Halloween II (1981)
Directed by Rick Rosenthal
Slasher movie sequels are so incredibly common, hell…Halloween has 10 of them if you include the Rob Zombie films. Very seldom does a sequel live up to the original movie but man does Halloween II do the best job. Everyone knows my love for Halloween and Halloween III: Season of the Witch but Halloween II is somewhat overlooked. It is sad that it is overlooked because it is a great film in and of itself.
Halloween II picks up right after the first film almost seamlessly, which is incredible if you think of it. This was made 3 years after the original and all the actors return, even Carpenter returned as a Writer with Debra Hill. Dr. Loomis is still searching for Michael after he shot him SIX TIMES!! Meanwhile, Jamie Lee Curtis is back as Laurie Strode whom is feeling the injuries from her encounter with Michael Myers. The paramedics take Laurie to the local hospital and Michael is en route to find her and kill her. Now Dr. Loomis and the police must find Michael before it is too late.
The acting is top notch for the genre. Donald Pleasence is back as Dr. Loomis and hamming it up as always. He is so incredible in this role. You really believe that he has snapped and he is frantic to take Michael down. Jamie Lee Curtis puts on an even better performance than the original, she is so worn out and distraught and you feel it in this movie. Some scenes are really gut wrenching when Laurie is scrambling away from Michael and the effects of the pain meds she is on are hampering her. There is an old policeman that always sounds like he’s on the verge of tears which cracks me up. Another memorable character is the Budd, a male nurse that is foul mouthed and a horndog. He has a classic line where a female nurse says something along the lines of “every word from you is either shit or damn.” Then Budd replies “I’m sorry, I guess I just fuck up all the time”. It always gets a laugh from me and you can’t help but love the guy even though he looks a little like Larry from Three’s Company.
The violence in this movie is really ramped up from the original. You get some gruesome kills including, numerous stabbings, a woman’s face dunked in boiling water, a hanging, and a brutal needle to the eye of a nurse. The blood is still at a minimum and doesn’t really need to be much more, it is effective the way it is. The ending of the film is a little ridiculous when you think about it. Spoiler Alert! Don’t read the rest of this paragraph if you want to see this movie. Michael is chasing Loomis and Laurie through the hospital and they lead him into a surgical room. Loomis hands Laurie a revolver and he stands guard by the door. Michael breaks through and Loomis attempts to shoot Michael but his gun is empty. Michael stabs Loomis and he falls to the floor. Laurie proceeds to shoot twice, once in each of Michael’s eyes. This is hilarious, she’s never shot a pistol, or we are to believe she never has but she has Steven Seagal type accuracy and shoots both of his eyes out from like 15 feet away. Loomis turns on a big ether tank and Laurie turns on some oxygen tanks. Loomis is able to distract Michael long enough for Laurie to run out the door and he lights a lighter thus blowing them both up in the room. Laurie looks back and Michael staggers out of the room ablaze and collapses to the floor in a fiery heap.
I can’t say enough positive things about this movie. It really does feel like an extension of the first film. The first film is a masterpiece and this one is right up there as well and deserves more recognition. It may be the best #2 in a horror franchise ever. As good as Friday the 13th Pt2 is, Halloween II is better in my opinion. The acting is great, the kills are effective, the music is great, you can’t find much to complain about. If you haven’t seen this, I really recommend it! I give Halloween II an A. I can’t give it an A+ because that is held for classics such as Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
