel, and whatever darker shadows hang over Christy, she neglects to score them. Still - a flawed, but very good performance by Biggs. -------
As the main supporting player, Lynn McArthur provides a delightful, enduring playfulness for her Lindsay. Never taking the role too, too seriously works wonders for McArthur who ends up becoming the light touch of humor the film needs. She maintains an enjoyable disposition for her character, and never sinks into unberableness.
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Callan Wilson's performance is one that plays out like a retread of Tommy Doyle, but he holds up by making something interesting out of nothing. He's that adorable, little chubby nugget that you would love to babysit. Never plays the role with an overly cutesy absurdness, which is nice, but some of his line readings and actions just feel forced. Like he's reading a cue card or just blantly saying lines within no context of the character. He's a nice presence, with only a few flawed spots. See what I mean here.
Playing the "brat sister" of Lindsay is Ashley Ballard giving a performance I wish their was more of. She has be, well, a brat, and act like she just doesn't care; rather insouciant. Ballard plays this perfectly, and she provides a few snappy lines that work for her Katie. I really just wished that her character in particular was written better to flesh her out, and give her more depth. For example, her relationship with Bobby is abruptly cut short, and I wish that wasn't so. Maybe their could have been a quiet, tender scene bewteen the two where we see a totally new side to Katie.
Kyle Thrasher does a decent job playing Michael Myers as the embodiement of evil. The slow head turns, the pauses he takes, and his overall naturalistic approach would make John Carpenter and Nick Castle proud. He also makes a cameo in the film as a partygoer:
"Hey everybody, Kyle Thrasher's having a keg party at his house, let's go!"
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I have seen the film well over five times, and while it does have its flaws here and there, it makes for a fun time throughout.
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