Halloween: Resurrection

I know Halloween: Resurrection gets a lot of hate but come on, who doesn’t like Busta Rhymes? Not just Busta, but a kung fu loving Busta Rhymes? Yes, this movie is a train wreck but it is entertaining.

<img src="HalloweenResurrection.jpg" alt="Halloween: Resurrection.">

Photo Credit: Dimension Films

Released: Jul 12, 2002

Runtime: 90 mins

Director: Rick Rosenthal

Writer: Debra Hill, John Carpenter, Larry Brand

Actors: Jamie Lee Curtis, Busta Rhymes, Brad Loree

PLOT

I'll see you in hell.-Laurie Strode

It’s been three years since the last fight between Michael and Laurie. Michael pays a visit to his sister who’s in a mental hospital and then decides to return home. Unfortunately for him, his house has been invaded by a reality show with fame hungry people investigating it. 

MY THOUGHTS

Looking a little crispy over there, Mikey.-Freddie Harris

The kills in Halloween: Resurrection are just mediocre. You’ll find better kills in other Halloween movies. The one kill I wanted to see was Nora’s (Tyra Banks) but they cut her kill and you only see the after effect briefly. Though it is the first time Michael beheads someone.

The acting is okay. Not really great. I did like Busta Rhymes and it was nice seeing a pre Battlestar Galactica Katee Sackhoff. We get Busta Rhymes (known primarily for rapping) plays Freddie Harris. Owner of Dangertainment. The kung fu fan who creates the internet show. Katee Sackhoff (known for Battlestar Galactica, Riddick, Oculus, and Don't Knock Twice) plays Jen, one of the people investigating Michael’s house. She hopes to become famous. 

Bianca Kajlich (known for The Winchesters and non horror stuff) plays Sara, the final girl. She doesn’t really want to do the show but does it for her friends. Sean Patrick Thomas (known for Dracula 2000, The Burrowers, Reaper, and The Curse of La Llorona) plays Rudy, the Chef wanna be who blames Michael’s diet as a child for his evilness. (Having said that, I did like him in this.) And finally Ryan Merriman (known for The Ring Two, Final Destination 3, and Backwoods) plays Myles, a high schooler who is catfishing Sara, but ends up helping her escape Michael (online).

We start off Halloween: Resurrection finding out that Laurie Strode has been committed to a mental hospital because she unknowingly killed a paramedic instead of Michael (the ending of Halloween H20). It’s been three years and she knows he’ll be back. And he does return for her and she ends up dying. Michael then heads back home only to get a surprise.

Next, we find out a group of college kids have been chosen to spend one night in Michael Myers house, investigating while live streaming everything. This was the brilliant idea of Freddie Harris who wants his company Dangertainment to make lots of money and become famous. 

Once they get in the house it doesn’t take long for the audience to know that there were so many fake props that they were investigating. But it took the students a lot longer to figure out. Finally they realize it’s all fake once Freddie is caught dressing up as Michael.

Michael, per usual, kills off the kids, one by one. For me I feel like Rudy put up a good fight and I felt bad for him dying but he had a decent death. He basically sacrificed himself so Sara could get away.

Now Sara has an advantage over everyone else. She has an online friendship with “Declan”, an IT college kid. He’s actually Miles, a high school kid who has a crush on her. During the live streaming Miles has been watching even though he was at a Halloween party. He is able to give her updates of where Michael is when they discover he is killing everyone.

There’s a final battle between Sara, Freddie, and Michael. We get to see some kung fu movies from Freddie. In the end Michael gets electrocuted and Sara and Freddie survive.

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Wow, overall this is a bad Halloween movie. Even so, I still find myself entertained with parts of the movie. I know it’s bad but I’m liking Busta Rhymes in Halloween: Resurrection. I also like the idea of incorporating live streaming into the movie. I just don’t think they did it in the right way. I also liked the opening. I thought it was a good way of showing how Michael didn’t die in H20 and it ends the Laurie Strode story in this timeline.

If you watch Halloween: Resurrection, go into it with low expectations and I don’t think you will be as disappointed.

And now for your Forever Final Girl Exclusive…Did you know?:

  • Jamie Lee Curtis hated the idea of a sequel, as she felt that Laurie had a satisfying ending in the previous film. She initially refused to be in this film, until she ultimately agreed to do her part, only under the condition that she is killed off in the opening of the film so as to make sure her character, Laurie Strode wouldn't appear in another sequel. Also, she was contractually obligated to be in the film.

  • Jamie Lee Curtis was quoted as saying she considered this film a joke.

  • Actors Brent Chapman and Kyle Labine, who have small roles in this movie, went on to appear in Freddy vs. Jason. This makes them the only two people to be in a Michael, Jason, and Freddy film.

  • Director Rick Rosenthal makes a cameo as a college professor at the beginning.

  • John Carpenter has stated that the movie made him cringe.

  • There were four different endings filmed, and the director wanted the studio to ship a different ending to each theater, a technique used before during the theatrical release of Clue. However, the studio disagreed and the endings now appear on the DVD and Blu-ray.

  • The picture of Jamie Lee Curtis on the poster is the same picture of her on the Halloween H20 poster.

  • The name of the psychology professor at Haddonfield University is Dr. Mixter. This was also the name of the doctor in Halloween II (1981) that treated Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and was killed by Michael Myers with a needle in the eye.

  • While in the asylum, Laurie Strode has a Raggedy Ann doll. In the original movie, she had a similar Raggedy Ann doll on the dresser in her bedroom.

  • Michael's use of a spiked leg of a tripod as a weapon is an homage to Michael Powell's Peeping Tom.

Have you seen the other Halloween movies? Check out my other reviews here: Halloween Franchise.

Let’s get into the rankings:

Kills/Blood/Gore: 2.5/5

Sex/Nudity: .5/5

Scare factor: 2/5

Enjoyment factor: 3/5

My Rank: 2/5

IMDB: 3.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes: critics:  1/10  audience:  2.5/10

Letterboxd: 1.7/5