Halloween II

Halloween II
Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Lance Guest

Directed by Rick Rosenthal

The Story:
Having escaped the clutches of the madman Michael Myers, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is carted off to the hospital, while Michael's doctor (Donald Pleasence) goes on the search for the man he shot several times - yet stood up and walked away.

In the hospital, Laurie fears that Michael will find her, and he does indeed plot a path right for the hospital, and she wonders why he's relentlessly stalking her.  When the truth is revealed, it answers a lot of questions and firmly establishes the bond between Laurie and Michael.

The Synopsis:
John Carpenter brought Michael Myers to brilliant light in the classic "Halloween," a film that has not only withstood the test of time, but still manages to spook people even today, so many decades after its release.  The sequel - in a rare move - is just as good as the original, and when you piece them together you can get one epic movie, because it seamlessly blends the events of the first film to this one, making it one hell of a night for poor Laurie Strode.

When it comes to sequels, it's often not as great as their predecessor, but "Halloween II" more than holds its own, mostly because it involves the same main actors, takes place in the same night as the original, and doesn't feel like a forced cash grab because the first made a surprising amount of money.  It's its own entity, with its own story and development, and forever adds the most important mythos to Michael's madness - he killed his sister when he was six, and he came back on the fifteen anniversary to continue his slaying.  We find out why Michael has targeted Laurie, and even though now it's pretty much common knowledge, when the film came out, it was as shocking as THAT scene in "Star Wars Episode V," and gave a bit of a method to Michael's killing, and why he's targeted Laurie specifically.

Sure, there's some issues with the film - the biggest one that it seems that Laurie is the only patient in the entire hospital, and there's only a skeleton crew of workers - but those are minimal compared to the grandness of the final product (just remembered another issue that definitely wouldn't happen today: not a single police officer accompanied Laurie and stayed with her at the hospital, and it seemed that the entire Haddonfield police force - and Loomis as well - totally forgot about her until the end) and how it elevated the kills in both number and uniqueness.  No longer did Michael just kill with a knife, but he used everything the hospital had at his disposal - scalpels, needles, and even a whirlpool of scalding hot water.  Instead of just a handful of victims, Michael racks them up in double digits.  Everything is bigger and better with the sequel, and done so in a way that doesn't feel like it.

When it comes to the acting, this solidifies Jamie Lee Curtis as the ultimate Scream Queen, and Donald Pleasance is firmly established in "Halloween" lore.  Curtis spends most of the film in her hospital bed, but when Michael arrives, she's quick to flee, and once again use her wits to combat the evil.  She again shows a blend of youthful innocence and crafty ingenuity, and is a formidable foe for Michael.  Donald Pleasence gets a lot more screen time and backstory, and we learn that he took care of Michael in the hospital, and always knew there was something inherently evil about him.  While he spends most of the film being unfairly berated by the police for letting him escape, he's always thinking of Michael's next move, and how to stop him for good.

The Summary:
A blend of an excellent script, tremendous actors and a sequel that amps up the gore, scares, and thrills, "Halloween II" is one of those rare films that meets their predecessor on all cylinders, and maintains the terrific mythos of the series.

The Score: A+