Rob Zombie’s Halloween premiered at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday, August 23rd. Zombie’s revealingly raw re-envisionment of the John Carpenter classic seemed at home in the historic and dugeonesque 
Grauman’s Chinese. The theatre’s facade of Chinese dragons and saber-tooth dogs watched over a playfully horrific red carpet scene and later the theatre’s monumental red curtains opened to unveil a journey into the reticently lethal life and mind of Michael Myers.
Attendees of the premiere included the film’s industry-respected cast and producers accompanied by their friends, many of whom are also notables in the entertainment world. Malcolm McDowell, who plays Michael Myers’ psychiatrist in the film, attended and brought along his Heroes co-star Jimmy Jean-Louis. Scout Taylor-Compton, who plays Michael’s sister in the film, came with her boyfriend musician Andy 6. Returning veteran of the Halloween franchise Danielle Harris came with boyfriend actor Coby McLaughlin and her friend actress Natalia Cigliuti. Producer Harvey Weinstein came with his brother producer Bob Weinstein. 
And Rob Zombie rock regally roamed the red carpet with his wife actress Sheri Moon Zombie, who plays the mother of Michael Myers in the film. The cast raved about how much fun they had working on the film and with its director, including actor Lew Temple who said, "You know that guy in high school that was so cool and you wanted to hang out with? That’s Rob Zombie." Zombie said on being a director whom actors like to work with, "Everything’s serious business, but you gotta have fun cause if it’s not fun why do it."
The new Halloween focuses more on the early life of Myers and as a result child actors played significant roles in this relatively hard-R film. However, young stars Daeg Faerch and Skyler Gisondo clarified that the actual making of the film fortunately wasn’t so scary. Gisando, 11, said on the premiere’s red carpet that, "when you’re on set, people mess up, there’s bloopers, and you know what’s actually happening and it appears funny somehow. Of course if I saw the movie I’d be scared, but after working on the movie, not so much."
Surprisingly, yet logically, many of the children in the movie did not actually attend the premiere night’s screening. Daeg Faerch, 12, who plays the young Michael Myers, will be allowed to see the movie "when he’s old enough," according to his Mom. On getting into the role of the murderous villain, Daeg said, "Yeah, I felt it. But then when I was killing some people, behind the mask I was just cracking up." A chilling statement to read, but his emphasis was that that he and his young co-stars saw it simply as a childhood game of make-believe that happened to be filmed.
After the premiere’s screening attendees praised the movie’s intense scaryness. According to strikingly craggy veteran horror actor Danny Trejo, the movie "even scared me." One attendee described herself as "still kind of shaking," though she didn’t seem to mind, while another enjoyed the horror movie experience of having the girls he sat next to almost jumping into his lap throughout the screening. Young attendees that were allowed and brave enough to watch the film included actress Taylor Dooley, 14, who said after, "I thought it was great. Scary movies really freak me out and it was really scary. It freaked me out a lot."
Rob Zombie’s Halloween is a brutally scary, yet intelligent horror movie and Zombie’s musical background is evident in its strong score and sound effects. The film’s unmasking of Michael Myers’ childhood slightly outshines its later re-telling of his return to Haddonfield, where Zombie does not attempt the subtle anticipatory fear of the original. Yet most leave the theatre a fan and horror hypnotically willing to consider a studio insider’s statement that, 
"Rob Zombie can do no wrong."
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Links:
Halloween movie website: www.halloween-themovie.com
Halloween on IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt0373883/
Rob Zombie: www.robzombie.com
The Weinstein Company: www.weinsteinco.com
