Halloween II
by Cheeto
Posted on 2 May 2021
Rating -
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. It is the second installment in the Halloween film series and serves as a direct sequel to Halloween (1978). The plot picks up directly after the first film, with Michael Myers following survivor Laurie Strode to the local hospital, while his psychiatrist Dr. Loomis continues his pursuit of him.
After the success of Halloween (1978), a sequel was inevitable. John Carpenter didn’t want to direct another Halloween film, so he decided to write it (along with Debra Hill) instead. Rick Rosenthal directs this film in his directoral debut.
The film picks up where Halloween left off as Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance) looks in horror as Michael has vanished from the yard below. There are some positives to this film. It is set in a hospital at night, there is barely any staff around. The hospital setting makes for a very scary location, and as there’s hardly any staff around, it makes you feel alone.
Halloween II also has some of the suspense seen in Halloween, although not done anywhere near as good as the original. The characters are ok, they actually feel like real people. Finally; this film’s score is an awesome techno remix of John Carpenters original Halloween theme.
Now onto the things this film does wrong. I don’t like Dick Warlock’s portrayal of Michael Myers. Nick Castle in the original portrayed him perfectly, almost as if Michael Myers is more supernatural than human. Dick Warlock’s portrayal is very robotic and zombie like. Half the film is just Michael slugging around the hospital. Of course this also has something to do with the differing directors.
Laurie Strode is basically non-existant in this film until the last 10 minutes. Dr. Loomis is sent on this forgettable side plot looking for Michael around the area. This is just a cheap way to get Loomis out of the picture until the end.
I don’t like the whole ‘Laurie and Michael are siblings’ plot to this film. It takes away from the scare factor of Michael; as it makes him more human. Another thing is that they don’t really explore this, it seems like it was used more to give a cheap twist to raise the stakes.
Overall, this film is alright. It’s not terrible, but it hasn’t got nothing on its original. This still is a film I watch every Halloween and you can pair it with Halloween to be one continuous film between the two.
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