Halloween II (1981) (Exclusive Series)

Initial release date: October 30, 1981

Studios: Universal Pictures/Dino DeLaurentis Corporation

Tagline: More Of The Night He Came Home

The Nightmare Isn’t Over

Plot: After failing to kill stubborn survivor Laurie Strode and taking a bullet or six from former psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis, Michael Myers has followed Laurie to the Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, where she’s been admitted for Myers’ attempt on her life. The institution proves to be particularly suited to serial killers, however, as Myers cuts, stabs and slashes his way through hospital staff to reach her.

Cast

Jamie Lee Curtis - Laurie Strode

Donald Pleasance - Sam Loomis

Charles Cyphers - Leigh Brackett

Jeffrey Kramer - Graham

Lance Guest - Jimmy

Pamela Susan Shoop - Karen

Hunter von Leer - Gary Hunt

Dick Warlock - The Shape (aka Michael Myers)

Leo Rossi - Budd

Nancy Stephens - Marion

Writer(s): John Carpenter and Debra Hill

Director: Rick Rosenthal (Halloween: Resurrection)

Rated R (92 minutes)

John Carpenter's 1978 classic ‘Halloween’ will always be known to re-vitalize the “slasher” sub-genre and to introduce us to one of the most iconic horror killers on screen - Michael Myers. In 1981, Myers returned to the big screen in the franchise’s first sequel - ‘Halloween II.’

The 1981 sequel picks up immediately after the chaos of the first movie. This time around, most of the action takes place at the hospital where Laurie Strode is laid up. Granted, this sequel isn’t nearly as good as the first one. But, it’s still fairly entertaining and has some decent suspenseful moments.

One major difference between the original and this sequel was the amount of blood. Unlike the first (which showed very little blood), this sequel cranked the blood up a notch or two. ‘Halloween II’ does have some cliched and predictable moments scattered throughout.

The ending of ‘Halloween II’ was definitely a great way to end the movie and wrap the series up. Or at least the Strode/Michael Myers saga.

https://youtu.be/vzOdUKVD8Ac

Here are some interesting tidbits for ‘Halloween II’:

• To get the role of Michael Myers, Dick Warlock revealed that as he passed by a room, the Myers mask was on the table. He put the mask on and walked into Rosenthal’s office and stood there. After the director continuously asked him who he was and didn’t reply, he took off the mask and asked if he could play Myers.

• Writer/producer John Carpenter didn’t like Rosenthal’s first version of the film, believing it to be as scary as an episode of ‘Quincy M.E.’ A re-edit was done but Carpenter still found it too tame, so he took over the editing process and sped up the action. He also shot a few gory scenes that were added into the film despite Rosenthal’s objections.

• In fact, Carpenter had intended the sequel to emulate the way the original avoided explicit violence and gore in favor of well-crafted suspense/terror. But the success of the new wave of slasher films in 1979 and 1980 made him afraid that a film which was scary and R-rated but lacked bloodshed and nudity would do poorly at the box office.

• First of two ‘Halloween’ movies directed by Rick Rosenthal who later went on to helm 2002s ‘Halloween: Resurrection,” the eighth and final movie of the original timeline.

• The 1981 sequel was intended to conclude the story of Myers and Strode. The third film, ‘Halloween III: Season of the Witch,’ released a year later, contained a plot that deviated wholly from that of the first two films.

• The theatrical distribution rights to ‘Halloween II’ were sold to Universal. The movie grossed $7,446,508 on its opening weekend, ranking No. 1 at the box office.

• While the gross earnings of the sequel paled in comparison to the original’s $47 million, it was a success in its own right, exceeding the earnings of other films of the same genre in 1981: ‘Graduation Day’ ($23.9 million), ‘Friday the 13th Part 2’ ($21.7 million), ‘Omen III: Final Conflict’ ($20.4 million) and ‘The Howling’ ($18 million). ‘Halloween II’ earned $25,533,818.