Release Date: October 30th, 1981
Directed by: Rick Rosenthal
Written by: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Music by: John Carpenter, Alan Howarth
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Charles Cyphers, Lance Guest
De Laurentiis Entertainment, Debra Hill Productions, Universal Pictures, 91 Minutes
Review:
“He was my patient for fifteen years. He became an obsession with me until I realized that there was nothing within him, neither conscious nor reason that was… even remotely human. An hour ago I stood up and fired six shots into him and then he just got up and walked away. I am talking about the real possibility that he is still out there!” – Dr. Loomis
Picking up immediately where the first film left off, Halloween II is a perfect continuation of Halloween, In fact, although I am in the minority, I like it a bit better than the first, even though they are both pretty much on par, as far as quality.
In this film, Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode is carted off to the hospital after she has been stabbed by Michael Myers in the previous film. She is sedated and put into immediate danger because of that. Lance Guest a.k.a. the Last Starfighter a.k.a. the last guy to kill Jaws is a paramedic that develops a crush on her and vows to keep her safe.
Donald Pleasence returns as Dr. Sam Loomis and he is still on the hunt for Myers and has pretty much gone batshit crazy, at this point. I love Loomis’ insanity in this, even though he is supposed to be a psychologist and there is no way the cops would let this crazed madman run around town on Halloween with a loaded gun, which does actually lead to a teen being killed (in the most awesome way possible) and Loomis still packing heat.
The hospital setting is a good twist on the story and it takes it out of the typical suburban setting that slasher films always seem to take place in, if not at a summer camp. Besides, the place was practically empty (not sure why but who cares?) and it allowed the staff to do that sex stuff that always gets characters snuffed out in a proper slasher pic.
Michael Myers went on to show that he is even more indestructible than the ending of the first film implied. It also expanded the cool Halloween mythos, which I like in the original film series even if a lot of fans prefer the completely random seeming killing spree of this film’s predecessor. It is also really damn cool that this is literally the same night as the first movie.
Curtis is heralded as a scream queen and one of the best and she certainly gets her screams in here. She is more of a damsel in distress, once again, but at least in her later appearances in the film series, even though those films are shit, she grew some iron balls and took on Michael head on.
This film doesn’t build suspense as well as the first but it ups the gore quite a bit, which isn’t a bad thing in these types of pictures. The gore level certainly isn’t something that just takes over the film and makes it a pointless blood feast. Everything still works in this outing.
While Jamie Lee Curtis would leave the franchise for 17 years after this chapter, it was a good use of her character and helped develop where things would go when Michael Myers would return in Halloween IV. He skipped out on Halloween III because that film, an awesome picture, was its own unrelated story.
Rating: 7.5/10
Pairs well with: the other Halloween films.
Talking Pulp 