Penhall

This is a terrible film. It makes little sense and was incompetently directed by Joe Chappelle. The main problem with it is the director. See, the ORIGINAL cut of the movie was far superior to this version. It's amazing that in the original version, dubbed the "Producer's Cut", we actually get a suspensful, well written Halloween film that (in my opinion), ranks up there with Halloween 2 and 4. See, in the Producer's Cut, there is more characterization. Jamie is actually in the movie a lot more, and she does not die by being impaled on some farm equipment. Even more amazing is the fact that Dr. Loomis actually serves a purpose in the Producer's Cut. He has tons more scenes, along with Dr. Wynn. In fact, it actually doesn't feel like a cheat in the Producer's cut when the man in black is finally revealed. And although the ending is arguably less climatic, it is ultimately a million times better than the theatrical cut ending, which has hands down the WORST replacement for Michael ever(A. Michael Lerner, who actually RUNS while chasing the doctor at the end!). It is truly amazing to compare the two films. Director Joe Chappelle actually took almost every strong, clever, and suspensful scene and completely edited it from the film or cut it down. Although the Producer's Cut is a great film, it still is not what it could have and should have been. Because of Joe(and Dimension Films), Danielle Harris was replaced as Jamie because they did not want to pay her the mere 5,000 dollars she was asking for! Also, the Producer's cut still suffers from some tampering by Joe, who actually put in the "We were drugged scene", and scaled down the original ending. It is still superior in every way to the theatrical cut, and with Anchor Bay now owning the rights, hopefully fans will be able to see this version on DVD, with great picture quality over the poor bootleg copies that I own.

Come on people, just give the film a chance! It isn't the best movie of the series, but it certainly is not the worst(Insurrection deserves that label). Yes, the movie had its share of flaws, but just ignore those and enjoy what is good about the movie. And try to understand that the movie is totally different from what Shatner wanted it to be. Because of budget cuts and pressure from Paramount to add humor, the film's impact was diminished. He didn't get the effects company he wanted (ILM was unavailable), and his dark, terrific ORIGINAL script was watered down. In fact, his original ending would have been one of the best climaxes in Trek history, including demons, gargoyles, and TONS of action. In conclusion, the movie's failure was Paramount's fault, and NOT Shatner's. Leave him alone about it, and read his Star Trek books! They prove that he can, in fact, write, and needs to be given another chance directing a Star Trek film.

This was a terrific show, with great characters, effects, and storylines. It did, however, take about 2 seasons before it actually got really good. The first 2 seasons were somewhat mediocre, with just a few gems in the bunch. The original show, on the other hand, was just plain better! Some of the comments left here by other users truly disgust me. You people are NOT true Trek fans. Anyway, I love ALL the Trek shows, just the original series the best.