The two films in question, John Carpenter’s and Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN are both exceptional examples of what horror films should be. Both terrorized audiences the world over and made shit-loads of money. Both featured strong performances from their casts and skilled direction from individuals who obviously enjoyed what they were doing. Both films tell the same story, but which one tells it better? This is the question I have been asked to answer and now have to answer, even though I am a loyalist to both camps.

News of the remake came as no surprise to me, or anyone else. It was only a matter of time until the never-ending rotation of the pop culture wheel came around and landed here. Time to pull it out dust it off and make it more accessible to today’s youth market. Money, money, money is what its really all about and usually in these cases the source material suffers in the translation; the story becomes muddied (HOUSE OF WAX) or even worse, watered down (I AM LEGEND). I cringed with the news, but it was expected. Please don’t make it PG-13! the mantra playing over and over in my head. Then, something weird happened, rather than handing the film to a first-time director or a foreign director trying to break into the American market, it was given to Rob Zombie. Rob is a horror fan himself, it appears the stuffed suits actually may have been thinking.

Zombie’s previous efforts “HOUSE OF A THOUSAND CORPSES “and “DEVILS REJECTS” are both homage pieces to the visceral kind of 70’s cinema that HALLOWEEN is. Combine this with Zombie’s obvious appreciation of the genre and I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better choice to reinvent this classic. There are of course many other directors more technically gifted, who have more experience, but you mustn’t forget that John Carpenter himself had only one short and two features under his belt when he tackled HALLOWEEN. Zombie is at the same place in the development of his craft and just as hungry to make a name for himself as John Carpenter and Debra Hill were when they wrote the original. With all of the above elements in place, plus a substantially larger budget, it stood to reason the end result would be better than the knockoff sequels we have been subjected to up to this point. Carpenter never felt the material was strong enough to revisit, and in reality, it’s not. Making sequels to material this light are pointless, leaving a remake of the original as the only avenue from which there could be a viable return to this franchise.

The story is virtually identical; the deviations minimal. The only noticeable difference in the narrative is Zombie’s inclusion of young Michael’s white-trash upbringing, which replaces the staid middle-class roots that were only alluded to in the original. Here we get to see the birth of the monster. Michael becomes more frightening in this vivid portrayal of his gestation into a sociopath. He is less the supernatural boogeyman that Carpenter created. By giving us this information about his (Michael’s) origins, Zombie outdoes Carpenter. He gives the viewer a more believable killer and in so doing provides a much more plausible scenario for young Michael’s behavior. He truly is the boy next door and possibly the reason your cat disappeared. This makes Michael far scarier than just having his violence erupt from nowhere.

The nation-wide obsession with the cult of serial killers had not yet gripped America by its fat neck in 1978. The audience had never encountered a killer like Michael Myers, a non-descript “shape” without conscience. Carpenters quick pacing and POV shots put the audience in Michael’s shoes. There was no mercy, until the cavalry arrived, and then, only to find that the boogeyman had left the building. Fear of the unknown was a game moviegoers were still learning and Michael made the rules up as he went. The guidelines set by the more formulaic 50’s and 60’s were useless in dealing with a killing machine like this. Carpenters ploy worked and HALLOWEEN went on to be the most successful independent film ever. It has since been outdone in box office numbers but not in cultural significance.

Carpenters film was more economical, not a moment of tension is wasted with too much back-story. This probably had more to do with lack of budget, as opposed to desire. The outcome however, was a very streamlined thriller that got to the point immediately, right where most audiences want to be. Carpenter and Hill invented the modern stalk and slash as they went, this makes their’s a groundbreaking film versus a very well made remake of someone else’s original ideas. Since that time, audiences have become more sophisticated, they know all of Michael’s tricks. But, one mustn’t ever forget who wrote the book and provided the diagrams for the subsequent legion of imitators.

Herein lays the conundrum. Comparing these films is unfair because Zombies entry is a remake and therefore at a disadvantage, despite it’s obvious charms and dare I say it, improvements. Carpenter’s film is the template and he deserves every bit of the credit he gets. His film broke records and continues to thrill. In short it is a classic. The intimidating task of redefining this masterpiece fell on Zombies shoulders and he lived up to the demand. He delivered a film which has scared the shit out of millions. In short a classic.

At the end of the day Mr. Carpenter and Ms. Hill are the winners because they gave birth to a phenomenon which persists and grows. This year marks the films 30^th anniversary to be celebrated with a convention dedicated to the film. Despite this, one cannot deny the quality in Zombie’s vision. He made the horror community’s beloved Michael Myers scary again. No small feat given the rash of inferior sequels that have turned his icon into something no scarier than Jason’s hockey mask. In the end, what we have are two films that both achieved what they set out to do. After thoroughly looking at both I find myself still standing on a tightrope of wuss-like indecision.

HALLOWEEN 1978- A HALLOWEEN 2007- A-

Next Month: We pick up this ongoing series over at KillingBoxx.com where Brutal As Hell Editor Marc Patterson pits the original Hills Have Eyes against the recent re-make! Stay Tuned!