Halloween II (movie)
Halloween II (aka Halloween II: The Nightmare Isn't Over!) (1981) is the sequel to the hugely popular horror film, Halloween. It was billed as "More of the night HE came home." The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode and Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis. Stunt performer Dick Warlock portrays Michael Myers in this film.
Plot
Halloween II begins by reshowing the ending sequence of Halloween: Michael Myers returned to his home town of Haddonfield, Illinois and murdered three teenagers. He also attempted to kill Laurie Strode. Myers was shot by Loomis, but he is missing as this film begins.
Laurie is taken to the Haddonfield Memorial Hospital due to the injuries she has sustained. One of the EMS drivers, Jimmy (portrayed by Lance Guest) is very kind to her, continually visiting her despite the nurses' protests. Laurie is in and out of consciousness, and she is haunted by strange dreams involving Michael Myers as a boy. She begins to understand why he is chasing her.
Michael, meanwhile, hears that Laurie is still alive and follows her to the clinic. One by one, he kills the clinic's staff. She manages to elude him, but she is limping badly and is thus unable to move very quickly. She tries to escape in one of the cars in the parking lot, but is not able to drive away because Myers has slashed all of the tires on every car. She hides in the parked car, almost hysterical.
Dr. Loomis and the Haddonfield police search the town for Michael. They respond to an alarm at the local elementary school, where Myers has been. He has left a bloody knife stuck in a child's drawing, in a figure representing the child's sister. He has also written the word "Samhain" in blood on the wall. Marion, Dr. Loomis's nurse, arrives and tells Loomis that she has discovered a secret file on Myers to which he was not privy. The file reveals that Laurie Strode is actually Michael's sister, adopted by the Strodes after Myers's original killing (what happened to his parents remains unclear; his older sister, Judith, is the only childhood murder of his that is ever mentioned). Marion also informs Loomis that he must return to Smith's Grove, along with her and a marshall.
Loomis uses his gun and orders him to drive them to the clinic. There he discovers the bodies of several staff members. The marshall shoots Myers several times, but to no avail; Myers kills him. Dr. Loomis and Laurie retreat into an operating room, with Michael close behind. Laurie shoots him in the eyes, but he keeps coming, trying to attack her. The two protagonists turn on all of the gas tanks in the room, causing Michael to swing at the sounds with his knife. Laurie narrowly escapes the room as Dr. Loomis lights his pocket lighter, causing the gas in the room to explode. Myers and Loomis both seemingly die in the blast, though in the sequels, this is retconned to reveal that they were both just badly burned.
History
The sequel was intended to be the final chapter of the series (with both murderer Myers and Dr. Loomis dying at the end of the film, both victims of Loomis' self-sacrifice by blowing up the room). But those who wanted more Michael Myers (after he did not appear in Halloween III: Season of the Witch) were rewarded with Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and four more sequels after that.
External link
| The Halloween Movies |
|---|
| John Carpenter/Debra Hill-conceived: Halloween | Halloween II |
| Sequels featuring Michael Myers |
| Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers | Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers | Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers | Halloween H20: 20 Years Later | Halloween: Resurrection |
| Other Sequels |
| Halloween III: Season of the Witch |