Halloween 2 is the film in which I first fell in love with Michel Meyers.
Halloween 2 picks up literally just moments after the first one ended with Loomis running outside to find Michael has vanished and Laurie being carried into an ambulance to be taken to a hospital for her wounds received in the first film. Loomis quickly rallies together the local police force to track Michael down and put a reign to his terror. While they search the streets, the hospital Laurie is being housed at becomes host to a whole new slew of murders as it becomes increasingly obvious that Michael will not rest until he has killed Laurie.
Halloween 2 may not be as widely loved as it's classic predecessor is but don't let that fool you, this is still very much a great film nontheless, succeeding at adding new elements into it that the original Halloween did not have.
For me, quite possible the most interesting thing Halloween 2 does is give us a somewhat intimate look at how Michael's killing spree has affected the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois. The citizens are in a panic and riot at the Meyer's home, throwing rocks at its windows in a frightened rage. This scene was particularly effective. The town's overall reaction to this violent event is wholly believable and quite sad, it is obvious that it will take a while for the town of Haddonfield to get over these gruesome events.
Another thing that this film adds is a new level of violence that was, I imagine, quite brutal for it's time. Just about all the kills are inventive. Unlike it's predecessor, the camera does not shy away from these kills, lingering on them and even switching to close up shots as the victims are murdered. The violence here is similar to the violence that can be sampled in just about any horror film today, and I guess in this way Halloween 2 may have been ahead of it's time. My personal favorite kill is the hot tub, This is where the film first reveals that this time around it will be reveling in the vast amount of gore and kills that are sure to follow in this film. Deliciously sick, twisted and brutal, the hot tub kill is, in my opinion, the most memorable kill in the whole film.
There are also some really cool shots in this film, like one where Michael walks right through a glass door. We all already know that Michael is a unstoppable force of great evil, and Halloween 2 only further drives that point home. Here, he has a brute strength that is breathtaking and terrifying in all the right ways (like one scene where he stabs a girl in the back and then proceeds to lift her off the floor with his small knife/scapel). In Halloween 2 Michael is still treated like a mysterious, supernatural (and pretty smart) force, much like he was in the first Halloween film. This is very much the same Michael Meyers we saw in the first film, thank God for that.
I mentioned in my review of the original Halloween that there was no nudity to be found in that film. Well, there ain't much to be sampled in Halloween 2 either, but there is thankfully, one scene of boobage that whet my appetite. It's not much, but it will have to do.
Where the themes in Halloween were deliciously subtle, the themes in Halloween 2 are paraded around for all to see. This isn't a bad thing, as it may help to spark discussions amongst those who view the film. One theme that is brought up for one short scene implies that maybe Michael represents the unconcious mind, a theme that Rob Zombie would later fully explore (not to great effect if I must be honest) in his re-boot and sequel.
It is likely that the most important thing that Halloween 2 contributed to the Halloween franchise is the story point that Laurie is actually Michael's sister. This helps to give Michael some more motivation. Most Halloween fans have accepted this plot point to be true, and while it may strip away a tiny bit of the mystery of Michael Meyers it still leaves just enough so that Michael remains as terrifying as ever.
While Halloween 2 may be more of a common slasher film, it's still super fun to watch all these years later. I know I'll definitely be re-watching this one for years to come. It may not be as scary or important as the first Halloween was, but this sequel still rocks in all the ways that count. I DARE you not to love it!
4/5 Stars
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