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Back in the fall of 1978 a young, unknown director named John Carpenter unleashed a horror masterpiece on an unsuspecting public called "Halloween." It was a slasher film with very little violence that relied solely on the moody atmosphere Carpenter created. The killer wore an undistinguished white mask that seemed to actually get brighter in the darkness. For 90 minutes Carpenter unmercifully teased his audience with promises of mayhem that were delayed to the point that audience members were on the edge of their seats awaiting the terror. When Carpenter delivered it was in terrifyingly unexpected ways (at least in 1978) and audience members would later swear the violence was far greater then it was simply because Carpenter had manipulated us into believing it. Alfred Hitchcock had once said he liked to play the audience like a piano. With "Halloween," John Carpenter learned to play his audience like a piano.

Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, John Carpenter opened a can of worms whose effects are being felt more then ever. Due to the success of the picture moviegoers were inundated with mad slasher films for the next several years. Now we are getting remakes of many of those same films as if we really need them.

Inevitably the remake to "Halloween" was going to happen. Hollywood has never been content with leaving a masterpiece alone. Heaven forbid youths in future generations catch up with the film on DVD (or whatever future format awaits us) or, even worse, the studio pays to re-release the film in theaters so it can be seen the way it should be seen.

At first glance I imagine director Rob Zombie's take on a new "Halloween" seemed interesting enough. He would explore the early years of Michael Myers in an attempt to explain why he became what he became. It was different. Zombie could put his name on the film and make it his own.

Unfortunately Rob Zombie has made a mess of a movie. The new "Halloween" is an aberration, a distant shadow of the original that, despite strong opening weekend box office receipts, will likely find its way into obscurity before too long. For those of you who may think I am on a Rob Zombie witch hunt let me point out that while I hated "House of 1000 Corpses," I very much admired "The Devil's Rejects," truly believing Zombie had made some great strides as a filmmaker. Now he has taken several steps back.

The film opens, presumably, in the 1970's because of the songs Zombie selects for his soundtrack. The Myers clan is one eclectic group

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