In October of 1978, the horror genre changed forever with the release of John Carpenter’s Halloween. A film that set the bar high and that has yet to be matched in regards to filmmaking and storytelling in the horror genre. To this day, I consider Halloween the standard in the genre and one of the truest tales of evil through Carpenter’s representation of evil in Michael Myers.
What sounds like a fitting end to a story was altered in 1981 with the release of Halloween II. The overwhelming success of Halloween was too much to ignore as the Akkads (Halloween‘s producers) looked to bank on the popularity of the franchise with a sequel despite John Carpenter never having a sequel in mind when he first created Halloween. Halloween II began the franchise that we know today until it was scrubbed away by this year’s Halloween directed by David Gordon Green.
Throughout the years, there have been interviews with Carpenter where he stated that the script to Halloween II was written under the influence of quite a bit of alcohol. Despite that, Halloween II, similar to its successor Halloween III: Season of the Witch, has aged quite well and is one of my favorites in the franchise.
The importance of Halloween II for me stems mainly from nostalgia and it being the first Halloween film I had ever seen at the time in its entirety. I remember watching the sequel immediately after catching the ending of Halloween on the same Halloween 1995 evening I recalled for you in my previous review.
Is Halloween II perfect?
Absolutely not! As a matter of fact, it is full of flaws. Starting with Dr. Sam Loomis shooting seven times in this film rather than six in the original’s finale all the way to Jaime Lee Curtis’s awful wig that has yet to be topped, although Kata Mara’s in 2015’s Fantastic Four came quite close, Halloween II does fail at continuity.
The film’s biggest flaw was the increase of gore in the film. Michael Myers got bloodier. In the original, Carpenter used atmosphere to create fear while Halloween II began to showcase Michael’s invincibility through his over the top kills.
What Halloween II did get right is director Rick Rosenthal and Carpenter’s choice to begin the film immediately following the events of the first, a concept that was rarely done at the time. Opening the film, they used the finale from the first to assist the audience in feeling like they were a part of “the night he came home.” It set the tone for the film and what would come next.
Another strength in both films was the supporting cast. Like Lynda and Annie in the original, Halloween II continued the trend. Leigh Bracket is replaced by Gary Hunt, played by Hunter Von Leer, who fully immersed the hometown boy feel which combined with Loomis’s no-nonsense attitude made a great pairing in trying to find and stop Michael.
The hospital characters were some of my favorites in the film, including Lance Guest as Jimmy and Mr. Leo Rossi as Budd, who has my favorite line in the franchise, “Amazing Grace. Come Sit On My Face.” A line that remains laugh out loud funny to this day.
What would a Halloween review be without talking about Michael Myers? Incomplete that is. This time around, Michael is played by Dick Warlock. Warlock gave Michael mannerisms and feelings without ever uttering a word. He brought Michael more to life in subtle ways from the way he walked to the use of his eyes during kill scenes. His performance remains the second best in the series, right next to Nick Castle’s in Halloween.
Dean Cundy returns as cinematographer and adds more to the film especially with his unique shots of Haddonfield as its own character within the Halloween universe. After these two films, Haddonfield would never feel this incorporated into another film in the franchise again.
While the overall franchise has suffered from lows throughout the last 40 years, Halloween II remains one of the brightest spots. While some consider Halloween: H20 the second best in the franchise, Halloween II feels more in line with the original than any other sequel in the series. The tagline, “More of the Night He Came Home”, never felt truer than when watching Halloween II.
Reel Talk gives Halloween II 3.5 Reels
