Halloween II (2009)

Director: Rob Zombie

Writer: Rob Zombie

Composer: Tyler Bates

Starring: Sheri Moon Zombie, Chase Wright Vanek, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif, Caroline Williams, Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Dayton Callie, Margot Kidder, Mark Boone Junior, Weird Al Yankovic

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Family Is Forever

Plot: Laurie Strode struggles to come to terms with her brother Michael's deadly return to Haddonfield, Illinois; meanwhile, Michael prepares for another reunion with his sister.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

I'm increasingly impressed with Rob Zombie's films. This is better than his HALLOWEEN (2007).  It's smarter, scarier, more thrilling and more mature.  I swear you will feel like the movie's about to end at the halfway mark.  Zombie puts an awful lot of movie in the span of 60s minutes but for as good as the first half is, the second half is even better.  There's so much I dig about this picture.  The incredibly long fake-out was deliciously fun.  The nasty transformation that Dr. Loomis (McDowell) made is fantastic and the ending is what I hoped for but didn't expect to get.  Zombie delivered and in spades.  The acting across the board is great, especially with McDowell and Brad Dourif.  Dourif really shines in the final act.  And, hey!  It's Margot Kidder!  I love her and it was an absolute treat to see her with a substantial role, the first I've seen her in in a long time. If I had to say anything remotely negative it's that this two hour film feels like three.  It's a long one but it's so damn satisfying that I feel bad for bringing it up.  And it's not like there much, if any, filler or padding.  There's a lot of movie here and it's a good one.  The Sony DVD has a good deal of extras including a commentary by Zombie, 23 (!) deleted and alternate scenes (with a play all feature - THANK YOU), a blooper reel (5 minutes), 7 clips of audition footage (with play all), 3 clips of makeup footage (with play all), 4 clips of Uncle Seymour Coffins' stand-up routines (with play all), 6 music videos with Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures (with play all), and 12 trailers with no play all and are all non-anamorphic widescreen.  Oddly, the trailer for this film is missing.  Hmmmmm.