Halloween II (1981)
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_theatrical_poster.jpg) "Is this a joke? I've been trick-or-treated to death tonight!"
"You don't know what death is!"
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Halloween II is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal in his directorial debut, written and produced by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence who reprise their respective roles as Laurie Strode and Dr. Sam Loomis. It is the second installment in the Halloween film series and a direct sequel to the 1978 horror classic, Halloween. The plot picks up immediately after the events of the previous film, taking place on the same night where Michael Myers follows survivor Laurie Strode to a nearby hospital, while Dr. Loomis is still in pursuit of his patient.
Summary
While Sheriff Brackett and Dr. Loomis hunt for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to hospital... and Michael is not far behind her.
Why It Rocks
- It stays very true to its predecessor, capturing and keeping the terrifying and mysterious tone that the first film had.
- The opening is wicked and amazing as it shows a pumpkin with a skull inside.
- The acting is still spot-on, mainly from Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence.
- Many unexpected and surprising twists and turns, such as how Laurie is revealed to be Michael's long-lost sister.
- The film leaves no continuity errors or last-minute changes from the previous film.
- The setting and cinematography is amazingly done as it actually feels that it's occurring on the same night of the first film, even though it’s filmed in 1981, which makes it even more impressive.
- The first few minutes of the movie is the ending of its predecessor.
- Several new interesting characters, such as Jimmy, a paramedic who has feelings for Laurie.
- While not as good as the first one, the soundtrack is pretty good.
- The use of The Chordettes' "Mr. Sandman" manages to make the song sound utterly terrifying, and it even gets a callback in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.
- Well-done character and plot development.
- Michael Myers is still a terrifying villain.
- Dick Warlock does an amazing job at playing the character.
- The scenes are still unforgettable, mainly the death scenes.
- The idea of making a sequel that occurs on the exact same night as the first film at a hospital is pretty original.
- The ending is quite satisfying, as Michael gets burned alive and dies (or NOT!) while Laurie survives his killing spree.
- The shot of Michael Myers' eyes bleeding after being shot by Laurie looks scary.
Bad Qualities
- It wasn't really well-received, with low numbers at the box office and a 34% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Despite being one of the better sequels, this movie's still considered the start of the Halloween series' decline in quality.
- Michael and Laurie being siblings, while surprising, is unneeded as it gives Michael a motive, taking away that he had no motive in the first movie. This is also the first time that the franchise will humanize Michael Myers which would continue in later Halloween movies.
- Laurie, the main protagonist, doesn't get as much screen-time as she did in the first film.
- It is completely inaccurate and unrealistic for a hospital to be as deserted as the one that this movie takes place on.
Videos
Trivia
- John Carpenter originally had no intention of writing a sequel for Halloween, as he was forced into doing it.
- John Carpenter also had no intention for Michael and Laurie to be siblings, as he only wrote it because he had writer's block, and was drunk at the time.