Horror Movie Review: Halloween II (1981)

Michael Myers has disappeared after having been shot & falling from the balcony. Laurie Strode has been rushed to a hospital because of the injuries suffered at Myers hands. This is the how Halloween 2 opens…picking up exactly where the first ended.

Dr. Loomis is desperate to find Michael knowing that he has survived & his killing spree won’t end. He’s right…

Shortly afterwards an injured Michael Myers gets a knife & kills a nearby neighbour before finding out that Laurie has been taken to hospital thanks to a radio broadcast. Laurie has been heavily sedated at the hospital & starts to have flashbacks of adoption & visiting a boy in a hospital.

Watched over by Jimmy, a caring man who has romantic feelings towards her, Laurie flitters in & out of consciousness. Meanwhile Loomis & the Sheriff witness a speeding police car run over a man dressed in a similar way to Michael Myers (trick or treating). Engulfed in flames, the Sheriff is convinced that they’ve just seen the end of Myers but Loomis isn’t so sure.

The very much alive Michael Myers arrives at the hospital & begins cutting a bloody path towards Laurie killing everyone that gets in his way.

Loomis, still not convinced of Myers death, is ordered back to his hospital by a colleague & is shocked to find out that Laurie is Michael’s younger sister. Realising that Laurie is Michael’s actual target he heads towards the hospital to try & stop him from finishing what he started.

Halloween 2 is a great movie & was actually meant to end the Michael Myers side of the Halloween films. Going in knowing this & thus ignoring what came after makes for a much more enjoyable watch. Michaels’ future indestructibility is evident here but by the end it is clear he will die in his attempts to kill Laurie. It makes for a much more tense watch knowing that he doesn’t care…

I love the setting…a hospital just felt right for the next step for the movie. It allowed the body count to be increased as well as a few clever deaths scenes to take place. Michael doesn’t discriminate & the hot tub scene stands out (also as the films only chance to squeeze in a bit of nudity).

Just like before the acting is top stuff throughout with everyone doing great work, Jamie Lee Curtis is better than she was in the first movie & Donald Pleasance continues with just the right amount of hamming it up. I completely bought into what I was watching & was fascinated for 88 minutes.

Halloween 2 mixed up the musical themes used in the original offering a more gothic feel. While not as memorable as the original the adapted main theme reminds you that the story is progressing (something future sequels will fail to understand).

If the Michael Myers story had ended here then we would all talk about the series in a different light. It would probably be more respected… Halloween 2 is as direct of a sequel as you can get. It doesn’t tread any new ground beyond upping the gore & deaths but is still extremely enjoyable.