THE WEEKEND OF HORROR UNLEASHED ON BACK TO SCHOOLERS AND COLLEGE KIDS AT CAMPUSES WITH THE HOPE THAT IT WOULD LIFT THE BOX OFFICE IN THE LAST WEEKEND OF SUMMER WITH A BLOODBATH OF GORE .. Weinstein pinned its hopes on Tarantino's BASTERDS and hoped that the cheaply made $15 mil HALLOWEEN 2 with Rob Zombie at the helm again would score a victory in the late summer heat..

How wrong Weinstein was..

FINAL DESTINATION 3d, also released this weekend, easily scored a victory over the Halloween gorefest .. HALLOWEEN, according to studio estimates, will end the weekend in third place--behind Weinstein's INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS..

FINAL DESTINATION easily wins the box office prize with nearly $28 mil (it may surpass that number in final counts) ..

Both HALLOWEEN 2 and 3D were released in comparatively the same number of theaters with a few hundred as the difference.. Over 3,000 strong for both flicks and Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN 2 couldn't even muster a second place finish in the horror box office..


THE BACKLASH

Reviews were banned until the release of both films.. but a few spoilers trickled out online about where Zombie was taking HALLOWEEN. A week before the release, a 'leak' occured to BLOODY DIGUSTING of an trailer for H2 that was supposedly backseated.. One can only assume that the leaking was intentional and a way to generate much needed excitement for a film that true HALLOWEEN fans were beginning to question..

On Friday morning, Ain't It Cool published a review of HALLOWEEN 2 that Weinstein Company must have cringed while reading: The fans in the movie with the reviewer turned their backs quickly on the film and some at the end were leaving in anger about the movie they just watched..

Other theater reports from the online world were not treating the Zombie reinvention any better that AintItCool.com.. A comment posted on DeadlineHollywood by Finke writes, "EPIC FAILURE" .. The posting says, "People were slack-jawed at the premiere last monday night" .."People stared at each other as if they were at a funeral. Yes, Rob Zombie massacred a cinematic legend and robbed fellow cinema goers at the same time " ..

Crowd reports from theaters weren't much better.. One person who saw HALLOWEEN 2 told the Horror Report that the a few people walked out of the film not even halfway through, while others were heard sighing at scenes, laughing at others.. and finally at the end annoyed with how it all turned out. Walking from the theater, fans of Zombie appeared silent and not eager to defend their CORPSE maker..

The comment being scene around the Internet world: "Halloween 2 was crap" ..

FINAL DESTINATION 3d reviews and crowd reports weren't any better--in some cases much worse. However it appeared to capture an audience that remembers the other FINAL DESTINATION films.. And for an end of summer date night, what boy wouldn't want a 3D horror flick to scare his girl?

x x x

IT APPEARS THAT THE BACKLASH IS HERE.. BUT against what? Remakes? Rob Zombie? or torture porn? .. all three maybe. Or else perhaps it's just against badly written and produced films that add nothing to the meaningful history of a timeless horror classic..

Developing..

BRYAN SMOLOCK THE HORROR REPORT SUNDAY 10:34 AM 8/30/2009