Halloween 2018 would have you believe that Halloween 2 never happened. But it did happen! We watched it. And we’re going to talk about it god damn it!
Halloween II Poster
Halloween 2 can be found on HBO Now/Go right now, but is also available to rent on Amazon or anywhere else that you do that type of thing. Here is the trailer:
https://youtu.be/RCiuZ9MvdJs
Halloween 2 (1981) Synopsis
Halloween 2 picks up right where Halloween left off. Michael Myers disappears from the lawn after being shot by Dr. Loomis 6 times. Why do I remember it was six times you ask? Because Dr. Loomis reminds us every time he is on screen. Michael Myers continues killing the youth of Haddonfield in a deadly game of peekaboo with the audience. Now you see him, now you don’t. Wee!
Review of Halloween II
This film tries to recapture the moody and dread filled allure of the first Halloween, but doesn’t ever really deliver. Most of the interesting parts of the original were leading up to the killing spree at night when the shape is stalking Laurie and her friends. In this movie, it’s just the third act of the first film the whole time. Efforts are made to tack on a story and motivation to fill out the slasher. Dr. Loomis babbles about the philosophical and historical nature of Michael’s evil, and there’s also a shocking revelation akin to Empire Strikes Back! Other than that, character development and plot is pretty thin in this movie. The only character we really care about is Laurie in this film, and she does nothing for most of it. However, if you enjoy kills, this film delivers them at the slow and steady pace of Michael Myers.
Score of Halloween 2 (1981)
5/10
While not a resounding endorsement, it's more of a confirmation that this is an archetypal slasher.
Halloween II (1981)Watch the full movie of Halloween 2Buy/Rent on Amazon
Halloween II (1981) Spoilers
Expand for Spoilers
Loomis
As previously mentioned, Dr. Loomis is really here just to spout off about how many times he shot Michael Myers and wax philisophical about the nature of Michael's evil.
Did I mention the time I shot Michael Myers six times?
A lot of his dialogue expanding the lore of the Halloween franchise. When the word Samhain is scrawled on the blackboard in blood, Dr. Loomis explains the significance.
https://youtu.be/0PUCi1hJLlc
Later on in the car with his colleague, he explains the festival of Samhain as a druid ritual involving human sacrifice. Mentions of witches and ghouls might be there to set up the expanded halloween universe we would only get to see in Halloween 3: Season of the Witch.
The opening titles
One of the coolest parts in the movie is the opening credits, the jack-o-lantern opening up into a skull will probably haunt my nightmares.
Boo!
The first part of the movie subverts expectations quite a bit. The first opportunity that Michael Myers has to kill someone is an elderly couple, but he ends up walking away with their knife and murders a teenage girl instead.
Also early on, there is a fake out death of "Michael Myers" that later is found out to be just some random kid.
Of course we killed the killer in the first 20 mins...
The Hospital
The bulk of Halloween 2 (1981) takes place in a hospital. From the looks of it, an abandoned hospital. However, this doesn't keep the skeleton crew of seven of so doctors and nurses from being there.
I mispoke. Doctor. There was one doctor in the entire hospital. A drunk doctor.
How many reasons do you need to move away from Haddonfield?
Deaths in Halloween II (1981)
As with any slasher, there are several interesting deaths:
Death by claw hammer
Death by boiling someones head
Death by scalpel
Death by needle in the eye
Good old fashioned knife-stabbing
Being Blowed up
Pacing
The pacing of the Halloween movies feel really slow compared to modern horror movies,