Let's discuss "Halloween II" (1981)

I think we REALLY need to discuss Halloween 3. WTF

[quote]This may be sacrilege, but I think in some ways I prefer it to the original

I'm with you here. The setting gives a far more claustrophobic/scary vibe. In the first one (and a lot of horror movies), the question is "why didn't you just run to the neighbor's house?

I got a job at a hospital years after I saw this movie, and when a wing/unit is empty, it is VERY unsettling to walk through.

R2- I have said this for years! Best in the entire franchise by far. I am with you on this one. Its pretty much perfect as far as I am concerned. (Minus that heinous wig)

Oh, and don't forget the big giveaway at 9pm, folks. Don't forget to wear your masks!

I consider the original, H II and H III the best three in the series because they're the only ones with that unmistakably unsettling John Carpenter/Dean Cundy stamp. What annoys me is when the Thorn Trilogy geeks rank H 4 above this one. It pales in comparison. While I'd have preferred it if Dick Warlock didn't portray Michael so stiffly, this is still a wonderful continuation of the first movie and is pretty seamless sans the aforementioned awful wig and a few other minor hiccups. The way they updated the original film's score to have a darker, more gothic feel is also great, and really highlights just how awful the scores became up until H 2018.

It was only ok. Had a bigger budget so more time on the blood. Wasn’t a fright in the entire show - but i remember the nurse with the big tits.

Yes Pamela Susan Shoop had a kind face

R5 when I was younger I really loved Halloween 4, but as I've gotten older and revisited it over the years, I find myself enjoying it less and less. I actually think the oft-maligned Halloween 5 is much better. I think the Thorn curse subplot was interesting, as ridiculous as it is. I am a big fan of Halloween 6 as well; both cuts of it are uniquely weird in their own ways. I find the whole handling of the franchise from Part 4 onward rather fascinating—there were a lot of hands in the pot and it seems like by H5 they were kind of flying by the seat of their pants in terms of where to take the Myers narrative. It was a bit of a disaster, but a fascinating one that made for a lot of series lore.

There is a scene in Halloween II where they find Michael has scrawled "Samhain" in blood in the local school, which vaguely sort of kicked off the supernatural subplots that came to be later on. In the 1979 novelization of the original film by Curtis Richards, there is a significant demonic subtext to Michael Myers that is explored—there's a lot of supernatural stuff going on that was never present in Carpenter's movie. Speaking of, the novelization is getting reprinted currently with illustrations—I just ordered a copy of it earlier this week. I have the original first edition paperback which I bought around 20 years ago, and has now skyrocketed in value.

R2 - I’ve never seen a hospital where wings are as desolate and dark as the ones in movies like this. Where there’s apparently one nurse and one janitor managing the whole hospital.

I always think Halloween and Halloween II should exist as standalones because they’re practically twins in production, direction, acting, and tone.

I did just rewatch Halloween III and it was not as bad as I remembered it.

It's getting re-released in cinemas nationwide for one day this month (October 17th). There's even a Michael Myers popcorn bucket that Cinemark is hawking for it.

I've seen every film in the series countless times, but Halloween II ranks among my favorite sequels in the series—probably my favorite. I also am a fan of Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, which is one of the most divisive in the franchise aside from Halloween III. I'm actually watching Halloween II right on AMC, which has played the Halloween films every October back since I was a teenager. I own the whole franchise on Blu-ray/4K, but I still tune into AMC's programming this time of year for the nostalgia.

I LOVE Halloween 2, despite its unnecessary and gratuitous gore and “sexy” scene. This really diminish it for me. One of the things that makes the original so great is that the gore is kept to an absolute minimum. It’s the tension, the build up, the atmosphere. The original is a masterpiece.

I love H2, even though it strays into unnecessary places and does some unrealistic things. The nurse upside down? The hot tub? Come on.

I remember really liking the first half

The killing of Alice at the beginning always seemed out of place. Especially since he didn’t dispose of the elderly woman whose knife he took.

There’s an alternate version that has Jimmy survive at the end and in the ambulance with Laurie, Also shows Michael cutting the power and the hospital going to a generator which explains the dimness. One of the nurses isn’t stabbed either. She’s just picked up and thrown to the ground.

I've only seen the original. The music gave me the creeps from the start, good job with that.

One of the big dissapointments of the first Halloween is that Nancy Loomis didn't show muff, you just know she had a huge bush! I bet it looked like she was smuggling a bear cub in her underwear...

I am not ashamed to admit I used to jerk off to Leo Rossi's ass shot in this

Love the brief scene with Wendy from Prom Night.

Why are hospitals always empty when a murderer is loose? It was like that in The Godfather too.

What if Karen Black and the Zuni Devil Doll had been in Halloween II? Would it have been better than Halloween II or Halloween I? I think I would have preferred it.

Ah, yes—my first return to Laurie Strode. At the time, I may not have realized it, but this set the stage for the depths of trowma I would go on to plumb nearly four decades later with masterclass filmmaker David Gordon Green. In the tapestry of my life as an artist, even “Halloween II” was an integral step in the path that eventually led me to the Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023, where I was declared the title of “Oscar winner.” I followed this with Gia Coppola’s independent masterpiece “The Last Showgirl”, in which I portrayed the ragged, rough realities of Las Vegas. Most recently, I’ve been seen reuniting with my onscreen daughter, Lindsay Lohan, in Disney’s hit sequel “Freakier Friday.”

[quote]and the empty hospital setting is very creepy

Also used to great effect in ‘The Godfather’

Below Michael in the hospital

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[quote]Love the brief scene with Wendy from Prom Night.

Me too!

The viking cop looked like he threw a mean fuck.

^Totally. I think you can even see a slight dick print in the classroom scene.

Hunter these days...

I liked the last trilogy

Is it my imagination or does Halloween II seem more believable?

“I am not ashamed to admit I used to jerk off to Leo Rossi's ass shot in this”

You aren’t the only one. He actually informed a type I chased as a young gayling:rugged, blue collar ginnys

Lance Guest was adorbs! That's all I have to add.

[quote] I am not ashamed to admit I used to jerk off to Leo Rossi's ass shot in this

As long as you didn't jerk off to Leo cheering Jodie's gang rape in The Accused.

I love the sequel as much as I love the first one.

Pretty sure it was the first horror movie and first nude scenes I had ever seen so it’s always stuck with me.

It’s a great continuation.

“H20”, while being “Scream”-like, did capture the essence of the first two movies in cinematography and mood.

[quote]“H20”, while being “Scream”-like, did capture the essence of the first two movies in cinematography and mood.

Not even a little. Dean Cundey's cinematography is unmistakable, and it was one of the key elements missing from not only H20, but all the subsequent sequels after H III. Not to mention H20's score, which sucked.

And masks. And lack of on screen kills

No doubt I replied here before (I thought this was a new thread) 100%. Period. This my favorite in the franchise followed by Halloween 2018.

It has every cinematic element of the first but with more of that early 80's brutality/slasher vibe- Everything about it is done exceptionally well. I find the original slightly overrated.

I love Halloween 2!

The trilogy that I preferred was I, II and H2O