Michael Lives: The Making of Halloween is probably one of the best documentaries I’ve seen on the making of a film. When I recently purchased the new 3-Disc Collector’s Edition of Rob Zombie’s Halloween at Best Buy, I was kicking myself for double dipping for the first time in months. However, as I purchased the DVD, I told myself that I was basically just buying the documentary on the third disc, which the box claimed was “4 and a half hours long.” Well, that was not an exaggeration. And, with some luck, it was totally worth the purchase.
Even if you didn’t like Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween (which a lot of people didn’t- I, on the other hand, see it as a very flawed but creative attempt at trying something new and ambitious with an old story… for more on this, go here), I’d be surprised if you hated this documentary. Unlike most special features, EPKs, or documentaries that you’ll find on DVDs these days, Michael Lives: The Making of Halloween basically covers every aspect of a film shoot that you could want to see (and even some aspects of pre and post production as well). You are on the set every day of filming, a title card coming up before each day, giving a run-down of the scenes to be filmed for the day.
Being a filmmaker myself, I have to say that I learned a lot about the filmmaking process on a professional level from this. Sure, you can say that I learned it from people who cannot make a good movie but I see that very differently. Actually, by watching this documentary, it’s easy to see where Rob Zombie went wrong in the production and where he excelled. While Zombie definitely has a great energy on set and is very enthusiastic (and honestly, just seems like an overall nice guy that you’d want to hang out with… well, maybe not in public), he seems to rely too much on improvisation and spontaneity rather than a solid, well-polished screenplay. At one point in the documentary he states that the screenplay is “just a piece of paper” to encourage his actors to go off of it and make it their own. This kind of method is used again in the scenes between Michael and Loomis in the asylum (which actually ended up being my favorite section of the film, so maybe it worked in this case). My biggest problems with the final version of the film (well… one of them at least… see what I’m getting at?) dealt with things on the screenplay level. The first ten minutes of the film suffered some terrible characterization and awful dialogue. At times, things just didn’t seem planned out well enough. And, as far as the multiple versions of the film and huge amount of deleted scenes go, it was obvious that, at times, Zombie just wasn’t sure what direction to go in with certain scenes.
Anyways, focusing more on the documentary itself, this movie looked like it was a whole lot of fun to make. Everyone involved seems to care a lot about what they are doing and no one really takes themselves too seriously. Malcolm MacDowell seems to joking off camera (and, at times, on camera) as much as he possible can. The guy seems like he’s a blast to work with and, if I could, I wish I could get the opportunity to work with him myself… or at least hang out with him. The section with Ken Foree coming in to shoot his Joe Grizzly scene was a highlight as well. Foree seems to have an almost larger-than-life aura around him. I like that he decided that he was really going to try and fight back with Tyler Mane (who played the adult Michael Myers) so that his character could at least go out with some dignity. It made for a really intense scene as the two giant men really went for it in their fight together. It was also interesting to see how gentle and sociable Tyler Mane was without the mask. The guy really was a great pick for Myers not only because of his physical presence but he really was able to get some emotion through that seemingly emotionless white mask that he wears. Seeing this documentary helps to show more on whom he is as an actor and how he was able to pull off some of those more subtle moments.
As the infamous reshoots begin on the film, you can actually feel a slight shift in the attitudes of everyone involved. Everyone is still very absorbed and passionate about what they are doing but you also get the faint hint of the notion that this may not be working out as well as they originally thought. Zombie seems particularly perturbed at this point, mostly due to exhaustion from the long shoot and the frustration of having to shoot more footage for his already long-winded and problematic film.
I really cannot express how detailed this documentary is. You see everything from moments when they bring in a cake for an actor that has wrapped to a make-a-wish recipient coming in to visit the set and do a cameo to one of the stunt women actually getting injured in one of the big falls from the film. You see all the effects that were used in the movie, how they were created and how well they were executed. You get to see the massive effort it takes from a whole lot of people to make a movie on this scale. Rob Zombie’s Halloween may not have been the perfect film but, after watching this documentary, it is very obvious that a lot of love and good intentions went into the making of it. It also becomes very evident on why a lot of the same actors love working with Zombie. He’s a very charismatic person with a great eye for detail that will to do anything to get the best out of someone. His films don’t always turn out in the best way and he definitely tends to take things way too far at times but he definitely has some talent as a director and a great drive. Hopefully, he will be able to move on to more unique and original projects in the future (maybe even outside of the horror genre).
Even if you did not like Zombie’s Halloween, you should check out this documentary. It is amazingly detailed, personal and hands on. At a running time of 4 and half hours, you manage to get an amazing insight into how a film is made. By the end of it, you’ll feel as if you had a part in the filmmaking process yourself. If you really love film and the process of moviemaking, this is for you.
9/10
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