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The opening ten minutes of Resurrection are a thoroughly depressing experience for any longtime Halloween fan. Jamie Lee Curtis is back as Laurie Strode, perhaps the best-known and most loved heroine in horror movie history. Lest I spoil the big surprise this film's opener has in store, let me just say that the faithful, the ones who have stayed with and supported the series for over two decades now, deserve more than such a cynical finish to the Strode saga. What should have been a triumphant end for the character in H20 has now become a pointless cul-de-sac. I know Ms. Curtis was contractually obligated to appear in the sequel and likely got a decent paycheck, but honey, the fans and the character deserved better. I hereby cancel my membership to the Jamie Lee fan club.

With problematic little Laurie out of the way, the movie can then get down to its main bit of business. I'm sad to say Curtis is the only ace in the hole this film has. Like the life getting sucked out of one of Michael's endless victims, once Laurie's gone, the series loses any of the kick it had regained with H20. The plot this time: Internet startup "Dangertainment" is holding a live webcast from the long-abandoned Myers house. Six unsuspecting teens with delusions of fame and fortune sign on for the Halloween spectacular, but wouldn't ya know it, it seems the Myers house is not as empty as it appears. Soon ol' Mike is back up to his usual tricks, and Dangertainment guru Freddie (Busta Rhymes) wants to broadcast it all live and in person. Ouch, this is gonna hurt....

As the filmmakers endlessly point out in the included supplements, Halloween Resurrection's big conceit is its hi-tech gadgetry. Too bad that such innovation is about five years too late. Apparently, no one who made this movie has seen The Blair Witch Project, nor realizes that the Internet has been a part of the popular vernacular now for over a decade. With the characters all wearing mini-DV cameras strapped to their heads, we get to see Myers carry out his eternal vengeance via incessant crosscutting between film and video footage. The gimmick doesn't work. There's a reason a narrative film needs a point of view, and it's because constantly jumping from one perspective to the next isn't exhilarating, its nauseating. Any hoped-for suspense is constantly deflated by the herky-jerky video footage, and absolutely no sense of spatial relations between the characters is established. It's the death knell for a horror movie, and even more painful for the audience.

Director Rick Rosenthal returns to Haddonfield after directing the much-maligned Halloween II twenty years ago (what is it about these Halloween movies and the big 2-0?), but fails to inject any new life into a tired concept. Visually, it's as glossy as they come, and the young cast is a cut above. As big names in the teen world, the otherwise talented likes of Sean Patrick Thomas, Tyra Banks, Thomas Ian Nichols and Bianca Kajlich will hopefully be able to look back at this a few years from now and just smile. But whatever plusses Halloween Resurrection has in terms of young talent, visual sheen and another spiffy electro-score, it certainly lacks twofold in relevance. "Trick or treat, mutherfucka!" Busta Rhymes says at one point. Too bad the only trick being played is on the faithful fans who continue to shell out for this junk. I'm sorry, Michael - and I do love ya, pal - but I think it's time to finally hang up the knife and move on.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, this just may be the best-looking transfer yet of a Halloween film. Shot in the Super35 format, the only minor complaints I might be able to make (aside from the annoying video footage) are a small bit of grain inherent in the process, and a slightly dark look throughout. Otherwise, this is great stuff. Blacks are dead on (hey, it's a Halloween movie) and colors are excellent. This film is awash in rich shades of blue and orange, and director of photography David Geddes has fun accenting many scenes with splashes of purple and green. Overall detail and shadow delineation are a "cut" above (get it?), although since this is a very dark film, make sure your monitor is properly calibrated or fine textures may be lost. Even better is the lack of any noticeable edge enhancement, and a wonderfully sharp, three-dimensional appearance throughout. Given the film's short runtime and not an overabundance of extras, I noticed no compression artifacts. A great presentation.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Boasting an excellent 5.1 Dolby Digital mix to go along with the superior transfer, this is a wonderfully enveloping sonic experience. The film may suck, but it sure is an aggressive, scary soundtrack. Dynamic range is excellent with very strong low end. Halloween Resurrection is filled with countless "shock" stinger moments which really stab at the subwoofer. Dynamic range is top- notch, with wonderful separation of the music, effects and dialogue. The rears are almost constantly engaged, both during the most intense shock sequences and with subtle ambiance. Imaging is generally transparent, with a nice 360-degree soundfield that is sure to impress. Michael, your latest movie sucks, but the soundtrack sure does rock!

Also included is a French 5.1 surround dub, English captions for the hearing impaired encoded as subtitles, Spanish subtitles, and true English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

A mighty packed special edition, Halloween Resurrection comes jammed with extras, although how good these supplements really are remains up for debate....

First up is a new screen-specific audio commentary with director Rick Rosenthal and editor Robert Ferretti. Alas, this is one of those tracks that is neither here nor there. Rosenthal is surprisingly subdued, with Ferretti having to prompt him with questions throughout. Rather than answer the questions all Halloween fans really want to know, Rosenthal offers pithy one-liners or goes on endlessly about all the boring video footage. What was it like returning to the franchise after twenty years? What were the themes in the script that were appealing? What was it like to work with Jamie Lee Curtis again, especially after she had publicly disparaged Halloween II for two decades? Alas, Rosenthal doesn't seem concerned with such issues, and even more depressing is the fact that he actually seems to think this film's endless cliches are inventive and original. A disappointment.

Up next are nearly 10 minutes of deleted scenes: "Freddie & Nora in the Control Room," "Contestant Interviews," "Sara & Jenna Dropping Out," "Michael Driving Up to the House," "Photo Album," and "Sara & Freddie at Car." These are all pretty short and not particularly interesting dialogue exchanges between characters. I was hoping there might be some cut Jamie Lee footage, the oft-rumored on-camera Tyra Banks death scene, or the further deletions alluded to in the commentary, but no such luck. Also included are three alternate endings: "Original Ending with Deckard," "CSI Hand in Manhole," and "Axe Ending." Only the "Axe" finale packs any sort of punch, and if they had gone with this one, it would have been interesting to see how the filmmakers worked their way out of it for the next sequel. All these scenes and the endings are presented in 2.35:1 non- anamorphic widescreen, and Rosenthal provides optional commentary. Each scene and ending can be accessed individually or via the handy "Play All" function.

Sorta fun are three featurettes, all quite short and strictly of the promotional variety. "On the Set with Jamie Lee Curtis" (4 minutes) is anything but. It's just a short selection of interviews with the cast and Curtis on her return to the franchise. All happy happy, joy joy. "Set Tour with Production Designer Troy Hansen" (6 minutes) is a fairly interesting look at the admittedly cool Myers house (built inside a soundstage with CGI enhancements) and the impressive art direction. "Head Cam Featurette" (4 minutes) again trumpets the lame video gimmick, although I'm sure spying on all the cast wearing the cameras was a lot more fun than actually having to watch it in the movie.

By far this disc's most intriguing feature is the WebCam Special. The original plans for this DVD were to allow viewers to watch the entire film via the eyes of the character's head gear. While Rosenthal hints that another DVD may be in the offing, for now we get this 40-minute sequence of the entire Myers house section of the film. A single, edited version of the middle act, composed entirely of video footage, it is sort of interesting though hardly scary. Although Rosenthal waxes rhapsodic on the optional commentary, it's clear that while the idea might have been laudable, it just doesn't work. Even ten minutes of fuzzy, constantly shifting points of view is tiresome, let alone forty. Given the less-than- rapturous reception this film got at the box office, I don't know how likely another DVD version of this film will be, so we may never get to see Rosenthal's multi-angle version. Until then, this is painful enough.

Rounding out the considerable extras is a nice still gallery with 75 publicity and behind-the-scenes images, as well as multi-angle storyboard presentations of five scenes: "Bill's Death," "Donna's Death," "Michael Finds Freddie & Sara," "Sara Attacks Michael with Chainsaw," and "Freddie Saves Sara." Each is rather short, but each comes with production sound and you can toggle between the storyboard, the final scene, or a side-by-side comparison. Last but not least are the usual Sneak Peeks with a bunch of video trailers for other Dimension flicks, although there are no actual trailers provided for Halloween Resurrection.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included at all, not even the usual Buena Vista custom interface.

Parting Thoughts