As a huge old school White zombie/ Rob Zombie fan I was excited for Zombie’s take on the John Carpenter classic Halloween. I really appreciated Zombie’s take on the remake using his niche: red neck white trash serial killing slashers with a 70’s southern rock soundtrack but Halloween 2 missed the boat. I think I missed H2 in theaters due to the massive negative reception upon release in theaters. Years after, I still hear bad reviews about Zombie’s Halloween 2 but how the movie is nowhere near as bad as his later live action movies such as Lords of Salem and 31. After watching 31, I decided to go back in time and watch Zombie’s H2 and I must say that’s it’s not as bad as everyone makes it out to be especially after watching 31. 
H2 is a direct fantasy totally ignoring the classic chemistry of Halloween’s earlier predecessors. Lauri Strode is back but her nightmares remain as she is haunted by the devastation that lead to the death of friends and loved ones. Loomis is back to but he’s changed from endearing to cocksure as he no longer cares about humanity, only his self interests. The kills are brutal, probably the most brutal of ANY Halloween movie but does that make up for the story? In some ways, H2 provides a disturbance for the viewers which Zombie has mastered since House of 1000 Corpses providing realism gore, uncomfortable scenarios and raunchiness.
I actually liked H2, especially after viewing 31. It’s disappointing to know that there is an actual debate between Carpenter’s Halloween verses Zombie’s Halloween: they are both completely different movies in different universes (of course Carpenter is superior). During a Q&A with actor Malcom McDowell at Monster Mania 2015, McDowell told fans that when he asked Zombie how to portray Loomis, Zombie told McDowell to NOT watch the original Halloween because it’s terrible.
As a fan of both Carpenter and Zombie it’s hard to hear something negative said from one director to another that you admire but McDowell’s statement assured me that Zombie’s Halloween films were a cash grab. Don’t get me wrong though, Zombie’s Halloween and H2 were not the worst movies I have ever seen yet alone worst reboots…. That would be The Fog 2006 and Nightmare on Elm St 2010.
Halloween 2 (2009) 5/10
