Search - Halloween II

While John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic Halloween irrevocably changed the style of horror cinema with its simple but relentlessly tense story, it triggered more than a decade's worth of uninspired, exploitative knock-offs, and one could easily list Halloween II among these failures. As with its predecessor, this film was written and produced by Carpenter and Debra Hill, but the terse style and unbearable suspense of the first film are missing, replaced by a more simplistic stalk-and-slash scenario. Directorial duties were handed over to Rick Rosenthal, whose lack of expertise is quite evident (though he managed to hit his stride two years later with the prison actioner Bad Boys). The plot picks up exactly where the original left off: Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), shaken and injured from her battle with unkillable psycho Michael Myers, is taken to the Haddonfield Hospital for observation, while Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) continues his desperate search for his monstrous patient. An interesting plot twist has Loomis' investigations revealing Michael's true identity (some of these sequences incorporate footage of young Michael originally shot for the television version of Halloween, which contained scenes hinting at the link between Michael and Laurie). After slashing his way through the town, Myers manages to track Laurie to the hospital, where the remainder of the action takes place. Numerous night-shift employees are slaughtered in a variety of gruesome ways before Loomis catches up with his quarry, leading to an explosive -- and seemingly conclusive -- confrontation. Pleasence is compelling as usual, but Curtis, who made an auspicious debut in the original, is sadly wasted here, her character reduced to shuffling half-drugged through darkened hospital corridors and screaming helplessly. Carpenter's active involvement in the Halloween franchise continued to dwindle steadily from one sequel to the next, getting scarcely a mention by the time producers Hill, Moustapha Akkad and Irwin Yablans revived the series in 1988 for three more sequels. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Jamie Lee Curtis - Laurie Strode
Donald Pleasence - Sam Loomis
Charles Cyphers - Leigh Brackett
Jeffrey Kramer - Graham
Lance Guest - Jimmy

Mega-maniac Michael Myers returns to wreak havoc in the hit sequel Halloween II. This second DVD release by Universal is a slight improvement over the Goodtimes DVD release, sporting a newly anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen transfer. The transfer looks very good with only a minimal of grain and edge enhancement present. Overall, the colors and especially the black levels look well saturated and even. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround and is just above passing. The soundtrack lacks any true depth or fidelity, though some instances of surround use are utilized in a few of the front speakers. The bulk of this track tends to come from the center speaker and is free of any distortion or excessive hiss. Also included on this disc are French and Spanish subtitles. Originally slated as a "special edition," this Halloween II DVD was sadly bumped down to nearly bare-bones status by Universal. The only extra features available on this disc are some thin production notes, a theatrical trailer for the film, and some cast and crew information. Maybe in the near future fans of this series will see a third, and better, edition of this classic sequel on DVD. ~ Patrick Naugle, All Movie Guide

These movies have the subject or theme of Halloween II...
51	Halloween (R)
3	Sorority House Massacre 2: Nighty Nightmare (R)
8	Happy Birthday to Me (R)
13	Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers [Limited Edition] (R)
18	Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (R)
9	Dressed to Kill [Special Edition] (R)
3	Jack the Ripper (R)
7	Popcorn (R)
10	Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (NR)
9	My Bloody Valentine (R)
21	Halloween III: Season of the Witch
2	Splatter University (R)
2	The Majorettes (NR)
1	He Knows You're Alone (R)
13	Sleepaway Camp (R)
13	Return to Horror High (NR)
3	Slumber Party Massacre 2 (R)
4	Mother's Day
1	Slumber Party Massacre III (R)
These movies followed Halloween II...
21	Halloween III: Season of the Witch
These movies share cast/crew with Halloween II...
51	Halloween (R)
57	The Fog (R)
14	Prince of Darkness (R)
17	Assault on Precinct 13 (R)
46	The Thing (R)
21	Halloween III: Season of the Witch
63	Escape From New York (R)
5	Terror Train (R)
13	Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers [Limited Edition] (R)
7	Dark Star (G)
2	Someone's Watching Me (NR)
16	Jaws 2 (PG)
73	Jaws [Widescreen] (PG)
8	Phenomena [Uncut] (NR)
5	Dracula [Widescreen] (R)
1	Crypt of Terror: Land of the Minotaur/Terror
22	Prom Night (R)
These movies cover the same subjects as Halloween II...
14	Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th (R)
These movies are similar to Halloween II...
18	April Fool's Day (R)
18	Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (R)
50	Friday the 13th (R)
30	Friday the 13th, Part 2 (R)
26	Friday the 13th, Part 3 (R)
18	Friday the 13th, Part 5: A New Beginning (R)
23	Friday the 13th, Part 6: Jason Lives (R)
28	Friday the 13th, Part 7: New Blood (R)
5	Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (R)
21	Jason Goes to Hell (R)
52	A Nightmare on Elm Street (R)
22	Prom Night (R)
3	Prom Night III: The Last Kiss/Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil (R)
3	Prom Night III: The Last Kiss/Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil (R)
23	Psycho II [Fullscreen] (NR)
15	Psycho III [Fullscreen] (R)
3	Psycho Triple Feature (R)
3	Sorority House Massacre (R)
5	Terror Train (R)
27	Friday the 13th, Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan (R)
20	A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (R)
16	A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (R)
20	A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (R)
12	A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (R)
29	Wes Craven's New Nightmare (R)
2	The Surgeon (R)
61	Scream (R)
16	Friday the 13th - The Final Chapter (R)
59	Urban Legend (R)
49	I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (R)
39	Psycho [Collector's Edition] (R)
45	Scream 3 (R)
152	The Butterfly Effect (R)