Halloween: Resurrection

***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* and 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. The eighth installment in the *Halloween* franchise, it follows Michael Myers continuing his murderous rampage in his hometown of Haddonfield, when his old, derelict childhood home 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: 20 Years Later*. Despite the film's negative reception, *Resurrection* was a minor box office success, earning $37.6 million.

## Plot

Following the murders at Hillcrest Academy, a guilt-ridden and traumatized Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) 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 undetected, 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 to her death.

A year later, college students Sara Moyer (Bianca Kajlich), Bill Woodlake (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Donna Chang (Daisy McCrackin), Jen Danzig (Katee Sackhoff), Jim Morgan (Luke Kirby), and Rudy Grimes (Sean Patrick Thomas) win a competition to appear on an Internet reality show called *Dangertainment*, directed by Freddie Harris (Busta Rhymes) and Nora Winston (Tyra Banks), in which they 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 (Brad Sihvon) 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 Deckard 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, and 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. 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

Main article: *List of* Halloween *characters*

Busta Rhymes as Freddie Harris

Bianca Kajlich as Sara Moyer

Thomas Ian Nicholas as Bill Woodlake

Katee Sackhoff as Jennifer "Jen" Danzig

Daisy McCrackin as Donna Chang

Sean Patrick Thomas as Rudy Grimes

Ryan Merriman as Myles "Deckard" Barton

Luke Kirby as Jim Morgan

Tyra Banks as Nora Winston

Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode

Brad Loree as Michael Myers

Lorena Gale as Nurse Wells

Marisa Rudiak as Nurse Phillips

Brent Chapman as Franklin Munroe

Dan Joffre as Willie Haines

Gus Lynch as Harold Trumble

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.

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 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. 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

## 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.

### 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." 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." Glenn Lovell of the *San Jose Mercury News* gave a positive review: "No, it's not as single-minded as John Carpenter's original, but it's sure a lot smarter and more unnerving than the sequels."