Customer Reviews

Halloween II [VHS]

5 star:		(173)
4 star:		(146)
3 star:		(83)
2 star:		(34)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

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 does his moral anguish over 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.

"Halloween II" picks up directly at the end of the original film, and sends survivor Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) to the hospital to nurse her wounds. Unfortunately for her and most of the cast, Micheal Myers follows. Donald Pleasence and Nancy Stephens also reprise their roles as well.Directed by Rick Rosenthal and scripted by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, "Halloween II" is a very respectable sequel. There is a lot more blood and gore in this one (which came in the post-"Friday the 13th" era), but unlike some of the later sequels, this one still has that "Halloween" feel about it. The finale is also very tense and wraps up the story pretty well -- you could view the original and this one without any of the other sequels and have a complete story.The DVD is presented in 2.35:1 ratio and does not contain any extras aside from some brief production notes. But the movie is good, and its a bargain price, so pick it up and make it a "Halloween" night.

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.

This movie is one of the best sequels released..It starts with a clip of how the 1st one ended and brings you right into the continuation of the story...it's just as suspenseful as the first with the same feel and cinematography. The 1st and 2nd films are great to watch back to back...a TRUE sequel...check it out!

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.

Three years after director John Carpenter's low-budget horror film "Halloween" debuted in theaters, taking both Hollywood and audiences by surprise; the masked killer, Michael Myers, was back and ready to take another stab at the one that got away.

"Halloween 2" picks up immediately where the first film ended. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has just lived through one of the most traumatic nights of her life and believes herself to be safe from any further harm. Sometimes though, appearances can be deceiving. For even though Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) shot Laurie's would-be killer Michael Myers numerous times; somehow, the masked lunatic survived and managed to evade capture by the authorities. Now, as Laurie is taken to the local hospital, her seemingly unstoppable predator patiently bides his time, just waiting for the perfect moment to strike. With only Dr. Loomis and a handful of police officers and hospital workers standing between Michael and his quarry, Laurie's night of terror may have only just begun.

I've heard it said many times in regards to the plethora of horror franchises, "This series (insert horror franchise of choice) would have been better off if it would have ended after number one." Generally speaking this statement is fairly accurate. In fact, we could look at numerous horror franchises, and even some from other genres, to which this would apply. However, I will spare you my picks for that rather lengthy list, in order to discuss whether or not the burgeoning `Halloween' franchise has been doomed to a place therein.

Penned by the returning writing and producing duo of John Carpenter and Debra Hill, the film takes us through the remaining hours of that terrifying night depicted in the original. Carpenter and Hill do their level best to retain that special something that made their first movie's story work so well. Yet, despite their best efforts the film never really seems to grab hold in the way its predecessor did.

The dialogue was stronger in some places, but still suffered from an over-abundance of clichés (which now seems to be a horror movie tradition) and several moments of blandness. While the dialogue was somewhat improved, the suspenseful nature of the original was almost nowhere to be found, much to the chagrin of many a fan. Lastly, there is the obvious lack of character development that runs more or less across the board. This oversight in the story actually surprised me given that franchise originator John Carpenter co-wrote the script. I expected him of all people to continue trying to expand upon the characters he had created. Oddly enough, one of the characters that received some development (albeit ever so briefly touched upon and clumsily handled) is the killer himself, Michael Myers. Aside from that brief moment for Michael, character development was quite scant, and didn't really seem to occur at all until the final half-hour or so of the movie.

Perhaps these problems were a result of the fact that John Carpenter has admitted on several occasions that he hadn't really planned ahead for a second installment, and that he only intended to make just the one film. Although, to be honest his excuse has always seemed a little hard to believe when one considers the wide open ending of "Halloween". Anyways, maybe there is some truth in his words, because it's possible that John hadn't really considered continuing the series beyond the first movie, and that any potential sequels were expected to be handled by someone else in every respect. If you think about it, crafting a story that follows a successful movie cannot be an easy task, no matter how talented the screenwriter may be. To make matters worse, having a screenplay that runs into a severe snag approximately halfway through the film isn't exactly a confidence booster either.

Case in point, when the writer of a story, or in this case a screenplay, realizes that they do not have an ending for their narrative, this typically means that the movie should be a no-go. Yet, in this rare instance, the lack of resolution presented the screenwriters with a chance to deliver a surprising revelation that would provide the plot with a satisfying conclusion. The revelation, although ostracizing to some fans of the original due to the affect it had on the previous film's story, resulted in the series having a much more intimate overall storyline than it would have had otherwise.

As for the film's director, Rick Rosenthal was placed in the unenviable position of helming a follow-up to the very film that by all accounts created the sub-genre the series now exists within. To Rick's credit he tried to recapture the look and feel of the first film via the use of long tracking shots throughout the various locales in the film, and numerous times placed us once more into the shoes of Michael Myers. For the most part, Rick did an admirable job, and it is during those times, listed a moment ago, that the movie really starts to work. However, even during this movie's stronger moments there are still two key elements to the first film's success that were noticeably absent from this one's visual style.

First, there was the lack of subtlety in the scares and/or death scenes. The first film relied heavily on shadows and implication during these moments. By not showing as much of what was happening within the scene, the audience was then forced to imagine the events based on their sounds and shadows moving; thus, the audience's own imaginations and fears could take over resulting in potentially bigger scares. As I said, with "Halloween 2" the subtlety is essentially gone; in its place, a higher body count and much more gore. Supposedly, the stylistic exchange of more gore for subtlety was a result of re-shoots courtesy of John Carpenter who reportedly wanted the film to be able to go toe-to-toe with its slasher film competition. Whatever the case may be, I feel the decision was detrimental to the end result. Frankly, I'm surprised that John Carpenter didn't see that flaw in the decision himself.

The second stylistic element that was lacking, although "changed" is probably a more accurate wording, was having Michael Myers extremely visible throughout the entirety of the film. In the original, we had glimpses of Michael for a majority of the time, and were shown more of him near the end. Despite the fact that we already knowing what he looks like, that didn't mean he needed to be more out in the open. Much of the fear Michael's character evoked was a result of him sticking predominantly to the shadows. Once that factor is removed he was no longer as mysterious, or even frightening for that matter; instead, he was just another masked man with a knife trying to kill this one young woman that got away.

Speaking of the one that got away, Jamie Lee Curtis was made into a star with her portrayal of would-be victim Laurie Strode. Her performance in the original film was so much more mature than one would usually expect from a horror film character. Of course, the role made such a strong connection with the audience due to the surprising amount of character development that occurred over the course of the movie, a trait that is generally unheard of in horror. However, in this installment, Jamie's character is reduced to nothing more than a nearly catatonic zombie; effectively wasting her talents as an actress, while doing virtually nothing to enhance the character of Laurie Strode and her involvement in the series. Honestly, it almost seemed as if Jamie was included in the film in order to ensure some star power to attract audiences and nothing else.

Once again leading the supporting cast members is Donald Pleasence as Michael's former shrink Dr. Loomis. In the last film, Donald received nearly as much screen time and character development as Jamie Lee; thankfully, that was not the case here (in terms of character development, that is). The character of Dr. Loomis appeared to be stalling in terms of his development early on in the film, and for a moment Donald Pleasence looked as if he too was going to be another wasted talent in this picture. However, unlike with Jamie Lee, Loomis' role became much more intriguing once the big revelation occurred within the story, and his obsession to stop Michael once and for all really kicked into high gear. Within the movie's final half-hour Donald really began to sink his teeth into the role of Loomis, and the change in his character's resolve and demeanor were very well conveyed throughout the closing moments of his performance.

The other supporting characters share many of the same attributes as their predecessors from the original; the only big difference is that this time most of the characters are in their early twenties to thirties rather than teenagers. That being said, their age doesn't appear to have resulted in maturity for most of them. For instance, Leo Rossi's ("Relentless") character only seems to exist in the movie to fulfill the role of the horny teenager, but as an adult. Then, there's Pamela Shoop who seems to have slightly more going on upstairs than Leo Rossi's character, but not by much. Her role is to provide the obligatory, and completely gratuitous, nude scene so that young teenage males watching the movie won't be disappointed. Lastly, there's Lance Guest ("The Last Starfighter") who aside from Jamie Lee appears to be the youngest member of the main cast of characters. Lance doesn't give much of a noteworthy performance, but he is clearly trying to make his character more interesting than just a carbon copy of what's come before. Overall, the supporting cast, Donald Pleasence excluded, were as pointless in their existence as those of the original and maybe even more so.

It was quite clear from the get-go that this particular follow-up was not going to come anywhere close to matching the quality of "Halloween". While the movie is plagued by more problems than the first film; there were still moments where it did shine (mostly when it was emulating the stronger elements of its predecessor). In the end, "Halloween 2" is a slightly below average sequel that doesn't doom the series, but any more problems and it would have been a different story.

"Halloween 2" is rated R for violence, language, and nudity/sexuality.

This is indeed a great sequel. If you truly enjoyed the original Halloween you should like this as well. It keeps the overall mood of the original, but adds more violence and horror. The film itself has aged well and is still as intense and creepy as the day it came out. What I have found to be maybe the largest advantage for the film is that the story takes place in a hospital. Its such a cold and nerving atmosphere that I think it makes this film much more frightening than the classic original. The chase scene at the end of the film still excites me and freaks me out after numerous viewings. Its really a great film for repeated viewings, it never seems to become old. Many horror films lack creative death scenes or death scenes that look half way real. This film isnt one of those. Every death here looks convincing and very cool. Halloween 2 is usually held up to being the best sequel in the series and I feel it does deserve that title because its equal to John Carpenters Halloween in every way and its even better.

It is so cool that this sequel to the iconic film "Halloween" picks up EXACTLY where the first one left off. It continues that same Halloween night where Laurie gets brought to the hospital for the wounds Michael Myers inflicted on her. There at the hospital Michael continues stalking her.

I have seen this film in excess of 300 times-perhaps 400-by now. I mention that for one reason..........namely, that you simply cannot watch something that many times unless you really enjoy the process of watching it. For instance, once you've seen something a half dozen times or so, all pretense of suspense is lost. There is no longer any suspense, because you know exactly what is going to happen. You're not waiting to see how it ends, because you know how it ends. Eventually, you know how each and every SCENE ends.

I reached that point, and surpassed it.........and yet I still kept watching it. For one reason........

Just about EVERY SINGLE SCENE in Halloween 2 is either perfect, or at least very, very good. This is the key. When I watch this, I will sometimes skip the scene where the ambulance driver plays the little prank on his lady friend. Not always, but sometimes.And that's it. There is not another moment in Halloween 2 that I find extraneous, even as many times as I have sat through it.No matter how often I've seen it, I never tire of it. And this holds true for virtually each and every moment in the film.

From the crucial scenes, right down to those that appear trivial, and everything in between...........they just got it right.

I have always felt that this was Donald Pleasence's finest performance as Loomis. He simply commands the screen. There is noone like him. This is also one of the most effective incarnations of Michael Myers. His posture, and mannerisms, are so rigid, so unnatural.........he comes across as the very literal embodiment of Death, itself.(notice that bizarre little pivot he does when he turns to spy on that girl through her window.)Decidedly inhuman.

There are just so many great moments in this film. It has an ambience that is all its own. For example, the part where Laurie Strode finds out exactly who it was who had been after her earlier in the evening. This was a brilliant scene, with the music and the way that the room is lit(with the hospital room darkened, and all that light flooding through the opened door when the nurse enters-very distinctive looking). Note the hushed tones, the lowered voices........much the way that people actually speak when they are in a darkened room. Or where the blonde nurse is seeking her, after she abandons her room in her dread of Myers' return. The dark office with the aquarium, as the unfortunate nurse looks in vain for the doctor........but finds someone else. All those macabre reflections, cast in every direction around the room, make it an unforgettable scene. Or the silent silhouette, lurking just behind that screen, as the nurse and paramedic plot their next move.

Want slasher 101? How about the doomed security guard, going to investigate a strange noise? You just know how that's going to end up.

A hospital is such an ideal locale for a slasher film to take place. The long, winding hallways..........all those rooms and dark corners..........It is dark, and quiet, and isolated. And those people who ARE there are going about their business, completely oblivious to the danger.

And, always on the periphery, the Bogeyman is silently lurking and waiting. While his patience is, as Loomis said, 'not human', you know that when he DOES eventually act, it will be with decisive brutality.

But it is Loomis, more than any other single factor, that serves to differentiate the Halloween series from any other slasher or horror phenomenon. He brings strength, heroism, sincerity, humanity, and a will of iron........as well as an extraordinarily distinctive, melodic manner of delivering his lines. Just imagine some of Loomis' lines in the hands of an average, contemporary actor. They'd be diminished, perhaps to the point of being rendered gibberish.

But in the hands of Donald Pleasence, they become lyrical, darkly poetic, profound.

Dr.Sam Loomis-he elevates this series to something that it NEVER could have approached without him. There is simply nobody like him.

For me, Halloween 2 is the ultimate slasher film. I love it more and more over time. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

this movie is extremely similar to the original. not only does it take place 5 minutes after the original ends, but it also maintains much of the quality of the original. I loved the underlit hospital setting. there are two great burning-to-death scenes and the climax is stellar. one of the best slasher movie sequels out there.