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Halloween: Resurrection
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Wikipedia article
'Halloween: Resurrection' is a 2002 American slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal, who had also directed 'Halloween II' in 1981. Larry Brand and Sean Hood devised the screenplay. The film is a direct sequel to 'Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later' and the eighth instalment overall in the 'Halloween' franchise. It stars Busta Rhymes, Bianca Kajlich, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Ryan Merriman, Sean Patrick Thomas, Tyra Banks and Jamie Lee Curtis, with Brad Loree as the primary villain Michael Myers. This was the final instalment of the H20 timeline of the 'Halloween' franchise, which had just been rebooted with the previous movie in 1998, before it was rebooted again in 2007 and again in 2018. The film follows Myers continuing his murderous rampage in his hometown of Haddonfield when his childhood house is used for a live internet horror show.
'Halloween: Resurrection' was released on July 12, 2002 to largely negative reviews, with many considering it an unnecessary sequel to 'Halloween H20'. Many fans and critics have deemed it to be the worst film in the Halloween franchise. The film earned $37.6 million at the box office, with a production budget of $15 million. Although another sequel was planned to follow 'Resurrection', the next film in the franchise became 'Halloween', a 2007 remake directed by Rob Zombie.
Plot
Following the murders at Hillcrest Academy, a guilt-ridden and traumatized Laurie Strode has been confined to a psychiatric facility, after killing a man whom she had mistaken for her murderous brother Michael Myers. As two nurses talk about what happened, flashbacks reveal that a paramedic had found an unconscious Michael in the school, before he suddenly awakened and attacked the paramedic, crushing his larynx so that he could not speak. Michael then swapped clothes with the unconscious paramedic, and left the school grounds and escaped into the woods behind the school, as Laurie drove off in the ambulance she believed Michael was in.
On October 31, 2001, after three years of hiding, Michael re-emerges to attempt to murder Laurie again, who has been institutionalized at the Grace Andersen Sanitarium. Expecting his arrival, Laurie sets up a trap for him. After killing two security guards, Michael attacks and chases Laurie to the institution's rooftop, where her trap works and temporarily incapacitates Michael. However, Laurie's fears of killing the wrong person again get the better of her, and when she tries to remove his mask to confirm his identity, Michael stabs and throws her off the rooftop.
A year later, college students Sara Moyer, Bill Woodlake, Donna Chang, Jen Danzig, Jim Morgan and Rudy Grimes win a competition to appear on an Internet reality show called 'Dangertainment', directed by Freddie Harris and Nora Winston. The students have to spend a night in Michael's abandoned childhood house in order to figure out what led him to kill. However, while setting up cameras throughout the house in preparation for the show, cameraman Charlie is killed by Michael, who has returned to Haddonfield. On Halloween night, equipped with head-cameras, Sara, Bill, Donna, Jen, Jim, and Rudy enter the house and separate into three groups to search for clues. While Sara's messaging friend, Myles "Deckard" Barton watches the live broadcast during a party, during the search, Michael suddenly appears and kills Bill.
Donna and Jim discover a wall filled with fake corpses and realize that the show is a setup, before the former is killed by Michael. At the party, Deckard and other partygoers witness the murder. But only Deckard realizes that it was real. Meanwhile, Freddie enters the house dressed as Michael in order to scare the competitors. He is followed by the real Michael, whom he mistakes for Charlie. When Rudy, Sara, and Jim find Freddie in the Michael costume, he reveals the scheme to them and begs them to cooperate, telling them that they will all be paid well if the show works out. After Freddie leaves, the trio decides to gather up the rest of their friends and leave. Jen discovers Bill's corpse and Michael decapitates her in front of Rudy, Sara and Jim, who soon realize that it isn't Freddie. Michael proceeds to kill Jim and Rudy before chasing Sara upstairs.
Locking herself in a bedroom, Sara begs for Deckard to help her. As the other party goers realize that all the murders were real, Deckard begins to message Sara on Michael's locations to help her avoid him. Sara runs into Freddie just as Michael finds them and stabs the latter. Sara runs into the tunnels and finds an exit leading to the garage, where she discovers Nora's body. Michael again arrives and attacks Sara, but a still-living Freddie finds them and fights Michael as an electrical fire starts in the garage. After electrocuting Michael, Freddie carries Sara to safety, leaving Michael to die in the burning garage. Later, Freddie and Sara are interviewed by the local news during which Sara thanks Deckard for saving her life, and Freddie then assaults the reporter. Meanwhile, Michael is presumed dead and his body is taken to the morgue. However, as the coroner prepares to examine his body, Michael suddenly awakens.
Cast
* Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode
* Brad Loree as Michael Myers
* Busta Rhymes as Freddie Harris
* Bianca Kajlich as Sara Moyer
* Sean Patrick Thomas as Rudy Grimes
* Daisy McCrackin as Donna Chang
* Katee Sackhoff as Jennifer 'Jen' Danzig
* Luke Kirby as Jim Morgan
* Thomas Ian Nicholas as Bill Woodlake
* Ryan Merriman as Myles 'Deckard' Barton
* Tyra Banks as Nora Winston
* Gus Lynch as Harold Trumble
* Lorena Gale as Nurse Wells
* Marisa Rudiak as Nurse Phillips
* Brent Chapman as Franklin Munroe
* Dan Joffre as Willie Haines
* Haig Sutherland as Aron
* Brad Sihvon as Charlie Albans
* Rick Rosenthal as Professor Mixter
Production
The writers of 'Halloween H20: 20 Years Later' were left with a dilemma when Jamie Lee Curtis wanted to end the series, but Moustapha Akkad had a clause that legally wouldn't allow the writers to kill Michael Myers off. According to the Blu-ray released by Scream Factory, Curtis almost left the project just weeks before filming, until Kevin Williamson came up with the paramedic storyline and presented it to Akkad. Curtis finally agreed to be a part of the film under the condition that no footage hinting toward a sequel would be presented by the film, and that the audience would believe that Michael was dead until the inevitable sequel was announced. 'Resurrection's first shot of Michael in the paramedic uniform was filmed the day after 'H20's principal photography ended, according to 'H20's editor, Patrick Lussier. Daniel Farrands, screenwriter of 'Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers', unsuccessfully proposed 'Halloween 8: Lord of the Dead', which would have featured Laurie Strode as the main antagonist.
Both Whitney Ransick and Dwight H. Little were approached to direct the film but turned it down. Later Rick Rosenthal, the director of 'Halloween II', was chosen to direct. During the casting period of the film, producers considered Danielle Harris (who played Jamie Lloyd in 'Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers' and 'Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers') for a role in the film. In post-production, Bianca Kajlich's screams had to be dubbed because of her inability to scream. The film's trailer was delivered on April 26, 2002, with the release of 'Jason X'. Principal photography began in Vancouver, British Columbia on May 14, 2001 with the opening scene filmed at Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam, BC.
Originally known as 'Halloween: Homecoming', 'Halloween H2K', and 'Halloween: MichaelMyers.com' before the producers chose the final title as they wanted one that let audiences know Michael Myers was alive.
Music
For this eighth installment of the series, Danny Lux created a genuine score relying upon the original instead of generating something new. He approaches the score with an electro-acoustic feel that dates back to the synthesizer scores of the '80s.'Halloween: Resurrection' Music Review at [http://www.musicfromthemovies.com/review.asp?ID=1621 Music from the Movies] The film also features several rap and hip-hop songs.In direct contrast to general critical reviews of the film, some assessments of its sound and theme music have been praising. For example, critic Steve Newton complimented the film's "creepy" and "unsettling" revival of the original iconic theme, while criticising the film itself, as well as the rap tracks included.
Home media
'Halloween: Resurrection' was released on VHS and DVD on December 10, 2002, which includes a web cam special using as found footage featuring the film's characters are set inside of Michael Myers' haunted house and alternate and deleted scenes.
Reception
Box office
'Halloween: Resurrection' was released on July 12, 2002 in the US to moderate reception which did not change in its later international release. The film peaked at #4 on its opening weekend on US screens raking in $12,292,121 behind 'Reign of Fire', 'Road to Perdition' and 'Men in Black II'. It grossed $30,354,442 domestically and a further $7,310,413 for a $37,664,855 worldwide gross.'Halloween: ' at [https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=halloween8.htm Box Office Mojo]Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 12% based on 67 reviews, with the site's consensus being: "The only thing this tired slasher flick may resurrect is nostalgia for when the genre was still fresh and scary." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 19 out of 100, based on 17 reviews, indicating "overwhelming dislike". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.Lou Lumenick of the 'New York Post' said, "It's so devoid of joy and energy it makes even 'Jason X' look positively Shakespearian by comparison." Dave Kehr of 'The New York Times' said, "Spectators will indeed sit open-mouthed before the screen, not screaming but yawning."'Halloween: Resurrection' Movie Review at [https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9407E6D81130F930A25754C0A9649C8B63 New York Times] Peter Travers of 'Rolling Stone' said, "Every sequel you skip will be two hours gained. Consider this review life-affirming." Joe Leydon of 'Variety' said, "[Seems] even more uselessly redundant and shamelessly money-grubbing than most third-rate horror sequels."
In 2018, while promoting the reboot, John Carpenter revealed that he had seen 'Halloween: Resurrection' stating, "I watched the one in that house, with all the cameras. Oh my god. Oh lord, god. And then the guy gives the speech at the end about violence. What the hell? Oh my lord. I couldn't believe."
See also
* List of films featuring surveillance
References
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