Wow. This was kinda extraordinary. Honestly, I’m a bit lost for words. This delves into the mythos of Michael Myers and the psychological aftermath of trauma better than I could’ve imagined. This is such a visceral and upsetting experience that explores PTSD in a way I’ve never seen in a horror film. A lot of these slasher franchises try to have their survivors move on from their trauma in the sequels, but Rob Zombie was far more interested in showing characters who can’t move on and how that pain and grief can consume them in indescribable ways. There are a lot of Lynchian vibes in the way Zombie depicts the unrelenting, loud, suffocating feeling of PTSD that seems impossible to escape. This is an extremely nihilistic and bleak movie, and it’s all the better for it. Scout Taylor-Compton’s performance is a major standout here, and I thought she was excellent at depicting her inescapable grief and anger. Brad Dourif is also incredible, and he has a scene that completely devastated me. This is a Michael Myers I’ve never seen before. Michael is gruesome, brutal, and horrifying in a way I haven’t seen before. He has become a manifestation of trauma, a void of familial decay and cruelty, a blank face barely hiding behind the mask. The film can get pretty weird at times, and I think it gets up its own ass just a bit with how much it wants us to see the white horse and Michael’s mom’s spirit, but I appreciate the effort to make something more spiritual and symbolic here. The 16mm photography captures the grime and gore beautifully, allowing us to feel the constant dread and evil creeping back into Haddonfield. I’ve seen both versions, and the Director’s Cut is easily the best and most definitive cut, although I do kinda like the ending of the theatrical cut more. Maybe that’ll change over time, but right now, that’s how I feel. Anyways, I can’t believe how much I loved this one. These are the kinds of ballsy swings I want to see in my long-running horror franchises.