Halloween II (1981) * 1/2

Directed by:  Rick Rosenthal

Starring:  Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasance, Lance Guest


The original Halloween was a masterwork of suspense.   Halloween II is more interested in blood and gore.   The only suspense is how creatively Michael Myers will kill someone.     By my count, we have a drowning in scalding hot water, a hatchet in some schlub's head, a woman stabbed in the back and lifted off the ground, and even a guy who slips on the blood which was drained from another victim's body.    You don't see that every day, thank goodness.

Halloween II begins right where Halloween leaves off.    Dr. Loomis shoots Michael Myers six times and Myers falls from a balcony, seemingly to his death.    However, moments later Myers vanishes and the hunt for the masked killer continues before he can kill again.    Kill again he does, to the tune of 10 victims or so, but who's counting?     The killer, apparently with six bullet wounds that missed all major organs and aren't bleeding anymore, makes his way to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital.    He is searching for Laurie (Curtis), who is transported there after she survived the attacks from the original.    She has a broken leg, but the fall from about 20-30 feet caused no injuries to Michael.    Why is he after Laurie with such fervor?    It is explained later, but how Michael knew where to look for her if court documents were sealed remains a mystery.  

I know there is expected to be a suspension of disbelief here, but the movie is so ridiculous that such a thing is impossible.    Michael is so invincible that it becomes laughable.     He is not a human being, just a hulk to whom the ordinary laws of physics and human anatomy don't apply.     The hospital itself is unlike any hospital in human history.     There appears to be about 5 people working there and maybe 4-5 patients.     Entire wings are immersed in darkness, which makes it easier for Myers to walk around undetected.    Perhaps they're just trying to save money on the electric bill.     There is less stress at this hospital than many office jobs.

Halloween II was released just as Halloween's imitators were beginning to surface.    It makes a crucial mistake of trying to keep up with the Joneses and increase the body count rather than focus on suspense and truly scaring people.    There is a lot of blood and killing going on, but it's missing the simple, powerful narrative of the original.     John Carpenter didn't direct this sequel, but served as a producer and co-wrote it.     It's obvious the direction he wanted to go in here.    Even the score, which was effective in the original, is synthesized here.    

I'd like to be able to say this film was the last we would see of Michael Myers.    Certainly the ending would suggest that, considering half the hospital is blown to bits and Michael is burned to smithereens.   But alas, he returns in Halloween 4, 5, and 6, killing again despite having burns covering 100% of his body.