Halloween II (1981)

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Halloween Reviews

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It's fun to think of this being the chapter meant to end the Michael Myers/Laurie Strode conflict. The 'Halloween' series was originally intended to be an anthology, with the first big story being a two-parter. This just goes to show the power Michael Myers had over his audience in that when 'Halloween III: Season of the Witch' came along, there was basically an outcry due to a lack of Michael Myers even though, all the while, they were just doing what they set out to do in the first place.

I often wonder what could have happened with the 'Halloween Anthology' had Michael Myers' adventures ended with this chapter. I actually consider 'Halloween III' an underrated Halloween classic, but I'll get to that later. For now, we'll deal with the first of many different conclusions to the Michael Myers storyline. This one picks up immediately where the last one left off after Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) rescues teenager Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) from the dangerous psychopath Michael Myers (here portrayed by Dick Warlock) by shooting him six times (a factoid that he'll drill into your head).

Crashing through a window, Myers then disappears immediately, and that's the end of the first chapter. This chapter picks up with Laurie being taken to the hospital to recover from her injuries sustained in her struggle with Myers. Meanwhile, Loomis, along with an angry mob, and Sheriff Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers) attempt to hunt him down and do what's necessary to stop him. Michael continues to do what he does best, though, doing a lot of remarkably successful hiding while killing his way through the town.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, a little something seems to blossom between Laurie and a paramedic named Jimmy (Lance Guest). But more importantly, Michael soon learns that Laurie is at the hospital and makes that his main stomping ground for this particular chapter. As he goes after Laurie, she tries to evade him while not totally understanding why he's after her. Of course, we do eventually find out what it's all about - Laurie is Michael's baby sister who was put up for adoption after the death of the Myers parents. I'd say "spoiler alert," but I feel this is common knowledge now.

The trend of "family," of course, ends up being a recurring theme in the original 'Halloween' series. This trend has since been retconned with the new movies, which continue a very different story that branches off of the original '78 film. So, we're already divided on timelines by the second film! That said, if one is totally unfamiliar with these, I tend to recommend the original, followed by this, just because it's what was originally intended before all of these timelines and reboots offered nothing but confusion. The two-parter is a simple enough story to follow, and even though this doesn't entirely live up to its predecessor, it's just the easiest "get-through" for this franchise.

'Halloween II,' though not terrible, doesn't have the same spirit as the first one. There's something ultimately creepy and eerie about the way the first one is filmed, and this loses a lot of that charm. It also starts to treat its victims like "throwaway meat," whereas any of the victims in the first 'Halloween' were characters we kind of gave a damn about. That was another thing that made the first one so good; there was more character relatability, so, therefore, a bit more dread. On the other hand, "throwaway meat" would eventually become what slasher flicks were all about, so I guess they must have done something right.

Overall, I think it works okay, and if you combine the two originals into one long movie, it turns out pretty good on average. But I will say that this doesn't add much for me, and the original still stands alone very well. I get a bit more out of 4 and 5 than 2 here, but we'll get to those later. That said, it's still perfectly passable if one does feel like doing the back-to-back it was meant to be. Just be aware that they're somewhat different in tone, and the first one is far superior, so don't expect to be too blown away by the end of this one.

3/5

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