Halloween II
by Rick Rosenthal
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Charles Cyphers, Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jeffrey Kramer, Lance GuestDirector: Rick Rosenthal
Brand: Universal Studios
Producer: Barry Bernardi
Producer: Debra Hill
Writer: Debra Hill
Producer: Irwin Yablans
Producer: John Carpenter
Writer: John Carpenter
Producer: Joseph Wolf
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-09-18
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of Halloween II
Movie Review: One of the ALL-TIME BEST Horror movies, yet is strangely underrated and absurdly criticized.
Summary: 5 Stars
With the tremendous economic success of the original "Halloween" and the incredible clamor for a sequel, John Carpenter just had to make part two of the Halloween series, and although Carpenter did not actually and technically direct this movie, Carpenter's hands were all over the script. Rick Rosenthal directed "Halloween II" and did a fine job of picking up right where Carpenter left off with the "Halloween theme" that was so effectively utilized in the original. The acting in this movie is equally brilliant as Jaimee Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance are brought back in this perfect sequel to the greatest horror movie of all-time.
Unlike most sequels, "Halloween II" is a winner in every sense of the word. The sequel to the greatest horror movie of all-time in "Halloween" picks up right where the original left off...this particular tactic with regard to sequels is actually much more effective than starting something completely new or picking up a few years years after the original left off.
At any rate, Myers was shot six times by Dr. Lumus at the end of "Halloween". So, the movie aptly picks up with Lumus looking for Myers, but Myers is only interested in getting to Laurie Strode and she has been taken to a hospital. Not to give anything away, but as part of the summary and analysis of "Halloween II", it is important to note that there is a method to Michael Myers's madness...indeed, Laurie Strode is actually Michael Myers's other sister. Thus, the fact that Myers would continue his murderous rampage at the Haddonfield Memorial Hospital in his attempt to kill Laurie is completely plausible. However, this particular fact regarding Laurie and Myers is not revealed until late in the movie.
Still, "Halloween II" picks up where the original left off in more ways than one. The Halloween theme that John Carpenter created and mastered is brilliantly re-created in "Halloween II". However, in this particular movie, John Carpenter gambled and changed the Halloween theme music a bit to more of an organ dominated theme sound rather than piano based and it pays off wonderfully in the sequel. Personally, I thought that the theme music in both movies was absolutely brilliant and appropriate for the subject matter. The music in both "Halloween" and "Halloween II" is so scary and perfect for the occasion in ever way possible.
In "Halloween II", the audience observes an equally terrifying "boogeyman" in Michael Myers as it quickly becomes clear that the human/man part of Michael Myers is completely dead or gone and what remains in Myers is this pure evil that continues to deliberately and cold bloodedly drive Myers to even more murder and macabre. In fact, Michael Myers appears to be even more dangerous in part II than in part I, mainly because whatever human part that was in Michael Myers in part I is now dead, perhaps after being shot by Dr. Lumus six times. After viewing this movie, it becomes clear that Michael Myers is not only "the boogeyman" but he is the deadliest and most dangerous horror movie villain of all-time...this evil that is Michael Myers is unstoppable!!
"Halloween II" moves along with careful attention to a course of action that would logically follow after such a horrible tragedy which has now become known to the Haddonfield community. The police are all over the place...Laurie Strode (played very well again by Jaimie Lee Curtis) is in the hospital, Dr. Lumus, played equally well again by Donald Pleasance, is now even more obsessed with stopping Myers as well. The local media is all over the scene and there is this general sense of chaos that has enveloped Haddonfield on Halloween night.
Critical to the plot of "Halloween II" is a scene where a male pedestrian, who looked like Myers, is actually hit and killed in a car accident while crossing the street and burned to a crisp. The media and police all believe that Myers has been killed, but this is not the case as Myers has simply gone to the logical place where he can find and kill his sister. In "Halloween II", Carpenter puts Dr. Lumus in a position to give a couple more of his "fancy talk" speeches which are so effective at presenting horror to the audience while glued to Pleasance's every move and word.
Other characters are introduced to the audience in this sequel and aptly developed as the movie progresses. As is typical of most sequels, the body count is larger in "Halloween II" and the actual kills are much more graphic than in the original "Halloween". Still, the blood and gore are kept to a relatively benign level. In "Halloween II", there are some great kills which are a bit better and scarier than the ones in the original. Michael Myers's mask is just as terrifying as it was in the original and a little bit dirtier and perhaps even scarier. Indeed, the actual Halloween motif is again utilized to perfection as the audience gets the "Halloween feel" again as they experienced in the original and the reader should note that this "Halloween theme/motif" is completely lost with sequels 4-8 and perhaps lost forever. It is this "Halloween feel/theme" to the first two Halloween movies that separate them from the rest and a lot of this has to do with John Carpenter who contributed greatly to parts I and II and very little after "Halloween III" (which was not about Myers).
The creators of "Halloween II" focused a great deal on Michael Myers himself and the very mannerisms that make Myers "the boogeyman" if you will. Myers is: slow, deliberate, stylish, evil, dark, morbid, brutal and driven by some unbelievably evil and supernatural force within him. Also, the directors' use of hallways, stairways and the opening and closing of doors are utilized to perfection in magnifying the evil that is Michael Myers. As in the first, Michael Myers just does not kill his victims, he terrorizes them with evil Halloween pranks and plays with them before killing them as evidenced by the scene in the storage basement of the hospital where he cleverly kills Mr. Garrett.
Now, does all of this make "Halloween II" a better or scarier movie than the original? Well, that is tough to answer, but the advantage goes to the original because the audience is so shocked and completely unaware of what is driving Michael Myers and what his goal is...all we know in "Halloween" is that we are observing "the boogeyman" and Halloween is his night and he has come home to kill. Hence, in my opinion, "Halloween" is a little bit better than "Halloween II"...that said, if I were to actually rate "Halloween", it would get 100 of 100 STARS whereas "Halloween II" would get 98 of 100 STARS...get the picture? Clearly, both are such great movies that you could almost merge the two and make one movie out of it, but I do prefer the separate parts, but taken as a whole, "Halloween" and "Halloween II" form the blueprint of what an original classic and its follow-up sequel are SUPPOSED to be like. Ultimately, "Halloween II" brilliantly follows right on the heels of "Halloween" in every conseivable way as the Halloween theme, Michael Myers's mannerisms and the very music itself all work to make "Halloween II" more than a worthy sequel to the classic "Halloween", so much so that "Halloween II" is clearly a horror movie classic in its own right.
Why any horror movie fan would be critical of "Halloween II" is clearly beyond me...it simply does not make sense for critics and horror movie fans alike to bash or negatively criticize "Halloween II" in any way as it is a great horror movie and really just a logical extension of the original horror movie classic which is "Halloween". Quite frankly, any horror movie fan that thinks that "Halloween 4" or "H20" is better than "Halloween II" obviously does not know a damn thing about horror movies and would not know a good horror movie from the "Andy Griffith Show". "Halloween II" is without a doubt one of the greatest horror movies of ALL-TIME and is clearly a top all-time 10 horror flick...I analyze and judge horror movies based on the facts and whether a horror movie is a sequel or not does not matter. "Halloween II" is a damn scary movie and a great horror flick that has and will continue to stand the test of time.
My Halloween night always consists of watching: "Halloween" followed by "Halloween II", which are without a doubt the two best movies in the Halloween series and two of the greatest horror movies ever produced...like a fine wine, these two movies just get better with age...live it up horror movie fans, October 24-31 is the best week of the year for horror movie fanatics like myself and it just doesn't get any better than the immortal classics, "Halloween" and "Halloween II".
Summary of Halloween II
HALLOWEEN 2 - DVD Movie"You can't kill the boogeyman," explains John Carpenter in Halloween, and to prove it he brings Michael Myers back in this handsome but grisly sequel. Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode but spends most of her time cowering in a hospital gown, and Donald Pleasence runs around like a maniac as the panicky doctor desperate to hunt down Myers before he kills again. Carpenter writes and produces with partner Debra Hill, and together they replace the mystery and uncertainty of the original with an exponentially bigger body count and some strange tales about the Druids and pagan ceremonies, and the now-familiar family ties between Michael and Laurie. First-time director Rick Rosenthal (Bad Boys) paces the film at a brisk jog and directs it with a clean, crisp style, taking the murders out of the dark to display them in all their nasty detail. --Sean Axmaker
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