HALLOWEEN II (1981)
Director: Rick Rosenthal
Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Lance Guest
Michael Myers seems to define himself as a killing machine, but occasionally he decides to grant certain potential victims mercy: His sister's boyfriend in the first film; the old couple at the beginning of the second film; Busta Rhymes. It's difficult to get into the mind of a character who doesn't talk, but I've always wondered if there's any rhyme or reason to this. Does he get some sadistic pleasure from randomly pardoning people, like Ralph Fiennes death camp officer from Schindler's List? Or is he some metatextual monster, striking down only the most irritating "featured" characters in his films, while giving offshoot characters a pass? If so, doesn't he realize that the characters in his universe live only to be terrorized by him?
Halloween II, a film released on Devil's Night 1981 but set on Halloween Night 1978, picks up the second after the first film leaves off. Dr. Loomis has just filled Michael Myers with several holes, utilizing a gun that holds more bullets than you would think possible, sending him tumbling to the ground outside. By the time Loomis makes it to the balcony, Myers is gone. Dun dun dun! At this point, we are clearly within the realm of the supernatural. The chase is on, with Loomis pursuing Myers, and Myers pursuing poor Laurie Strode, who spends the rest of the movie either drugged up or hysterical.
As by-the-numbers sequels go, this is effectively well made. It took some heat at the time of release for ratcheting up the gore factor, but it seems justified in the sense that a shadowy stalk and snatch repeat would seem boring after the previous film's intense climax (I just wanted to use "release", "snatch", and "climax" all in the same sentence, honestly). There was a concentrated effort to make this feel like a companion piece to the first film, and it mostly works, despite having a new director (Though John Carpenter stayed on as writer, producer, and pick-up director), and a new Shape (I know it's just a dude in a mask, but he looks extremely different. I think it has to do with how the mask fits him.). Dean Cundey, critically, returns as the DP, and his shadowy steadicam shots add an eerie ambiance. They keep the score from the original, though it's a synthesized version that doesn't work quite as well.
The twist involving Laurie's backstory feels like an afterthought, and could easily be removed without effecting the film at all. I guess they just needed something to justify the story's existence, and to allow Loomis to suddenly be able to track Myers down.
It's admirable that this was also a slasher sequel that was making an earnest attempt to kill off it's franchise star, since they were hoping to turn the series into an anthology. But, after the financial failure of Halloween III: Season Of The Witch, Michael Myers came back again. . . and again. . . and again. . . Just goes to show that you have to give the people what they want, even if what they want gets extremely repetitive and diluted with each installment.
FUN FACT: "Romantic lead" Lance Guest, who makes his theatrical debut in this movie, later went on to star in The Last Starfigher. . . which was directed by the original actor to play Michael Myers, Nick Castle!
Frederick Opines: GOOD
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