Over the past couple of days, I’ve had several people ask me why I think Rob Zombie is releasing his version of the classic horror film Halloween in August instead of October. There could be a couple of reasons for this. One of the most obvious is that by having an August release date, you secure an October DVD release date. Horror movie rentals (and I’m assuming purchases) skyrocket around Halloween.
I don’t have any solid sales numbers, but my feeling is that Zombie’s films do far better in DVD sales revenue than in box office revenue. My reasoning is simple - on DVD he can include the uncut version (aka his original sadistic, gruesome vision of the film) without worrying about a pesky NC-17 rating driving potential viewers away.
Another reason is that they didn’t want to compete with the pre-Halloween weekend release of Saw IV. Each of the Saw movies has done really well at the box office on opening weekend (according to IMDb’s box office reporting). Competing with a successful franchise for eyeballs on opening weekend with a remake would be risky, to say the least, even for Rob Zombie.
My last explanation for the August 31st release date pure competition. It’s a quiet weekend for movies. Artsy, non-gruesome movies like Death Sentence, Self-Medicated and The Nines are being released that day. Zombie’s audience won’t have an alternative and will flock to the theater just to see Halloween.
There you have it - my reasons why a movie set in October is being released in August. As much as I despise remakes (with very few exceptions), I’m intrigued to see what Zombie can pull off with the source material.
Release Date 11/28/2008 
Absolutely! While he’s still considered a new filmmaker, he’s already proven that he’s got the chops to compete with the rest. I’ve been a gigantic fan of his music for years, but I’ve been iffy about his films. Again, this is opinion!
House of 1000 Corpses (/i> was very good, althoughI had to see it at least twice before I truly appreciated it. There’s some sick, sick, stuff going on in that!
The Devil’s Rejects was horrible in comparison. The best parts of the movie were toward the end, and even the ending itself wasn’t satisfying. However, the choice of music in the final scene gave it back a couple of points.
The fake trailer in Grindhouse: Ingenious.
More than likely, I will see Halloween when it comes out on DVD. Again,I’m a purist.. I can’t help it.