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Halloween II (1981)
A Worthy Sequel
Directed By: Rick Rosenthal
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, & Charles Cyphers
MPAA Rating: “R”
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, & Charles Cyphers
MPAA Rating: “R”
Halloween II is not the original film...not even close and anyone going into this expecting the terror that permeated John Carpenter’s classic will be sorely disappointed. Michael has lost much of the eeriness that ounce enshrouded him, instead becoming just a mindless slasher who stalks and kills everyone he encounters: doctors, nurses, police officers, etc. Whereas Halloween (1978) was all about build-up and suspense, this is a splatter movie, plain and simple. However, it does work as a continuation of the original and it plays best when watched right after a viewing of the first film. The two films seem to naturally connect and, though Halloween II may seem cheesy and unnecessary when viewed as a separate entity, it is actually a perfectly worthy sequel that is more fun than a barrel-of-monkeys and even a little frightening at times.
Just hours after Laurie Strode (Curtis) escaped Michael Myers and was rescued by Doctor Samuel Loomis (Pleasence), she is taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for various cuts and bruises and mental trauma. However, Michael soon shows up and, still very much alive despite being riddled with bullets, begins to knock off various doctors and nurses around the hospital in a desperate search to find Laurie. When Laurie realizes that Michael has indeed returned and that her nightmare is far from over, she is once again plunged into a harrowing fight for survival. Meanwhile, Doctor Loomis again tries to rescue her, as Nurse Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens) is sent to bring him back and leave the case alone. Oh, and they all also realize that Laurie is actually Michael’s sister and that is why he wants to kill her...or something to that effect (the sibling aspect was thrown in as somewhat of an after-thought).
Halloween II suffers from the usual problem that plagues sequels: we have seen it all before. We know who Michael Myers is, what he is capable of doing, and just how he prefers to do things. This makes him far less scary and Rick Rosenthal makes the grave mistake of showing him far too often in the first half. Like the rather inane, but enjoyable remake from Rob Zombie, the movie is far too focused on killing off a whole bunch of side characters in uninspired and unremarkable ways. Half of them are only given about five minutes of screen time before they are killed off. There is little to no suspense and the hospital angle is never played out well enough; it seems far too convenient that no patients ever need assistance and that there are so few patients to begin with.
However, Halloween II comes out looking far better than most films of this nature because of its mean-spirited brutality (you may have seen all of these deaths before, but they were filmed with very little sympathy, i.e. the hot tub scene...ouch) and, of course, because of the performances from Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis who bring credibility to what might have otherwise been just another eighties slasher bore. It also scores points for feeling like a natural progression from the end of the first film. It did not feel like a slapdash sequel thrown together and tacked on to make money (though, I’m sure it was). There are a few words that could be used to describe Halloween II. “Inspired” and “Original” are not two of them...however, “Fun” and “Frivolous” are. When I’m looking for a film to scare the living daylights out of me, I always turn to Halloween (1978). When I’m looking for a little guilt-free entertainment, I could do much worse than Halloween II.
Just hours after Laurie Strode (Curtis) escaped Michael Myers and was rescued by Doctor Samuel Loomis (Pleasence), she is taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for various cuts and bruises and mental trauma. However, Michael soon shows up and, still very much alive despite being riddled with bullets, begins to knock off various doctors and nurses around the hospital in a desperate search to find Laurie. When Laurie realizes that Michael has indeed returned and that her nightmare is far from over, she is once again plunged into a harrowing fight for survival. Meanwhile, Doctor Loomis again tries to rescue her, as Nurse Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens) is sent to bring him back and leave the case alone. Oh, and they all also realize that Laurie is actually Michael’s sister and that is why he wants to kill her...or something to that effect (the sibling aspect was thrown in as somewhat of an after-thought).
Halloween II suffers from the usual problem that plagues sequels: we have seen it all before. We know who Michael Myers is, what he is capable of doing, and just how he prefers to do things. This makes him far less scary and Rick Rosenthal makes the grave mistake of showing him far too often in the first half. Like the rather inane, but enjoyable remake from Rob Zombie, the movie is far too focused on killing off a whole bunch of side characters in uninspired and unremarkable ways. Half of them are only given about five minutes of screen time before they are killed off. There is little to no suspense and the hospital angle is never played out well enough; it seems far too convenient that no patients ever need assistance and that there are so few patients to begin with.
However, Halloween II comes out looking far better than most films of this nature because of its mean-spirited brutality (you may have seen all of these deaths before, but they were filmed with very little sympathy, i.e. the hot tub scene...ouch) and, of course, because of the performances from Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis who bring credibility to what might have otherwise been just another eighties slasher bore. It also scores points for feeling like a natural progression from the end of the first film. It did not feel like a slapdash sequel thrown together and tacked on to make money (though, I’m sure it was). There are a few words that could be used to describe Halloween II. “Inspired” and “Original” are not two of them...however, “Fun” and “Frivolous” are. When I’m looking for a film to scare the living daylights out of me, I always turn to Halloween (1978). When I’m looking for a little guilt-free entertainment, I could do much worse than Halloween II.
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