ROB ZOMBIE Talks 'H2' Movie

/Film recently conducted an interview with Rob Zombie about "H2", Rob's sequel to his 2007 remake of "Halloween". A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

/Film: Personally, I'm still shocked at how divisive your "Halloween" has become. I saw what you were doing as being…at least somewhat analogous to the different takes on Batman in comics; like what Frank Miller did with "Year One", or Paul Pope's vision for the character ["Year 100"]. You've created like a one-off, or a two-off, that exists both in and outside what came before. But what is your take? There are fans and critics who say it's sacrilege to mess with the iconic nature of Myers, to demystify his past…

Rob Zombie: I don't think it's sacrilege. I think what is sacrilege is all of the shitty sequels. [laughs] I mean, is that what everyone enjoyed? Is that what they want more of? I think that right from the get-go, the mask that Wayne Toth ("Tranformers") made for us, Tyler Mane playing Michael, to me, that's not sacrilege; that is someone taking this dead seriously and investing the time. With the exception of the original, when you look back at the rest of the "Halloween" movies, they look pathetic to me. The mask looks silly, like a cheap Halloween mask you can buy anywhere. It's like "Who's playing Michael Myers?" and with every single one of the sequels it's like, "Who gives a shit?" They just don't feel like anyone really invested the time, the blood and guts…

/Film: I think what has sparked the most controversy so far over the sequel is the mask. Once that statistic hit the Net that had Michael only wearing the mask for 30% of the movie, it was on. To be honest, I thought the figure sounded like bullshit, it sounded iffy, so I didn't report it. Would you care to clarify?

Rob Zombie: It is total bullshit. [laughs] See, I think Wayne said that, put the figure out there when you guys were down on the set. Wayne wasn't bullshitting, but that was taken out of context and to an extreme [online]. We've filmed so much stuff and at this point nobody but me knows what we're going to use or not use. There are more shots of Michael Myers running around in his mask in this movie than any of the other movies. I don't think anybody has to worry. Yeah, Michael Myers in his mask never looked so good. [laughs]

/Film: What I like about the first film — and I think this was overlooked and often misunderstood — is that you posited Myers into our world, a place where serial killer Americana is already established; in your film, Myers is a mortal psychopath who, like, also happens to be evil incarnate. [laughs] With the sequel, are you addressing how the myth of many American serial killers grows over time?

Rob Zombie: There is some of that. What is interesting is that we see the evolution of each character. In the sequel, Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) is rich, he's now rich and famous off of Michael Myers, to a greater extent than in the first one. He has completely exploited Michael. But on the other hand, Michael is now literally this guy living on the fringe of society. Nobody even notices he's there. So, Loomis is famous, but Michael is like this forgotten person. Until he returns. And you've seen it, I've made him this raggedy sort of homeless guy. And for me, that was the only realistic way to play it. I think it's pretty ridiculous that this guy would just disappear and then pop up, and he's wearing his brand new white mask and his brand new mechanic's overalls. [laughs]

/Film: [laughs] And this explains the mask's new weathered look…

Rob Zombie: Right. I love the fact that he's carrying this mask around; this mask is significant to him because he's had it since he was a little kid. And it's deteriorating. And in a way, we can literally make the connection between the mask and his state of mind. As the mask deteriorates, so does he. His brain is rotting away and in the sequel he's becoming more and more insane.

Read the entire interview at this location.

"H2" trailer:

Rob Zombie interview about "H2":