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| Film vitals |
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· Year: 1982
· Director: Rick Rosenthal
· Writers: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
· Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence
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| Series info |
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Part of the Halloween series.
· The film series branches into two story arcs after Halloween II. The first involves films one, two, four, five, and six, and the second counts films one, two, seven, and eight as canon.
· Halloween III does not follow the Michael Myers storyline.
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| Purchase |
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Amazon.com
· DVD: Restored Limited Edition · VHS: Collector's Edition Widescreen · VHS: Collector's Edition · VHS: Special Edition Widescreen · VHS: Anniversary Edition Widescreen · CD: Score, 20th Anniversary Edition · CD: Halloween Horror Movie Themes |
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| Synopsis |
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This film picks up just where the first left off--killer Michael Myers is wounded but still unstoppable, as he hunts Laurie Strode and others through the corridors of a nearly abandoned hospital.
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RATING
Out of 100 |
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62
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| COLD ANALYSIS |
| ATMOSPHERE |
| GORE |
| HUMOR |
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This doesn't come close to capturing the atmosphere of the original, and since it tries to keep a tense tone for its entire run, Halloween II becomes exhausting by the end. The murders are gorier this time around, but they all seem gratuitous--the first film had a logic that this one lacks. Still, there is enough of John Carpenter's influence here to make things involving, and Donald Pleasance is good as always.
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RATING
Out of 100 |
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| COLD ANALYSIS |
| ATMOSPHERE |
| GORE |
| HUMOR |
| SCARES |
| TENSION |
Everyone says sequels are never as good as the originals. And they are generally right but, as this film shows, that doesn't mean those sequels are bad. Halloween II is a straight continuation of the first film, picking up where it ended. John Carpenter's excellent directing may be gone and the gore level is heightened, but these factors do not ruin the film. With little setup needed, it gets right underway with Michael still hunting Laurie Strode. The reason why is clever and would become a major feature of the entire series later on. As I said, the deaths are much more graphic and some scenes are truly shocking, but a touch of clever directing stops it from seeming formulaic. No, it isnt the "scared by what you can't see" of the first film, but neither is it a "mortify the audience" film. Finding a good place between the two, Halloween II is a truly brilliant sequel and would have made a good ending to Michael's career. Oh well, next came Season of the Witch . . .
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RATING
Out of 100 |
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Halloween II has be called the only official sequel, and it is much more than that - it is a continuation of the
storyline, exactly following the end of part one, leading to the hospital where Laurie has been taken to. But although all major characters are still aboard, although the storyline continues unhindered, the film is rather paying hommage to mediocrity than to its concept. Horror has become slasher.
It might be a tribute to simplicity to let this part to a large extent happen in a hospital, but this approach fails. There is no real suspense, Michael Myers has become a mere shadow of his previous self, he is not anymore the boogeyman, he's just Michael. Donald Pleasance, however, delivers a great performance, and we get a bit of a feeling of what this movie could have been like if Carpenter had directed it himself.
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