The Halloween franchise has been many things over the course of its nearly 40-year existence. John Carpenter’s original horror classic helped kick off the slasher craze of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. Halloween III: Season of the Witch attempted to turn the series into an anthology, sans Michael Myers. The series has been rebooted several times, with splintered continuity going in every which direction. And once, somewhat under the radar, the franchise got in on the found footage phenomenon.
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Directed by Rick Rosenthal, 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection is known for, among many things, featuring Busta Rhymes fighting Michael Myers with kung fu in ultra silly fashion. It also is oft-regarded as one of the lesser entries in the Halloween canon. It did have some unique ideas though. The biggest one being that Rosenthal incorporated found footage-like elements, with an online reality show of sorts unfolding inside of Michael Myers’ childhood home. Those elements were later repurposed to make something entirely different.
The movie as we know it sees reality TV programmers at DangerTainment (Busta Rhymes and Tyra Banks) selecting a group of thrill-seeking teens to spend the night in the childhood home of the famed serial killer who stalks Haddonfield. The planned live broadcast turns deadly when – surprise! – Michael crashes the party. Death and mayhem ensues.
Released as a DVD special feature, the Halloween: Resurrection – Web Cam Special takes the video footage from the movie while mixing in some deleted footage, resulting in a nearly 42-minute alternate version of the movie. It’s, if nothing else, a pretty fascinating experiment.
It’s not quite a feature-length film but it does away with a lot of the silliness that permeates Resurrection. We also don’t have to endure Laure Strode’s unceremonious death in the original cut’s opening minutes. It’s a fascinating window into what could have been. Mind you, this was just three years after The Blair Witch Project became one of the biggest horror movies ever, kicking off the found footage craze. It’s not hard to imagine just about every horror franchise getting the “but make it found footage” pitch around that time.
What’s interesting is that this isn’t a fan film and the events that transpire are part of the H20 timeline. So, this could theoretically be viewed as part of the official Halloween canon. It’s just the events of Resurrection from a different POV. That said, this cut of the movie is, frankly, better suited as a Blu-ray/DVD bonus feature more than it is some brilliant, lost movie or something along those lines. It’s probably the closest we’ll ever get to a proper, honest-to-goodness found footage movie centered on Michael Myers.
The only downside for curious Halloween fans is that it’s not officially streaming anywhere as of this writing. Those interested will need to turn to physical media in order to watch it. But anyone with a copy of Halloween: Resurrection sitting on the ol’ shelf may want to consider dusting that puppy off to give this relic of the early 2000s a go.
