A group of six teens think that they are in for some fun and games when they stage a live web cast from the house the infamous Michael Myers grew up in. Soon Myers himself shows up for some old-fashioned slicing and dicing. The film is directed by Rick Rosenthal (Halloween 2) and stars Busta Rhymes, Tyra Banks, Bianca Kajilich, and Thomas Ian Nicholas. Series regular Jaime Lee Curtis also makes an appearance.
When one attends a slasher film screening if they are a film buff, they basically know what to expect from a film of this nature. You usually get a bunch of stupid nubile teens who are being stalked then picked off one by one by a masked killer wielding a sharp object that they use to dispose of the aforementioned teens. Also, slasher films will include various gory/bloody kills that the squeamish viewer turns away from. What has also become common in today's slasher films is a twist ending that leaves everything open for another entry into the particular series of films. With Halloween: Resurrection you have stupid nubile teens, a masked killer with a butcher knife, you also have bloody kills. I won't tell you whether the film fulfills the twist ending part of the quota. Nonetheless, you get what you expect with Halloween: Resurrection.
Direction by Rosenthal is fine and efficient for this type of film. He handles the web cam point-of-view shots well and fashions some cool looking kills from the web cam shots. He also manages to get some tension from the nice use of shadows and other lighting techniques. The film thankfully doesn't rip off The Blair Witch Project as much as it could have.
In the acting department the film doesn't excel but is about what you can expect for this type of film. Busta Rhymes attempts some humor that works about half the time. Tyra Banks doesn't really have anything to do so she suffers. Bianca Kajilich is fine but she also suffers from an underwritten role. Thomas Ian Nicholas projects some charm into his role and probably fares the best out of the entire cast. Jaime Lee Curtis isn't in the movie for very long but does well in her limited role.
Overall, Halloween: Resurrection is a film that horror fans will most likely find some things to like while others will hate the film for its simple premise and underwritten characters. But this film wasn't really made for them, it was made for the people who have followed the Halloween series since its inception in 1978 and for them it will satisfy.
Rating: 80
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