Rob Zombie's revved-up reimagination of what's arguably the creepiest slasher flick ever committed to celluloid possesses (at least) three calling cards that make it more compelling for adolescent viewers than the hip hugger-era original--real teenagers in the principal roles, more sex and nudity, and more violence. The numbers for Halloween circa 2007 don't lie: Its take at the box office over the last four days ($26.5 million) is a record for Labor Day weekend. So dim the lights, close the curtains, and whatever you do, don't go into that house...

For viewers who work with kids, a compelling factor in director Zombie's recreation would have to be its healthy dose of creative backstory that sheds light on Michael Myers' childhood--and what happened to him during it that contributed to his psychosis (e.g., the death of his father, a stripper for a mother, an abusive, menacing live-in boyfriend, a cruel slut for an older sister, school bullies, and self-esteem at absolute zero). Believe it or not, you can detect the last vestiges of heart and soul in the poor kid who soon turns into a soulless, silent murderer, and that's an important point of discussion if you happen to observe the subject of Halloween come up in conversations among your students over the next several weeks.

But that's about the only thing worth talking about where this movie is concerned. Not only is Zombie's retelling not half as suspenseful or chilling as the original, but also it telegraphs all the violence--and then brings it on with blunt, brute force. Not that violence artfully deployed onscreen is your everyday, laudable achievement, but you know something has slipped if the director can't even get that aspect right. Zombie would've been better off filling backstory for the entire movie and only hinting at Myers' unhappy homecoming to Haddonfield--after all, improving on Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence ain't easy. (And why they didn't wait to release the movie on October 31 is another head scratcher.)