Review of Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) by Jason P — 19 Oct 2011

I am thinking, if this kid doesn't lose his hand, I want my money back. -Roger Ebert.

H20.

The beginning of the film starts off strong and promising. The characters are well in place even though we have are given a few minutes to identify them with the notable exception of Jamie Lee Curtis. The kills are very inventive, and The Shape looks great. This is about the best film Halloween could conjure up when it was released, so why am I not too satisfied with it. Well, one thing is the climax followed by the resolution of the film. Halloween H20 is the second film to be released by Dimension with director Steve Miner (Friday the 13th II & III). Also, I could not get over the fact the film becomes a standard slasher film right at the III act. Sleaze Boy investigates.

==The Gap==.

Halloween was a great film and the sequel was okay. The following sequels were bad one after another. It's almost like going rolling downhill. However, one man that made the films watchable with exception of the third (absent): Donald Pleasence. There was always something about him that made Halloween so appealing as he was Michael's arch nemesis devoting to stop him at all cost. His character is similar to Captain Ahab from Moby Dick. I liked him in the entire series, so here's my list of his contribution: he was great in Halloween as a distressed physician trying to warn people about Michael Myers. Halloween II had him following an idiot's plot with idiot action like everyone else, but he stood out in performance and showed he was a madman. Halloween 4 had him grumpy and stressed, but overdid it with madness. Halloween 5- The Revenge of Michael Myers was his most villainous performance while hamming up his performance. It was around Halloween 5 that one could possibly see Loomis/Pleasence's age was starting to catch up to him. Halloween- the Curse of Michael Myers would come and is the worst one out of the entire series and would tragically is the last film of Pleasence. Reading a TV Guide review for the film, the critic slammed the film, but noted the thought of Donald Pleasence's death is the scariest thing the film has to offer. Despite its awfulness, it was nice to see Pleasence as Loomis for the final time especially his opening line: not dead, just retired! Some people may never watch this film because of Pleasence abscenes, fair enough.

A number of folks have written and believe that Sam Loomis death came at the hands of Michael at the end of Curse. I don't really think so, but it did signify he was doomed. If you ever seen Halloween- the Curse of Michael Myers, the final shot of Loomis reassures us everything is going to be okay, but you'll notice the expression of doubt in his face. He goes into Smith's Grove Sanitarium where you see the mask of Michael Myers with green blood on the eyes and followed by Loomis screaming. Trick or treat, I guess. Loomis/Pleasence succumbs to his age leaving behind a lot of things and when reported, Myers discovers. I find the gap between 6th and 7th film pretty fascinating because a lot could have happened with Loomis spending his final minutes in tracking down Myers and eliminating him before he passes along with Myers discovering Loomis passing. I am guessing Myers went straight to place where Loomis lived and went berserk, wrecking the room right before finding a file on Laurie Strode (Curtis).

==Plot==.

Halloween H2O starts with a beautiful scene as knife goes right through a pumpkin as families get ready to celebrate Halloween. We step into returning character Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens), from first and second Halloween films. She notices someone has broken into her house, so she recruits two teenagers to investigate after calling and becoming impatient with the police. Nothing is in the house, but her office has been ransacked. She goes inside to the offices where everything is a mess, but finds a picture of Loomis still intact. Following morning, we learn that Loomis spent his last days with her obsessed in tracking Michael. I was really fascinated by this scene as well the two cops talking about the possibility of Michael Myers being alive. One of them calls Haddonfield to warn them while the other scoffs. Halloween H2O opens up strong with the prologue and the opening credits along with the symphonic theme score. I would have been fine if the three previous installments were acknowledged with the removal of the character Jamie. Anyways, the opening credits express itself strong accomplishment and great confidence along with revision of the musical score. The original theme is change into an orchestra score.

California, we witness the personality and the life of Laurie. She has recurring nightmares of Michael Myers attacking her and her son. We sit back and watch her while trying to connect with the characters. She is divorce, has a son, and is an alcoholic with a mouth full of swears. She tries to pretend like everything is okay and hides her troubles through drinking. Her son John (Josh Harnett) has trouble coping with her overprotected mother while trying to establish a normal social life. At one point, he has enough and lashes on her as he states he has given her 17 years. This outburst allows Curtis to let her son go. John goes on to hang out with his girlfriend and his friends for a fun Halloween, but they have an uninvited guest to the party. Laurie realizes it has been 20 years since Michael has attacked her and believes Myers is going to find after 20 years. Those chances are very good when you are living in a horror film universe. Indeed Michael Myers returns for a family reunion and wants to bury the axe.

==Review==.

Now, I mention a little bit of the plot because there is no need to go over Halloween H2O. I found this film quite pleasing, but was displeased at the same time. The setup and the opening of the film is very well done with suspense, interesting characters, a coherent plot, and competent direction along with strong characterization of Michael Myers. He looks really great. The previous films were very flawed in trying to capture the image, no longer the boogeyman or The Shape, of Myers with Halloween 4 as the worst one. The 5th installment had the large Don Shanks play him, but the mask looked cheap and his outfit looked like jammies. The 6th had him looking like he gained weight and stuffed at times with clay mask. Here, Myers is the Shape once again, and he's not really tall, but skinny. The mask looks really great, and I believe Myers is actually carrying a couple of mask. Sometime Myers looks annoyed while other times he looks determined, and you can even see his eyes a few times. This is all good because you can actually see personality in Myers from seeing his expressionistic mask and body movement and interpret it. A lot of films had him stalking him in middle of broad daylight were he could be seen and moronic characters being killed afterwards. Here, Michael has the chance to murder a number of characters, but he simply ignores them. I found this interesting as it makes me believe that Myers is annoyed with humans or doesn't want to waste time with them since he wants to reach his sister Laurie.

Jamie Lee Curtis does an excellent and convincing job as a distressed Laurie. I found her believable in emotions of a traumatized woman trying to bury the past and ignore it ever happened. The interaction with John (Harnett) was very convincing as she plays it cool during the conversation over him going to Yosemite for a field trip. Later, we see how agile she really is with the paranoia of Myers returning. She is correct. She does the usual run and fight back if force too, but the film changes that when she decides to stop running. I was fond by this as she tries to protect herself and her loved ones.

Now, we have Michael and Laurie covered, so where does that leave the entire cast? In a very good position, I found the characters very likeable and original, but was a little annoyed at times because the characters came off as if they ripped from Scream or Dawson's Creek and even Beverly Hills 90210. Everyone was pleasant and kept their performances subtle from the teenage cast to LL Cool J. However, it is Adam Arkin that stands out as very likeable man playing the role of Will, Laurie's boyfriend. He's completely understanding, funny, elegant, and helpful rather than being a complete *rick. All the characters help create a universe to which we can step in and enjoy ourselves watching. Also worth noting, Janet Leigh (Lee's mother) makes a cameo appearance while adding self-reflective joke with an automobile, similar to 1960's Psycho.

Yes, Halloween H2O looks very good and is technically well made, but I had huge problem during the second half when the film dissolves into the standard final girl chase scene. It's very well done though due to director Steve Miner because he has some experience doing Friday the 13th Part 2 and Friday the 13th Part III- 3D. It's good on the one hand because there is excitement during the confrontation, but it is disappointing because you already know what's going to happen. The final girl will only receive an injury while inflicting multiple hits towards the monster. You get a feeling what the results will be which happens just as you expect it. Another problem I had with the film is ignoring the previous installments. It would have been better if it was acknowledge that all the murders from fourth and sixth took place while removing any other Strode family member or characters like the Man in Black from the fifth and sixth film. The script could have had Laurie ignored anything from that had to do with Haddonfield because of her fear of Myers returning. I would have been happier that way, but also because it ignores all the work Dr. Loomis (Pleasence) did. Sure, the previous weren't good, but Pleasence always made the films worth watching. Also, I notice a lot of people misinterpreted and were fooled by the ending. Although it's very cynical, it's very well made and chilling, signifies the end, but not from the view people had when it was released. Anyways, Halloween H2O is what is and although it is understandable not to watch this, I will give this film a brief and modest recommendation.

As for the DVD, there is really not a lot of things to say about it. There is no theatrical trailer, but there is a documentary and a trivia game. The action, gore, and special effects are kept to subtlety point and do not dominate the film. There was a lot of suspense in a few scenes, but it is never recovered during the final confrontation.

Note: I saw this film on antenna television, edited. I gave the edited version 1.5 out 5 because I was annoyed with the content and storyline. Avoid seeing this film edited.

Special note: I actually gave a good review to Halloween 4, but when I saw Halloween II, I inexplicably hated the fourth one.

Very special note: I wonder if Dr. Loomis' manuscript from his life work in Curse of Michael Myers will ever see broad daylight. When Loomis wasn't pursuing Myers, I found out he was encouraging French troops to battle the Vietnamese army in the 1992 film Dien Bien Phu.