Review of Halloween II (1981) by Cole W — 11 Jun 2017

As far as horror sequels go, Halloween II is a success in its own right. After a near-perfect film like Halloween, expectations for Halloween II were extremely high. Even though it isn't at the level of its predecessor, it's still not a bad film. However, it's a very simple and focused film. It retains the thrilling atmosphere of Halloween, yes, but it also forgets why Halloween even happened. Halloween II feels almost pointless.

The movie's motive is forgotten. It will still entertain and scare, but that's only because it doesn't try to be as good as its predecessor. Halloween II was trying to be an okay sequel to a masterpiece of a movie, and it succeeds in doing that. Ultimately, Halloween II achieves its goal of not being a total failure, but sadly never attempts to reach the height of Halloween.

The scary atmosphere and drawn-out, somewhat clever, chase sequences are great. The characters as individuals are diverse and play a true role in the film. Each character has their own conflicts, most commonly the Michael Myers conflict. They're like real people, which is good, considering that characters throught this series, and other horror series', become no more than pigs to slaughter for the killer him/herself. The movie doesn't feel cliche, either. Yes, the kills are a bit rehashed and the plot isn't all that different, but Halloween II manages to retain some of the best aspects from Halloween, mainly its unpredictability and chilling, signature, mood. It's so fun to watch this movie, and one of the greatest reasons to watch is just to predict the order of which Michael will inevitably murder just about every character.

Also, Halloween II adds a bit more imagery than contained in Halloween. The imagery here is quite meaningless and up for interpretation entirely, but it adds even more to the atmosphere of the film. Halloween II, in doing all of this, somehow manages to be probably the most emersive Halloween film to date. The fact that the movie takes place on Halloween night, right after the events of the original, with hightened stakes, and the chilling realization that Michael is nowhere to be seen after the finale of Halloween, is indescribable. The most accurate statement to describe this film would be to call it really fun and festive. Its one of the best scary movies to watch on Halloween night, just for its festivity.