HALLOWEEN (2007)

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"Although falling into some remake cliches, Rob Zombie does exactly what John Carpenter told him: make it your own."

Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, "All great things must first wear terrifying and monstrous masks in order to inscribe themselves on the hearts of humanity."

In 1978, John Carpenter gave us that mask, a white spray-painted William Shatner mask...and the man behind the mask was named Michael Myers, the legendary boogieman of horror, in "Halloween."

Michael Myers in one of the most indelible icons of horror that helped start archetypes, formulas and clich&#233s for the genre with that original starring Donald Pleasence and an unknown actress named Jamie Lee Curtis.

Here, in 2007, rocker and filmmaker Rob Zombie has remade the atypical horror classic with a new vision that is slightly bloated yet suspenseful and satisfying.

We all know the plot line, but let's recap for those out of the loop after those abysmal sequels.

Young Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch) is picked on at school, verbally abused at home by his mother's alcoholic, demeaning boyfriend Ronnie (William Forsythe) and ignored by his promiscuous older sister Judith (Hanna Hall).

Michael hides his disdain for the world behind a clown mask, his version of putting on a happy face. The only two who do not look down on Michael are his stripper mother Deborah (Sheri Moon) and infant sister known only as Boo.

So when Michael goes nuts, bashing heads in and slitting the throats of those not on his side, his mother desperately attempts to reach out to him over time when Michael is committed to Smith's Grove Sanitarium in the care of Dr. Samuel Loomis (Malcolm McDowell). Loomis himself desperately tries to reach out to help Michael, to communicate but to no avail, considering that all Michael does is make masks of Gothic and grotesque nature.

So even after 15 years of silence, Loomis feels he can no longer help Michael and will be leaving for good. Now a towering human being, Michael (Tyler Mane) still makes his masks without so much as a peep. So in response to Loomis' abandonment of care, Michael breaks free of his heavy chains, leaving behind a wake of bodies and blood.

Michael returns to Haddonfield, Ill.-on Halloween, of course. It is in that sleepy little town where average teenager Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) babysits, goes to high school and talks about boys with friends Annie (Danielle Harris) and Lynda (Kristina Klebe).

Dr. Loomis returns to plead with Sheriff Lee Brackett (Brad Dourif) about the evil that has returned to his town. Loomis does not see incarceration as a remedy to the problem; eradication is the only solution. As the course of things go, bodies begin piling up upon Michael's arrival.

Zombie's fascination with the original "Halloween"-or Carpenter in general-can date back to his first film, "House of 1,000 Corpses" where he did his own music like Carpenter did in so many of his films. Zombie remains true to the original, employing several cues of Carpenter's classic music from the original, as well as a notable remix of memorable theme by Tyler Bates.

However, too many obvious cues of Carpenter's enduring theme are used. Zombie could've taken notes from last year's brilliant James Bond restart "Casino Royale": the infamous 007 theme was absent from the film until the end credits to signify Bond becoming Bond. The same could have applied here: if you want to go back to the beginning and create something all its own, don't do a flat out step-by-step remake like Gus Van Sant did in his version of Psycho.

And yet, Zombie does not fall into category that Sant represents. He retains the same simple brooding suspense of the original while blending it with the violent, shock horror of today without overdoing it.

Zombie also has assembled a cast that includes horror icons (Ken Foree from the original "Dawn of the Dead" and Dourif from "Child's Play"), Zombie regulars (Bill Moseley and Zombie's wife Moon) and great character actors (Clint Howard and Danny Trejo). Plus, there is "A Clockwork Orange" star Malcolm McDowell, who creates a more overdramatic, less fanatical Loomis compared to the one done by Pleasence, but is still good. Faerch also has the look of a child who can't stand life anymore and does well as young Michael, as does ex-pro wrestler Mane, who fills out the jumpsuit and unforgettable mask well.

Carpenters was quoted as saying he gave Zombie one piece of advice: make it your own. Like the "Dawn of the Dead" remake from 2004, Zombie does just that. There is more blood here than in the original but Zombie also keeps that creepiness of an expressionless face of a man following you, showing up at the most inopportune time. While it is not as great as the "Dawn" remake, this new version of "Halloween" is admirable and reminds us how scary this character once was.

Zombie has taken off his mask to give us his own showing of monstrous Michael Myers, in terrifying, suspenseful fashion worthy of our attention.