DVD Review: Halloween (2007) Unrated 2-Disc Director's Cut

This film, directed by Rob Zombie (The Devil's Rejects, House of 1,000 Corpses) treads on familiar territory for those familiar with Michael Myers, the slasher killer in the William Shatner mask, but takes it much further and gives much more insight into the origins of this enigmatic character. The backstory begins in 1978 in Haddonfield, Illinois, when Michael is 10 years old, portrayed by Daeg Faerch, who adores his mother Deborah (portrayed by Sheri Moon Zombie) but hates her boyfriend Ronnie White (William Forsythe). His older sister Judith (Hanna Hall) is promiscuous and this bothers Michael. The other member of his family he adores is his younger sister Laurie, whom he affectionately calls "Boo." Michael's path of destruction begins with killing animals and then graduates to full-fledged murder, of his older sister, his mother's boyfriend, his sister's boyfriend and a schoolyard bully. He is then sent to Smith's Grove Sanitarium, where he is evaluated by Psychiatrist Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) who treats him for 15 years until Michael begins not speaking and shuts himself down emotionally. Michael begins an affinity for masks while locked in the Sanitarium, an obsession really, and is seen more often than not wearing homemade masks. After Loomis stops treatment and becomes a best-selling author, profiting from the deaths his patient caused, Michael, now an adult (Tyler Mane (X-Men)) escapes, killing several along the way. He then makes his way to Haddonfield, where he stalks his now-teenage sister (portrayed by Scout Taylor-Compton). Laurie's parents are portrayed by Dee Wallace Stone (Abominable, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Cujo, The Howling) and Pat Skipper, and her two friends, Lynda and Annie Brackett, are portrayed by Kristina Klebe and Danielle Harris (Halloween 4, Halloween 5). The rest of the film should be familiar to fans of the original, with a few surprises along the way. I should warn you-with this unrated edition, there is plenty of sex, there is plenty of swearing, there is plenty of nudity, and yes, there is plenty of violence. But these elements help to propel the story along and really make for a film experience unlike any seen in 2007. This film is not an exact carbon-copy of the original, it is not a sequel, and is not exactly a straight remake; it is a film which stands on its own as a true masterpiece of modern horror and terror. I give this one 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.