“I can’t stop until I’m certain that he’s dead.”
Happy Halloween, kids! It’s Day Thirty-One of Thirty-One Days O’Horror! I’ve got a little bit of a surprise for all of you, as I bet most of you were thinking that I’d be posting about the original Halloween film, but, nope! It’s true that Halloween is one of my favorite films, but its first sequel has a very special place in my heart and I just had to give the 1981 film its props. Halloween II had a lot going against it, but it managed to be one of the best sequels in a long line of Halloween sequels.
John Carpenter initially didn’t want anything to do with the film. He refused to direct it, didn’t want to write the script, and felt that the first film was a standalone movie. He ultimately did co-write the script with Debra Hill (who co-wrote the original film with Carpenter) and also directed a few additional scenes against the wishes of the film’s actual director, Rick Rosenthal, when Carpenter felt that there wasn’t enough gore and nudity in the initial cut of the film. Carpenter’s music was also used in the film.
The film picks up where the first movie ends. It starts with a frantic search by Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) to find Myers after unloading his gun in him. Myers falls off of a second floor balcony with six bullets in his body, and then proceeds to get up, evade police, kill a young woman, and then make his way to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital to finish off Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Michael takes out any and every member of the hospital staff that gets in his way, but does he succeed in killing Laurie? Well, if you don’t know the answer to that, there are a few sequels that do answer that question for you!
The film is noted for having an increase in kills and the brutality with which they are executed. There’s also a bit more nudity in this film. Dick Warlock portrayed Michael Myers in the film and it was said that he took extra care when performing the murders to protect the actors in every scene. The film also establishes that Laurie and Michael are brother and sister. It also establishes that Michael Myers is supernatural, primarily thanks to the fact that Halloween III: Season Of The Witch failed to make the films an anthology series as anticipated.
Halloween II is not everybody’s cup of tea, but it definitely is one of the best Halloween sequels out there. It had some really inventive kills and, at least in my opinion, kept the vibe of the original film. Is it one of your favorite sequels?
Thanks for checking out today’s post. Happy Halloween!
