Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

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I humbly believe the first "Laurie Strode Relaunch" series of films should have begun and ended with 'H20'. Plenty of people disliked the film enough that it didn't exactly warrant any sort of follow-up, and it ended on such a final note with Laurie Strode standing ultimately victorious over her big brother, Michael. Yes, it's somewhat anti-climactic in how she's victorious, but I tend to be in the minority of people who actually enjoy how 'H20' ends. Call me crazy, but it just happened to work for me.

The problem is, more Michael Myers was somehow still demanded by someone out there, and along came 'Resurrection' that turns back the clock and says that somehow or another, the dude Laurie stood triumphant over at the end of 'H20' was actually a random paramedic. It makes no sense when you go back and watch the final scenes of 'H20', but here we are. Meanwhile, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) is tucked away in Grace Andersen Sanitarium, awaiting Michael Myers' (Brad Loree) inevitable return and attempt to kill her. Spoiler alert: he succeeds almost immediately.

Then, we're left with mixed emotions almost instantly. We're supposed to feel bad here, but it's difficult when the movie immediately seems to have been made to finally kill Laurie off and to do it within about the first 5 minutes or so. As for Michael, he does what he always does and returns home to his now abandoned house in Haddonfield, IL. It's important to remember here that in this timeline, 'The Curse of Michael Myers' never happened, so there was never a Strode family living in Michael's house circa 1995. As far as we're concerned, the house is as abandoned as ever, so it looks way worse than one might think.

Meanwhile, in Haddonfield, reality TV director Freddie Harris (Busta Rhymes) and his partner, Nora Winston (Tyra Banks), are setting up in the Myers house to film "Dangertainment," a show that will have a collective of young adults staying at the Myers house, and unveiling potential clues as to what drove Michael Myers to become such a serial killer of legendary prowess. The cast of could-be victims is a collection of characters we don't necessarily like. The "survivor girl" or "final girl" is painfully obvious; the rest are altogether forgettable, and it stands as the only 'Halloween' film to not feature Laurie Strode or Jamie Lloyd as the hero. As a result, for a 'Halloween' film, it's sort of hard to care.

Among the college students chosen to participate are 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). But honestly, the show's real star here is Busta Rhymes. I like how slimy his character is here, but at the same time, he delivers the laughs. They're cheesy laughs, but some of his lines give me a genuine chuckle, generally because they're ridiculous. He's entertaining to watch and have fun with the role, especially as a fan of his musical talent.

To that end, I can openly admit that this is not one of the "Terrible Trio" I've briefly mentioned before (but not by its personally given nickname), which started with 'The Curse of Michael Myers.' As terrible as this is, I can't help but get guilty pleasure from it, mainly because of Busta Rhymes. There's even a scene here where he tells Michael off, and Michael listens to him! You have to respect that kind of power and laugh at how ridiculous that concept is, considering everything we've seen up to this point. It's silly and has no reason to exist, but it's not that bad for an ironic laugh.

In the end, 'Resurrection' is a movie made for 'Halloween' fans who weren't done with Michael Myers yet, and probably has a niche audience of those of us who see it as a one-off guilty pleasure and nothing more. Technically, this is a follow-up to 'H20', and it evidently ends things all over again (openly this time, because even a closed ending can't stop Michael). Still, I contest that one can just as easily end this timeline with 'H20' and miss absolutely nothing from this except for maybe a few giggles if one can see past how crappy it really is.


2/5

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