Halloween 2…What a Twist

I have put this off long enough. I was one of the lucky few that got to see H2 just a day shy of its release. It has taken me almost this long to figure out what I want to say and how to articulate it. I will start by saying that Rob Zombie’s re-imagining of the first two movies of Halloween has been nothing short of surprising. Somehow this man managed to almost re-write the story of Laurie Strode (Angel Myers) and her big brother Michael. His Halloween was, I have to admit, pretty good and for the most part it stuck to the basics of John Carpenter’s story. It also deviated and added to the story. You learned why Michael was the way he was, as a young child. You saw his descent into madness and ultimately one of the best bloodbaths in horror cinema. You also saw Malcolm McDowell attempt to fit the shoes of the late and much missed Donald Pleasence (Dr. Loomis) and ultimately fail. Donald had a gift that really lent to the credibility of his obsession with tracking down the mass murderer and sociopath.

That said, Halloween 2 or H2 was nothing like the original sequel to Halloween. You had the younger sister being stalked by her older brother. The doctor did arrive on the scene to try to help bring Michael in. But that is about it. H2 begins with a nightmare that Laurie Strode, now a year later, is struggling to survive. She is older and has a job working at a record store. Somehow her best friend Annie survived Michael’s attack. She still maintains closeness with her best friend and dad. But she has no idea who she really is. It is not until fame-hungry Dr. Loomis writes a book about the bloody ordeal and reveals it in his book. This Sam Loomis is more obsessed with making as much money off the MM story than saving other people the fate Michael delved to the victims of the first Halloween. It is not until Michael Myers tracks down and kidnaps his baby sister that Dr. Loomis even gives a damn, and that doesn’t happen until MM kills all of Laurie’s friends off, in an attempt to find her.

This Michael Myers is plagued by hallucinatory dreams of his mother telling him to find her. Find Boo. Then we can all be together, like one majorly F*&#ed up happy family. He travels great distance to find her. He pretty much kills anyone he comes into contact with. All the while Laurie/Angel is busy moving on with her life and struggling to accept that she is MM’s sister. Which of course leads to a misguided but well-meaning notion to attend the Halloween party in town. What I find ludicrous is that while she is drunkenly dancing around and having a grand ole time, her friends are being hunted down and one by one, done away with.

This Halloween is a totally different story, with similar characters really. I will say that the ending had a twist I was not expecting. I rather enjoyed Zombie’s “ending” and the fact that it completely caught me off guard. IF it were not for the ending, I don’t believe I would have enjoyed the movie half as much.

The Halloween franchise is not going anywhere…it was confirmed days ago that the duo who brought us My Bloody Valentine 3D (Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer) is doing Halloween in 3D! Now that sounds just kickass!

One more thing…I will admit that Scout Taylor-Compton has earned the title of scream queen, based on her performance in Halloween 2. I still contest that she had not quite arrived in the first Zombie Halloween movie.

H2

Poor Laurie