Unspeakable Horror!

Nothing spells success better than controversy. And if the Internet skirmish being waged over Rob Zombie’s upcoming Halloween re-imagining is any indication, then the rocker-cum-director’s take on the Carpenter classic will be a box office bonanza come August 31^st.

To track the progress of the film project is like watching a cardiac monitor, all dips and spikes of optimism and pessimism. Things started out with the usual collective groan from remake-weary genre fans still smarting from the retreads of The Fog and When a Stranger Calls when the new Halloween was announced. Fans perked up when Zombie’s name was first attached, then confirmed, his worthiness as a credible horror director validated by the balls-to-the-wall gruesomeness of Night of 1,000 Corpses and The Devils Rejects. Zombie wisely hit the PR trail promising fans a unique re-telling of the Michael Myers saga worthy of the franchise; not a faithful remake a la Gus Van Sant’s shot-by-shot Psycho redo. Sounded good to most, and the chatter died down.

Zombie seemed to hit a stride with some universally applauded casting choices: respected British actor Malcolm McDowell in the beloved Dr. Loomis role, horror veteran Dee Wallace Stone (The Howling, Cujo, and a litany of other genre films) as Laurie Strode’s mother, and franchise vet Danielle Harris (Halloween 4 and 5) in the role of Annie Brackett, a clever nod to Halloween loyalists. Then came the announcement that Zombie’s stable of thespian faves from previous films (Danny Trejo, Ken Foree, Lew Temple, William Forsythe, and real-life wife Sheri Moon Zombie) would also have roles in the new film; eyes rolled. “Devils Rejects 2”, came the Internet barbs.

Then came the all-out war. News came via Ain’t It Cool News (the Internet equivalent of a poor man's Access Hollywood) that one of their writers (the aptly missing-a-surname Quint) had procured an “official” copy of Zombie’s 125-page script. This would-be Madonna of journalism proceeded to wax prolifically about the pros and cons of this alleged script, setting off a firestorm of outrage and indignation over the creative liberties Zombie was taking with the Myers saga. Overlooking the fact that the information came from this epitome of journalistic integrity (sarcasm) without so much as a who, what, where, when, why, or how, fans took to the message boards lambasting Zombie for selling out Carpenter’s vision, labeling him the Benedict Arnold of the horror world. Fangoria’s Ryan Rotten seemed to confirm much of the information in a subsequent post on that magazine’s website, although with far greater flair and the political correctness expected of a glossy publication whose success relies on people like Zombie giving them set access. Rob Zombie replied on the film’s MySpace blog; here’s an excerpt that captures the gist of his message:

“Really who gives a fuck what someone else thinks? Everybody likes different shit for different reasons. But deciding that you hate or love something that doesn't even exist yet? Well, that's a little ridiculous.”

At the heart of the contentious debate is Zombie’s apparent move to de-mystify the iconic evil of Michael Myers, qualifying his serial killer proclivities against the backdrop of a nightmarish white-trash upbringing. Oh, and Michael will speak for the first time. This early working script also promises copious amounts of bloodshed and nudity in true Zombie fashion. If the end product varies little from the script that’s been reported, then fans can expect a brutal, relentless 70’s exploitation take on the Myers saga.

Remakes are a tricky business, and we horror fans are a fickle bunch. We hate remakes, but then create Internet shrines to them and garner oodles of free publicity for them from their incessant chatter and speculation on message boards. We hate shot-for-shot retreads of the source material (i.e. Van Sant’s Psycho), but hate when that same source material is modified to create a unique vision. It’s a catch-22 for filmmakers who feel they have something to add to a beloved story. Keep it the same, suffer the why bother? syndrome; change it up a little, be accused of denigrating the original. That’s why I was optimistic when Zombie came right out and said from the beginning that his Halloween was not a remake, but rather a re-imagining. There’s an important distinction in the semantics.

Fans also seem to operate under a strange, unspoken concept that by remaking, sequel-izing, or otherwise adding to the source material is to somehow tarnish the artistry of the original. Does anyone think Alien anything less than a classic because it spawned three sequels? Any Black Christmas loyalists think that film stinks now because of the recent remake? Of course not. If that were the case, then Halloween would have been long-ago discarded after the abysmal Part 6 and the incomprehensible Season of the Witch installments.

Zombie makes the key point in his retort to the Internet backlash: how can we judge something that hasn’t even been made yet? Working scripts change, evolve during the filmmaking process. It’s like picking up a copy of Jack Ketchum’s Off Season, reading the back cover copy, and tossing it aside with a dismissive “Sounds like The Hills Have Eyes”. To do so would deny the reader the intensity of Ketchum’s tale, the visceral horror of his words. We’re well-admonished not to judge books by their covers, yet we’re leaping all over a filmmaker who hasn’t even finished casting the film yet. OK…

Personally, I’m looking forward to Zombie’s take on Carpenter’s masterful vision of suburban evil. He’s a gutsy filmmaker with a penchant for cutting through the fluff and delivering no-holds-barred horror. If we’re going to dumb down the intensity of the experience, soften the blow, then why bother? Horror is meant to unnerve us, make us squirm in our seats from the anticipation of what we know is coming. It’s supposed to instill that gleefully sickening sense of dread followed by a sensory overload. I’m cautiously optimistic that Zombie can deliver these goods - if we can just hold on long enough to read the book and stop judging the cover.

Visits Rob Zombie's Halloween page at MySpace.