Search - Halloween II on DVD

Callie K. (ballofglitter) from GRAND ISLAND, NE
Reviewed on 8/20/2014...

This sequel wasn't too bad. I still and will always like the original better but this one wasn't bad. They pretty much picked up where the first one left off and I mean literally.

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Teddy B. (tigerted) from TUJUNGA, CA
Reviewed on 11/3/2009...

The amazing success of the original "Halloween" had Hollywood demanding that John Carpenter deliver a sequel. Not wanting to try and top himself, he agreed, but handed over the director's chair to newcomer Rick Rosenthal. Taking place the same night as the first, Michael Myers lives and continues to elude the authorities and pursue Laurie Strode. Dr. Loomis returns and tries in vain to track down and kill Myers for what was originally going to be final time. What some fans forget is that Carpenter intended part I and II to bookend each other as one complete story. It's true that this one was lacking Carpenter's directorial genius, and the unforgiving suspense of the original.
Everything else has his touch: The amazing music, the story,characters,and the touches of humor. This film gets a bad rep for not living up to the style and true scares of the original. Having most of the action taking place in the clinic slows down the pacing, too. It's still slot of fun, and yes, alot bloodier than the first. The competition at that time was huge as so many other 'slasher' films were being cranked out to capitalize on "Halloween"'s amazing box-office receipts. "Friday the 13th" took gore to a new level
and kept the ratings board employees and censors busy, too. I whole-heartedly reccomend
'Halloween II' as a nostalgic look back at the early 80's horror/slasher film.

4 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.

Respectable Sequel

Lunar Strain | United States | 10/14/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I originally viewed this sequel, I can remeber being very impress on how the film turned out. I was weary because Carpenter didn't return to direct, but some of my worries were layed to rest after I saw that he both wrote and produced it. Rick does a very credible job directing the feature and surprisingly makes the film FEEL pretty darn close ot a Carpenter film. What I really liked about this sequel is that it takes place right, I mean RIGHT after the first film. It follows the shape (Michael Myers) as he fillows Jame Lee Curtis (who is blatenly wearing a wig) to a hospital, and then the hospital itself becomes a house of horrors. I was more than pleased with only a few complaints. I didn't like how the hospital was always dark (like the lights were never on) and how michael got two bullets straight in the eyes and continued to come (this fact was forgotten in latter poor sequels). That was a little chessy and over-the-top, but forgiveable. The only thing that could have made this film better is if Carpenter himself directed, but even with him at the helm, it might not have turned out much better than this. The next entry HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH, though has nothing to do with these first two films, is a still a good movie. Fans of Carpenter whould also give it a try but stop their. The sequels after that take their audiences for granted and the continuity errors galore as they try to connect to the first two entires."

2000 years later, we've come no further

G. Garner | vicksburg,ms | 08/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In putting together this sequel, the powers-that-be decided to combine several of the strongest elements from the original film(Michael Myers, Dr. Loomis, the strong Halloween atmosphere)with the standard pace of an early 80's slasher film(people getting killed every 5-10 minutes.) For me, this is the ideal combination. There has not been a slasher movie since that I have liked more than this one.
Dr. Loomis is my favorite horror hero, and Michael Myers my favorite horror villain. They both enjoy some of their finest moments in this installment. I find this version of Myers creepier than the later incarnations, where he has suddenly grown into something resembling an nfl lineman. There is something in the deliberate movements, and the angular figure, that is decidedly inhuman. And Dr. Loomis elevates all of this to a far higher level than it could ever have achieved otherwise.His strength,courage, and iron will make him a hero. So do his moral concerns about seeing innocent people butchered. But there is also something in his personality that makes him the ideal adversary for the Bogeyman.Of course, as a psychiatrist, he feels professional responsibility. But it goes well beyond that. There is some part of his imagination that is obsessed with Myers, and some part of his humanity that is appalled by him. These feelings, taken in concert with his naturally heroic nature, make him the perfect combatant for Myers.
This movie has the ideal pace. The story is divided between Myers stalking people at the hospital, and Dr. Loomis working with the local police to track him down. Slowly, methodically, Michael Myers begins to remove the employees of the hospital, as he makes his way towards Laurie Strode.As always, he operates like a hunter, or sportsman. Several of his victims are given opportunities to save themselves, as they were in the first film. This is what sets Myers apart from typical killers-he is rather like an artist of the macabre. If it's too easy, he almost seems to regard it as beneath him. Of all the killings, my favorite is the nurse in the room with the aquarium. That whole scene is beautifully shot and lit, with the aquarium casting all sorts of reflections across the darkened room, and the cadaverous face of Myers gradually coming into view over the doomed girl's shoulder.The murder of the security guard is effective, as well.
The atmosphere is perfect. The long, winding hallways are ideal for a movie of this sort.There are just so many places where Michael Myers could be. The effect is only intensified as the night wears on and the primary lights are extinguished.The music is great, too. It incorporates the basic Halloween theme, but it has been altered enough to set it apart from any of the other films. It's not really a tangible thing: all of the elements just work for me.The doomed people, congregated in the dark hospital. The Bogeyman, always lurking in the shadows.Dr. Loomis, making his way ever closer to the scene of the slaughter.This is a film I never get tired of watching."

Possibly the best of the sequels!

Seifer | 04/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Warning-some spoilers ahead.This is most likely the best of all the sequels.It's not quite as good as the original,but it comes darn close.It's just as scary as the first,and there was one vital ingrediant that the first film lacked-blood and gore.It's plentiful.Serrated kitchen knife shoved into neck,eyeball gouged out with needle and throat slit with scalpel.VERY graphic.There are some interesting things you can learn about Mike's past as well.The special FX are pretty good,such as the scene where the car crashes into the kid and the end battle sequence.The plot is great and the story and script above-average.Dick Warlock is awesome at playing Myers and is possibly the best Shape to date! Mike's mask is also very cool looking and even creepier than the mask from the first film.Overall,a fantastic sequel that comes darn close to being as good as the first.Buy this and the first movie and watch 'em both alone in the dark.If you dare! Rated R-contains gory violence,brief nudity and some bad language."