THE RATING
THE LAIR EXPERTS
Matt: I was excited when the ads ran for this film, showcasing the return of Jamie Lee Curtis. I thought it would breathe life back into a stale series-- and it did-- but not for long. 'H20' had a decent plot, with Michael still chasing Laurie after 20 years, but one simple fact remained-- It was NOT in Haddonfield! Haddonfield was vital to the success of the others, and really took away from this film. Because of that, it lost my interest really quick. And what the hell happened to Jamie and the whole Thorn storyline? Did they really just erase Parts 4-6? They could have at least thrown something in to tie up those loose ends, but they didn't, and the end result is a big question mark.
Jamie Lee Curtis, of course, gave a solid performance like only she can, and it genuinely gave me chills when she opted to go back and kill Michael instead of escaping to safety, yelling for her brother. The tide totally turned, and for probably the only time in history, Michael became the hunted, not the hunter. The supporting cast was so-so, with respectable performances by Josh Hartnett and Michelle Williams. They were at least believable in their roles. LL Cool J, meanwhile, did not belong. I was not buying him as a security guard. Much like you'll read in my review of 'Resurrection', it was clearly evident they placed a rapper in their movie to attract the teen audience when I really don't think they needed to do it. LL's character was one I definitely would have killed off.
Now, onto Michael. He was the one character they almost totally ruined. Chris Durand didn't have the size, and just couldn't grasp the character that well. He should have done research on some of his predecessors like Nick Castle and Dick Warlock, because his portrayal did not scare me at all. Durand, who also doubled as Ghostface in the 'Scream' films, was totally out of place, and the mask itself was a disaster! Again, was it really that hard to duplicate the original pale-faced Shatner mask, because they have never really perfected it since the original film.
John Ottman's score was so bad for the film, it wasn't even released with the 'H20' branding. Ottman took a simple score and made it too orchestraic. Horror films do not need a grand, epic-style score. Keep it simple and scary. As construed, it was dull and formulaic of its time. They even had to recycle some of Marco Beltrami's score from 'Scream 2' in order to make the scary scenes stand out. The promotion of the film did feature the debut of rock-band Creed with their song 'What's This Life For', which was also used in the credits. Not the greatest tune, but it fit the movie well. This was the first of two 'Halloween' films to fall into the rut of the teen slasher era of the late 1990s/early millennium, and it really took away from the finished product big-time. Still, despite its flaws, Jamie Lee Curtis brought this one home and I give it a very respectable 5.5 out of 10.
A.J.: Good movie, horrible acting. Was it just me or did it seem that Michael Myers looked like a 15-year-old? I loved the story plot and how it duplicates scenes from Parts 1 and 2, but every time I saw Michael, I couldn't help but laugh. And why just why did they have to screw up so bad with the Jamie and Laurie bullshit??!! 7 out of 10.
THE FANS
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NOTE: These ratings are of the Lair experts. If you don't agree with us, then you don't know what you're talking about. If you would like your own review added to our fan section, e-mail us at: lairofhorror@yahoo.com and just maybe we will post it here.
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