Picking
up precisely where its predecessor left off, "Halloween 2" follows
the same ill-fated characters as they encounter the knife-wielding maniac
they left for dead in the first "Halloween". It seems the
inhuman Michael Myers is still very much alive and out for more revenge
as he stalks the deserted halls of the hospital where his sister lays waiting.
As he gets closer to his terrified target, Dr. Loomis discovers the chilling
mystery behind the crazed psychopath's savage actions.
"You don't know what
death is!"
- Dr. Loomis |
Halloween 2 was a nice try to follow up a slasher classic. I know that
it was made because the first film made a nice amount of money but for
some reason I can just tell they tried to keep it on par with the original.
In some aspects they succeed but in the end we get a routine horror sequel.
I guess it's unfair to expect so much out of it but when you're the follow
up to a well made horror film it's pretty hard not to.
The main problem with this sequel is that it moves entirely too slow and
the one location it stays in (the hospital) gets boring pretty fast. As
Michael slowly stalks the halls we get the feeling that the film is also
moving at the same pace.
Another problem is that it follows the slasher routine by adding characters
that are just there to be victims for our killer. The characters in the
first film were likable and were pretty developed, even if you knew they
all wouldn't make it to the last frame. In this film we get total brain-dead
characters who are just asking to be taken out by Myers. The only new character
worth mentioning is the character of Jimmy played by Lance Guest. He gives
a decent performance and is the only ne character added to the mix worth
mentioning.
One issue that most Halloween fans debate about is whether or not
The Shape, as he is commonly called, needed a backstory. I admit that in
the first film is total lack of a motive made him much more frightening
because it wasn't reason that was driving him to kill, it was just the
fact that he was pure evil. In this film the reason he is after Laurie
is revealed and it does kinda strip that aspect of the character and make
him less scary. However, for story purposes for this sequel, it would be
pretty hard to have a 90 minute film and not explain anything about its
killer. For this film in particular I appreciate the fact that they added
a method to his madness, it just brings down his fright level a few notches.
At least the explanation is well-crafted and comes as some sort of a surprise.
A definite highlight of the film is that it picks up on the same night
of the original. It added a level of suspense and consistency that made
the story in the sequel much more interesting.
Donald Pleasance gets more screentime in this film and you can tell he
is having fun with the role. He's quite good in this film and maintains
the same dignity that made his character likable in the original. Jamie
Lee Curtis gets less screentime in this film. She's still good in this
film but more of her would've been appreciated. I also wish we could've
seen more of the strong powerhouse that we saw in the original but she
is still effective in her scenes.
In the end it's a fairly good sequel to the original I just wish it could've
stayed away from the 80's slasher mentality that made Friday the 13th so popular. However when the essence of the original shines through in
this film you begin to think it's a cut above its many imitators.
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- Dana Carvey made his movie debut in Halloween II playing
an assistant. He can be seen receiving instructions from a blond reporter
in front of the Doyle house.
- Jamie Lee Curtis had to wear a wig that matched her original hairstyle
for the film.
- Halloween II was originally written to take place in a
high rise apartment building. Later in script meetings, however, the setting
was changed to the Haddonfield Hospital.
- This is the only Halloween film to show the morning after
the 31st, every other movie ends on Halloween night.
- This is the only Halloween film, aside from Halloween
H20, in which Michael Myers is not referred to as the Boogeyman.
- John Carpenter turned down an offer to direct, but remained involved
with the production by writing the screenplay.
- Pamela Susan Shoop (Karen) got an ear infection during filming
of her death scene as the water in the hot tub was apparently "none too
clean".
- Believing Rick Rosenthal's version of the film to be too tame,
John Carpenter shot a few gory scenes that were added into the film despite
Rosethal's objections.
     
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