Violence/Gore: Relatively restrained in the new conservative America, although there are a couple skewerings that almost recall the glory days of the ’80s slasher era. Tyra Banks’ demise, regrettably, happens off-screen.

Sex/Nudity: Some wisecracking innuendo from the movie’s archetypal asshole, but no action. Have they forgotten why people go to see these movies?

Best Line: “Trick or treat, motherfucker!”

Score:

I instantly won the scorn of my editors at a certain genre entertainment magazine when I confessed that I, classic HALLOWEEN series fan that I am, actually enjoyed this 2002 installment in the seemingly never-ending slasher franchise. Yes, the Michael Myers seen here is a pale shadow of the Shape we once knew; yes, it almost makes Busta Rhymes a more imposing presence than Michael himself, to the detriment of Michael’s stature as the series’ indestructible juggernaut; and yes, it won’t exactly win any awards for plotting or performance quality. It’s a less than ambitious entry in the series and middle-of-the-road horror fare for our more conservative era.

But hell, it’s also a pretty decent HALLOWEEN sequel when your expectations are suitably lowered, and sometimes you have to evaluate a film within its own narrow category rather than relative to the vast universe of cinema in general. Particularly when compared with the lethargic 20th anniversary entry, HALLOWEEN: H20, RESURRECTION at least gets down to business with some old-style Myers murders, a decent level of suspense, and even some welcome continuity touches that have been absent from the series for a long time. Anyone remember the sudden reality shift in HALLOWEEN 5 when the old Myers house became a Gothic-style cathedral-like edifice? No worries - in this movie, the Myers home not only serves as the central location for most of the action, but it looks almost exactly as it did back in 1978. Good show, set designers.

I also found the premise at least marginally clever as well. After a prologue that provides a final, almost epic farewell to Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode, we move on to Haddonfield, where Busta is about to present a new Internet-based reality program dubbed “Dangertainment.” Lock the usual assortment of attractive young people in the Myers house, strap webcams to their heads, and let the fun begin. Oh, did I mention Michael has come home again? Oops. Bet nobody had him sign off on this production.

Some fans might question why Michael is driven to continue his rampage at all now that his last remaining relative is gone in the first fifteen minutes, but to hell with logic. For a series with two distinct continuity threads, who needs consistency? At least Michael, played here by Brad Loree, recaptures a bit of his trademark body language, and the mask is not at all bad. Michael even shows a wry sense of humor by presenting a mental patient obsessed with serial killers with his bloody knife as a collectible trophy. What a nice Shape he is sometimes.

Our new Laurie stand-in, Bianca Kajlich’s Sara, is pretty flat, but then so was Laurie. Come on now - the HALLOWEEN movies were never about brilliant acting anyway. The rest of the cast dies well enough, and Busta emerges as one half of a heroic team - the other being Sara’s Internet and Palm Pilot chat pal, ‘Deckard,’ played by Ryan Merriman - that gives Michael a definite run for his money. The famously re-edited ending lets Busta wipe up the floor with the Shape, but we know damn well that this isn’t the end of the road. Evil never dies…

DVD Extras: Probably the best bit here is the original ending with Merriman’s character arriving to save the day instead of Busta. Test audiences demanded that Busta survive and save the damsel in distress instead. Judge for yourself. By the way, this is director Rick Rosenthal’s second shot at a HALLOWEEN film after the legendary near-disaster that was HALLOWEEN II, and once again he was subject to some last-minute tinkering in the editing room. Get his take on things with the requisite director’s audio commentary (he’s joined by editor Robert A. Ferretti), or explore other alternate and deleted scenes, storyboards, the typically boring photo gallery, and featurettes on the webcams and Jamie Lee Curtis.

ATB