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Halloween II (1981 film)

Halloween II
The top of the poster reads "HALLOWEEN II", and just under those words is the phrase "ALL NEW". To the bottom right of those words, taking up the centre of the poster, is an orange pumpkin seemingly morphed into the shape of a human skull. A tagline below this reads "From The People Who Brought You 'HALLOWEEN'...More Of The Night He Came Home." At the bottom of the poster is a billing of the film's cast and crew.
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rick Rosenthal
John Carpenter (uncredited)
Produced by
Written by
  • John Carpenter
  • Debra Hill
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Dean Cundey
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • October 30, 1981 (1981-10-30)
Running time
 92 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $2.5 million
Box office $25.5 million

Halloween II is a 1981 American slasher film and the second installment in the Halloween film series. Directed by Rick Rosenthal, written and produced by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, it is a direct sequel to Carpenter's Halloween, immediately picking up where it had left off. Set on the same night of October 31, 1978 as Michael Myers continues to follow Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) to a nearby hospital while Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is still in pursuit of his patient.

Stylistically, Halloween II reproduces certain key elements that made the original Halloween a success, such as first-person camera perspectives, and the film picks up right at the end of the cliffhanger ending of the original film. The sequel was a box office success, grossing over $25.5 million in the United States. In terms of the response from film critics, the film has received mixed reviews both during its initial run in theatres and since; several commentators criticized the film's generally uneven pace, certain plot holes and muted character performances, while praise was received to the film's genuinely scary moments that captured the spirit of the first film.

Originally, Halloween II was intended to be the last chapter of the Halloween series to revolve around Michael Myers and the town of Haddonfield, but after the lackluster reaction to Season of the Witch (1982), the Michael Myers character was brought back six years later in The Return of Michael Myers (1988).

After being attacked by Michael Myers (Dick Warlock), who vanished after being shot six times and falling from a balcony on October 31, 1978, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital that same night. Michael's recent escape and attacks are all over the news as he steals a kitchen knife from an elderly couple's house and kills their teenage neighbor (Anne Bruner); he later finds out Laurie is at the hospital via the radio. Paramedic Jimmy Lloyd (Lance Guest) starts to develop romantic feelings for Laurie, much to the chagrin of head nurse Virginia Alves (Gloria Gifford). Once Michael arrives at the hospital, he cuts the phone lines, disables the cars, and kills most of the hospital employees. While searching for Laurie, who is trying to evade Michael, Jimmy finds Mrs. Alves' corpse and slips in a pool of blood on the floor, losing consciousness.


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