Halloween II (2009)

aka H2

When I sat down to rewatch Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen the movie since it was originally in theatres. Back then, I took umbrage at being asked to show ID at the movie theatre. Now, as an elderly man, no one ever asks me to show ID. One time, a few years ago, I thought I was going to have to show ID and so I asked the young woman at the counter if she needed to see my ID and she kind of did a soft little chuckle to herself before assuring me that it wasn’t necessary. I don’t think she did it to be mean, but, if I’m being honest, it kind of destroyed me a little bit. That was probably ten years ago now, and still that wound has never fully healed. Ah, the sands of time. How they slip through our fingers. But I digress. Having rewatched Halloween II, I’m not sure if it was meant to be a passion project for Rob Zombie or a giant middle finger to anyone who criticized his first Halloween film. Maybe, it’s both. Either way, the Rob Zombie of it all has been significantly amped up for the sequel. The Laurie Strode character went from being a realistically human character spouting unrealistic dialogue to what I have to assume is a stand-in for Sheri Moon Zombie. And while I might be willing to believe that Michael Myers somehow survived getting shot in the face at the end of the first movie, you’ll never convince me that Laurie, a young woman in 2009, wore Kiss t-shirts and had a poster of Alice Cooper in her bathroom. The first hour of Halloween II is focused on the aftermath of the events from the first film. A bleak where-are-they-now for the survivors. Which will be confusing if you didn’t watch the director’s cut of Rob Zombie’s first Halloween. I can definitely remember thinking, “wait, I thought Loomis died in the last one.” Well, in Rob Zombie’s H2, Loomis is very much alive and everyone hates his guts. He doesn’t have much impact on the plot, so I have to assume he’s there just because Rob Zombie wanted to work with Malcolm McDowell again. The last forty-five minutes of the movie hew closer to a typical slasher movie. The finale hints at a possible new direction for the series, but it would seem that this particular pocket of the Halloween franchise has truly been abandoned. Props again to Rob Zombie for some great casting choices including, but not limited to, Howard Hesseman, Bill Fagerbakke, Margot Kidder, Caroline Williams, Octavia Spencer and Sean Whalen.

Rating: 55%

(Image from Wikipedia)