McDowell appeared as Dr. Samuel Loomis in Rob Zombie's remakes of "Halloween" and "Halloween II" (in 2007 and 2009, respectively). Although the films were not well received critically, they performed better at the box office and McDowell was widely praised for his performances and for being perfectly cast. He also played Desmond LaRochette in Robert Whitlow's "The List" (2007), and Irish patriarch Enda Doyle in "Red Roses and Petrol" (2003). His next film is the Canadian vampire comedy rock and roll film "Suck" (2009) with actor/director Rob Stefaniuk and the upcoming Alex Wright film "Two Wolves". In December 2009, he made an appearance in the music video "Snuff" by the heavy metal band Slipknot. He appears, uncredited, as the curator Lombardi, in the film "The Book of Eli" (2010). McDowell portrayed Satan in the Christian comedy thriller film "Suing the Devil" (2011).