I was about to launch into a big ol' diatribe about my weird relationship with Halloween II, about how I loved it so very much when I was a kid but watching it now, I find it almost...unwatchable, but then I thought, "Hmm. Didn't I review this already?" and so I looked and so I did, and that review says everything I was going to say today and then some, and if this sentence goes on much longer it will surely be in contention for the title of "Longest Sentence in the History of Evvvvarrrrrr" so I'd best wrap it up.This is all coming up because I popped the DVD in the other night and I just...I don't know, man, I think it's over between me and H2. I was bored, man, and that's a death knell for a horror movie. Also, I found Dr. Loomis extremely irritating with all of his unhelpful hyperbole...like, maybe he should try to help the police in some real way rather than yelling "You don't know what death is!" and scurrying off into the night. Also, Laurie's wig is atrocious.
Sigh. I'm at a loss here. Are things really over between us, or will I try again in a year and remember what is was that brought us together in the first place? That would be nice, since Little Final Girl loved this movie so much and I simply refuse to believe that Little Final Girl had terrible taste.
My ambivalence leaning towards dislike of the film doesn't mean, however, that the shot I posted above isn't 100% kick ass, because it is...and not just because it features Lucille "I fucking love the Poole Sisters" Benson.
I read somewhere that they're remaking it, thank God. I agree that it's a shit film that could've been better with someone else directing and a lot less Sam Loomis.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the film isn't up to the level of the original, but it isn't the worst thing ever, either.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of Michael creeping around that hospital at night is freaky - bet there are lots of hospital workers who get shivers still.
And that shot you posted is very eerie. One of the things I always liked about Michael is his just lurking there, not so much in the shadows, but when you look, he is gone.
Maybe they should have set the beginning of the film with Michael creeping around the neighborhood but unable to find Laurie. Cut to the next year and they wouldn't have had to have Laurie wear that damn wig!
I want to like H2. I mean, it's the next night, for heaven sakes. How could I not love the next night? Guess setting it in a hospital takes a lot of the Halloween atmosphere out of it, turns it into kinda a... I dunno, piece of crap. But I don't care what anyone says - it's still the next night. I got inspired by your last post and decided to make a top-ten-horror-snob-needs-to-get out-more-but-still-has-wicked-nerd taste-in-movies list. Ahem.
ReplyDelete1. Fright Night
2. Phantasm
3. Ginger Snaps
4. Night of the Demons
5. Halloween 3 - Season of the Witch
6. Night of the Creeps
7. Maximun Overdrive (oh hell yeah)
8. American Werewolf In London
9. Inferno
10. Kill Baby Kill
Two things...
ReplyDeleteI love the scene with Laurie at the elevator, pushing the button frantically while Michael walks slowly toward her. Sure, it's a complete rehash of the keys scene in the original... but I don't mind.
And I also love that your review of Part 2 was written back in 2005. Respect, girl!
I still love HALLOWEEN II. Yeah, it's not as good as the original but I like the continuation of the story and how brutal The Shape is inside that hospital. I think my fear for hospitals started because of this film. Compared to the later entries in the franchise, HALLOWEEN II is a masterpiece. I know you can't deny that.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the worst movie ever, and it's certainly not the worst Halloween sequel. And it does have some great sequences. The fact that it picks up right where the first film stopped is a marvy idea.
ReplyDeleteAs I whole, though, I'm just not as enamoured as I was once upon a time. There's something about it I can't quite put my finger on that makes it fall a little flat nowadays.
Loomie is really way too off the rails in this one.
The scariest thing in this movie for me was the scene where Michael just walks through the glass door without missing a beat. Jinkies!
ReplyDeleteThis movie is certainly a big drop off in quality from the first film, but I think it's still pretty good. It's probably my 3rd favorite of the sequels.
To Mr. Barleycorn: I heard there are plans for a Halloween II but that it would be a sequel to Rob Zombie's turd (but Rob isn't going to be involved which might be a good thing), not an actual remake of the original sequel. Kind of weird to make a sequel to the remake, but I don't understand what is going on in the heads of those Hollywood types.
H2 was interesting. It was genuinely eerie at times (Michael floating about in the negative space, popping up out of nowhere), and darkly cheeky at others (the nurse's shoes falling off when stabbed and raised up in the air by Michael).
ReplyDeleteHowever, that elevator scene was a blooper. Who's heard of the door still closing after hitting the black bar thingy as it closes? That scene was just a little too played out for my taste.
I enjoyed Pamela Susan Shoop's giant boobs. I'm not proud of that... but the heart doesn't know from pride, nor the loins.
ReplyDeletewell this movie sucks, but the frame grab you pulled says otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI mean, what bad movies use split field diopters?
Seriously though. HALLOWEEN III rocks all this shitty sequels. It's, to me, the only one I can watch without cringing.
I had a similar experience with "Jaws 2" the other night. I liked it growing up, I'd watch it every time it came on TV (which for some reason, was all the time, because ABC must have really wanted to get its money worth on that license agreement) and then I bought it on VHS and even later on DVD. I wouldn't say it was my favorite sequel (Jaws 3-D has always had a certain campy appeal that draws me in) but it certainly was an exciting movie, a good one to watch on a Saturday afternoon as a kid and a good one to watch drunk on a Friday night as an adult.
ReplyDeleteThe other night, though, in the middle of the movie, as Donna Wilkes teases Mike Brody into joining the others to go sailing, I was just like: "Oh, God, they still have to get the sailboats and go out to sea and there is still half of the movie left." And then I watched the Simpsons instead.
Such things happen.
I loved Halloween II when I was a kid and I still love it now.
ReplyDeleteTwo words: Leo muthereffin' Rossi.
The only thing that still appeals to me about Halloween II is Pamela Susan Shoop. She's so pretty that being able to watch her almost makes up for having to also see simian Leo Rossi's naked ass.
ReplyDeletePlus, her death is the most horrifying in the film, in spite of it's ridiculousness. An overheated hot tub can basically melt your face? Really?
An overheated hot tub can melt your face, but not your hand.
ReplyDeleteThere's an M&M joke in there somewhere.
As far as Leo Rossi goes, I know he's not REALLY a rapist, but whenever I see him I think about The Accused and then I think "I hate that guy!"
He's just one of those actors I always end up loathing- kind of like Xander Berkeley. I'm sure they're lovely fellows...I suppose my knee-jerk reaction to them means they've done their job well at one time or another.
@ stacie Despite having seen him in a million other things before and since, Xander Berkeley will always be Todd aka John Connor's foster dad in Terminator 2 (and the foster mom is always gonna be Vasquez). And I'm totally with you on Leo Rossi. The minute he shows up on screen in anything, I expect him to be sleazy. Of course, I'm usually not wrong.
ReplyDelete@ gingerbreadman I decided to do a Jaws marathon and couldn't get pass the midway point in Jaws 2. That movie is actually quite bad in retrospect.
"Also, I found Dr. Loomis extremely irritating with all of his unhelpful hyperbole...like, maybe he should try to help the police in some real way rather than yelling "You don't know what death is!" - hahaha this is hysterical! I need to rewatch this!
ReplyDeleteAnd Xander Berkeley will always go down (with the plane!) as GEORGE MASON ala 24. Two weeks til REDEMPTIONNNN
Let's not forget the mispronunciation of "Samhain" which is usually pronounced "Sow-wen" (or "Shav-nah" if you want to be ubber-correct.)
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I've always had a soft spot for this sequel (much like you did, Stacie) from multiple childhood viewings. I even became obsessed with the opening credits and constantly drew that cobweb skull in the splitting pumpkin. And I totally agree it has some of the best "shadow" shots of Myers in any of the films.