People in the Movie: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis,
Director: Rick Rosenthal
Pigeonhole: Horror / Slasher
The Basics: Beginning literally the moment Halloween ended, Halloween II picks right up. Laurie Strode (Curtis) having survived Michael Myers’ attack is being taken to the hospital due to the injuries she suffered (a cut arm and fractured ankle from a fall, seen in the prior film). Michael is still on the loose, with Dr. Loomis (Pleasence) in pursuit. The rest of the town is in shock of the violence they are now learning took place this same evening. We learn there is a “personal factor” as to why Michael is targeting Laurie. The majority of the movie is spent with Michael killing his way through the hospital attempting to reach her.
Recommendation: If you are planning on watching any more of the Halloween series, you should see this. Semi-entertaining sequel and splatter film. As a standalone (meaning if you had not seen the original) it could survive, but early on you would wonder how the characters got to where they are now, and why. “R” rating is for violence, language and nudity.
My Take: Halloween II is a very 80’s slasher cliché type of film. Rick Rosenthal did a decent job to capture the ambiance of the original Halloween, but as far as real scares go, I was left wanting. There was no real feeling of dread or suspense, but more like a predicable falling of dominos. Where in Halloween the killing was almost secondary to the story, in number two the killings are what drive the movie. There was significantly more blood splatter the second time around, and like many horror/slasher films of the time, you want to almost “predict” out loud who will be next to die.
**spoiler alert** The only new plot information, that was even semi-interesting in number two, is that we learn Laurie Strode is Michael Myers’ sister. She was a baby when Michael killed his older sister Judith, and soon after, the Myers’ parents are killed in a car accident, so the Strodes adopted Laurie and never told her about Michael to protect her. However, during a flashback, Laurie does seem to remember seeing/visiting Michael at Smith’s Grove sanitarium when they were children. This reveal was extremely weak, in my opinion, and did nothing as far as making Michael’s stalking and killing somehow more palatable. Laurie is Michael’s sister. Michael killed his older sister so now he has to kill his younger sister? What a cop-out.
There was a small reference to Samhain, the Gaelic festival, in the film as Dr. Loomis is tracking Michael’s movements after he was shot in the prior movie. Michael had written it on a blackboard in the school. Samhain was not really addressed, but was more a foreshadowing to how the movie ends; with Michael and Dr. Loomis seen burning to death in an operating room that was leaking highly flammable oxygen and ether from some gas tanks. Dr. Loomis believed this was the only way to stop Michael, so he ignited the gas himself.
Leading up to the ending we witnessed Michael making his way through town to the hospital, killing staff and other people, while Loomis and a deputy (the sheriff was too distraught after finding his daughter Annie dead) search for clues. Loomis gets temporarily sidetracked as he is called back Smith’s Grove by the governor, when he conveniently learns that Laurie is Michael’s sister (he did not know this until now). He promptly heads for the hospital for the final stand off.
Laurie’s part in the film, compared to the original, is overly simplistic. She meets a paramedic who appears to like her; his name is Jimmy. She spends a little amount of time in the hospital in a daze, due to a reaction to some meds (where she has the aforementioned vision about Michael), and spends the rest of the time fleeing from Michael through the hospital. Laurie never really appeared scared, but more like it was “here we go again”. As I noted – predictable and cliché.
Final Thought/Extras/For Fun: According to John Carpenter and Debra Hill the creators of the original film, the Michael Myers/Laurie Strode storyline was ended to have ended at this film. Hollywood
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