"Halloween: H20" is as stylish and scary as it is ultra-violent. It
brings back a stunning Jamie Lee Curtis in the role that made her a
star and it's a work of superior craftsmanship in all aspects. But
it
is so gory you really do have to brace yourself.
For all the considerable artistry that went into the making of a
picture that would have the impact of John Carpenter's 1978
original, "Halloween: H20" is first and foremost a very brutal
slasher movie that leaves nothing to the imagination. At least it
doesn't linger morbidly over all the blood and guts it spills and
is
laced with dark humor. Hard-core horror fans and teenagers are
likely to make "Halloween: H20" a big hit, but it's just as likely
to
turn off other segments of the movie-going audience.
It was perhaps inevitable that the "Halloween" franchise would be
revived now that the horror film cycle was so successfully
regenerated with "Scream" and then "I Know What You Did Last
Summer," both written by the genre-aware Kevin Williamson, who
serves, not surprisingly, as a co-executive producer of "H20."
Twenty years have passed, but baby-sitter Laurie Strode (Curtis),
now 37, is understandably haunted by the specter of her
demented, knife-wielding brother Michael Myers murdering their
sister and barely escaping death herself. Laurie has even gone to
the extreme of faking her own death in a car accident--never mind
that Michael supposedly died in a fire--and taking the new name of
Keri Tate. Today, Tate, a single mother, is the assured
headmistress (and teacher) at a posh, exceedingly
secluded--wouldn't you know?--private school in Northern
California. (It's actually silent star Antonio Moreno's elegant
Spanish-style estate in Silver Lake.)
Behind the scenes she's a pill-popper and is described by her son
John (Josh Hartnett) as a "functioning alcoholic." Despite how
haunted Tate feels, she does have the prospect of some happiness,
caught up in a romance with a sensitive, adoring school counselor
(Adam Arkin) on her staff.
But now that the 20th anniversary of the masked, crazed Michael's
attack approaches, Tate is getting pretty jittery. Even so, she
decides to stay on at her home on the school grounds, deserted for
the holiday. Having grounded her son, she at the last minute OKs
his going on a school outing, which Arkin will help chaperon.
Unknown to her, John has decided to stick with his plans to do
some secret partying on school grounds with his girlfriend
(Michelle Williams) and another couple (Adam Hann-Byrd and
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe).
In short, Michael (Chris Durand, truly chilling), who of course is
going to turn up, has five targets on hand, not to mention others
along the way, including the school's good-natured watchman (LL
Cool J, one of the film's warmest presences).
Writers Robert Zappa and Matt Greenberg and director Steve
Miner have shrewdly anchored their take-no-prisoners blood bath
with a strong, sympathetic character for Curtis to portray. On one
level, the film is about a woman gathering courage to fight back at
her own demons. Tate evolves from a trenchant but fragile woman
to one who learns to assert herself with the bold determination of
the cop Curtis played in "Blue Steel." It's hard to imagine Curtis
participating in a "Halloween" sequel unless her part was
exceptional, and it is.
Curtis' physicality is matched by her far-ranging, sharply nuanced
acting. Smart, sexy and earthy, Curtis is overdue for a big role
that
takes her beyond genre into more personal dramas. She is
surrounded by capable players, including her own mother, a
radiant Janet Leigh, who is amusing as a well-meaning busybody
school secretary. (Note the car Leigh is driving; it's the same
1957
Ford Fairlane she drove in "Psycho," one of the film's many
tributes.)
Hartnett, who first came to attention in the short-lived but
much-praised TV series "Crackers," makes his impressive screen
debut in a role that calls for him to reveal sensitivity,
stubbornness
and intelligence. Tall, boyishly handsome, Hartnett has a
commanding screen presence.
As violent as "Halloween: H20" is, it nevertheless represents
well-controlled direction on the part of Miner, who directed two
"Friday the 13th" installments and "Warlock." "Halloween: H20" is
a handsome film, and as essential to its impact as Curtis herself
is
the fluid, shadowy, mood-setting camera work of Daryn Okada.
Another major asset in setting mood is John Ottman's portentous
score, which incorporates the "Halloween Theme," composed by
the original film's director, Carpenter.
"Halloween: H20" may be hard to take, but when it comes to
suspenseful thrills and chills, there's no denying it delivers the
goods.
* MPAA rating: R, for terror, violence and gore, and for language.
Times guidelines: The film contains much graphic slasher violence.