As part of the special material accompanying the home video release of the
much-maligned “Halloween: Resurrection,” the filmmakers shared a special
found-footage cut of the film, compiled from footage shot by the cast
members of the reality show featured in the movie.
"Halloween: Resurrection" original version.
Directed by Rick Rosenthal, “Halloween: Resurrection” was originally intended
to be part of an interactive film. Taking advantage of the fact that over 20
hours of footage had been shot using cameras worn by the actors, viewers would
be able to choose which camera to watch at any given moment, allowing them to
follow different characters in different rooms of the Myers house
simultaneously.
Needless to say, that version of the film would have been released straight to
video.
Discarded.
Despite the innovative nature of the idea, in 2002, home DVD player technology
had limitations when it came to handling multiple video streams smoothly and
without interruptions. Furthermore, a project of that nature deviated from the
“traditional theatrical release” model that Dimension Films was seeking to
capitalize on the success of “Halloween H20.”
At the time, releasing a film from a major franchise directly to video (DTV)
was considered a commercial failure that would significantly damage the
franchise’s reputation. Faced with this situation, the studio opted for a
conventional theatrical release, even if that meant sacrificing the technical
innovation Rosenthal had proposed.
The webcam special.
Unable to complete the full interactive film, Rosenthal edited the 41-minute
“WebCam Special” as a bonus feature for the DVD release. This edit eliminates
all traditional cinematic narrative and retains only the footage from the
characters’ cameras, including alternate scenes and dialogue not featured in
the final version, focusing exclusively on the “reality show” inside Michael
Myers’ house, making it the closest thing to his original concept of pure
“found footage.”
