“Halloween: Resurrection” Movie Review

Runtime: 94 minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: July 12, 2002

Director: Rick Rosenthal

What happens when you mix current (at the time technology) and an “urban vibe” with a classic Michael Myers tale? That would be “Halloween: Resurrection.”

Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) escaped the last film by killing her brother, but when she learned that she actually killed a paramedic, she went crazy and landed in the mental hospital. As the nurses gossip about her, she stuffs her pills in a secret compartment in her favorite doll, revealing that she's totally sane and actually waiting for her brother to come back. He does and despite a massive battle between the two, Michael finally gets the job done and kills his sister before taking off for his hometown.

Jen (Katee Sackhoff, “White Noise 2: The Light”) tells her best friend Sara that the two were picked for an Internet reality show taking place in the former Myers' house. Along for the ride is their friend Rudy (Sean Patrick Thomas, “Dracula 2000”), Donna, Jim, and Bill. When they get to the house and start investigating, Sara realizes that much of the house is rigged to scare them. They find Michael's old highchair with fake leg irons added to it and other items designed to show that he was a crazy child.

Sara recently launched an online relationship with Deckard (Ryan Merriman, “Final Destination 3”), which she uses to her advantage. Though she doesn't know it, he's actually a teenage boy, stuck watching the show from a party that his friend dragged him to that same night. When Michael starts randomly killing people in his former home, she turns to Deckard for help.

“Halloween Resurrection” usually gets picked as the worst film in the franchise, which is sad because I actually dig it. I remember seeing an early work print of the film with the original ending, and then seeing it as it was released and being surprised that they changed the ending. That probably only made sense in my head, but I will let the statement stand.

Most people remember this one as the movie with Busta Rhymes. Yes he is here, and yes he is pretty good. It's almost like he knows that people will make fun of him, so he goes overboard. Whether he's karate kicking to tempt Michael or flirting badly with Tyra Banks, he's a gem. Just before I wrote my review, I checked the details and was surprised that this is rated R. There is a little nudity, but the movie doesn't have nearly enough violence to warrant that rating.

It's also a little fun to check out the high-tech and cutting edge technology of the time. When Sara pulls out her PDA (multiple times) to communicated with Deckard, I had to laugh. I had to laugh again when they showed the headset cameras the characters wear throughout the movie. “Halloween: Resurrection” tried so hard to be on top of the times that it definitely comes across as dated today.