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.