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In his first piece for FANGORIA.com, our new contributor "The Horror Professor" takes a look back at the original HALLOWEEN II.

With yet another potentially (and likely) unsatisfying Rob Zombie film on the horizon, I thought this might be a good time to reminisce for a few paragraphs about one of my favorite films. 

Obviously tastes vary and certainly opinions are plentiful, but I take a stance that, as far as I know, few people take.  I like Halloween II as much as I like John Carpenter’s original masterpiece (and on any given day, maybe even more).  Now that does not necessarily mean I think it is as good or better, but I do happen to like it at least as much. 

If you haven’t seen the film yet and don’t want things “ruined”, please be advised that what I am writing below contains SPOILERS.  For those of you that have seen the film, you probably know that the 1981 sequel takes place just seconds after the original Halloween ends.  This is a concept that, as far as I know, had not been attempted (at least in the horror genre) since Bride Of Frankenstein, 50 years earlier.  Needless to say, Michael Myers is quickly on his feet roaming the streets of Haddonfield, despite having received several injuries, some of which he acquired while falling from a 2nd story balcony, being shot multiple times, having a wire hanger stuck in his eye and having been stabbed in the neck by a knitting needle.  A dumbfounded and guilt ridden Dr. Loomis continues his hunt for “The Shape”, while Laurie Strode is taken to a hospital to recuperate.  It is here that romantic sparks begin to fly between Laurie and Jimmy Lloyd a.k.a. The Last Star Fighter (played by Lance Guest).  It’s revealed that Laurie is Michael’s sister and the whole thing culminates in a glorious, fiery and explosive climax…complete with a stuntman in a bulky fire-suit, covered in flames.  It sounds like the best damn soap opera ever!  Seriously, how could you not love it?

Perhaps my love for this film comes from the fact that the first time I ever saw it was during my freshman year at film school on TNT’s Monstervision with Joe Bob Brigg.  Even while taking this into account, at the end of the day, I do genuinely believe that there are many rewarding things about this film. 

Here is a list of just 10:

1. Though it is not a huge selling point for me, for all you gore hounds out there, Halloween II is far bloodier and more graphic than its predecessor…containing probably cinema’s first hypodermic needle stuck in an eyeball.

2. For completely no reason, whatsoever, it features a kid in a pirate costume, with a razor blade gruesomely lodged in his mouth.

3. At exactly 22 minutes and 23 seconds into the film, there is a shot of SNL alumni Dana Carvey.

4. I think it is a stroke of genius that the kid in the “Shape” mask that gets hit by the police car and dies a fiery death, turns out to be Ben Tramer, the guy that Laurie had a crush on in the first film!  Not only does her schoolgirl crush die a horrible death, but when you add in the fact that Michael Myers also killed her 2 best friends, it’s f’ing tragic.  (Note:  The police car that hits Tramer, runs him into the van and then explodes, was heading for that van whether Tramer was there or not.  He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time…which was standing in front of that damn van.)

5. For all the perverts out there, the film contains a nurse with a pair of very nice “personality” traits.  She also happens to die probably the most famous death of the whole film…drowning in a boiling hot physical therapy hot tub.  (It is worth noting that the only reason this death is so memorable, is due to the fact that she has such a great “personality” in the first place.)

6. I love the fact that there are a few very forced and awkward physical interactions between characters that involve Loomis, a lighter and people smoking cigarettes.  It is as if the director, Rick Rosenthal, was very worried that people would not “buy” the fact that Loomis would have a lighter at the end of the film.  So he tries to hammer it home with these scenes.  It’s so weird.

7. A lot of people complain about the hospital being empty, but I actually like the fact that Laurie is the only patient.  Rosenthal has said that with the look of the hospital scenes, he wanted to pay homage to German Expressionism.  Long corridors, hard shadows, use of high and low camera angles and even the fact that Laurie wanders the halls in a “daze” are all things that I find very reminiscent of films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.  The fact that a hospital, a place that should be filled with people, and even lifesavers, is completely empty is very surreal and adds a great nightmarish quality to the film for me.  I also love the scene featuring Laurie in the basement waiting for the elevator during the chase scene and saturated in red light.  It is very “giallo-esque” and a nice nod to directors like Bava and Argento.

8. The parking lot scenes following the chase also play out very much like a nightmare.  They may be justified, but Jimmy’s dazed reactions in the car and his passing out cold against the horn, are very weird and eerie.  Laurie trying to scream for Loomis but having nothing come out, her being locked out of the hospital and Michael’s head first walk right through the glass door are all things that seem like a genuine nightmare to me.  The only other film I can think of that accurately captures what it’s like to be trapped in an actual nightmare is the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

9. The fact that Laurie fires two shots with a gun and manages to hit Michael in both eyes is a little unbelievable, but by that point in the film and because of the fact that everything has gotten so surreal by then, I’m willing to go with it.  The image of Michael’s tears of blood streaming down the rubbery white flesh of the mask is amazing and his blindly swinging the scalpel around the room is terrifying.  As you watch the explosion, you know he’s going to emerge from the flames, but when he does it’s still awesome.  He’s the original Terminator!!!

10. Most of all I love Pleasence and his portrayal of Loomis in this film.  Even more than in the original, I feel he plays the character with a real sense of guilt.  He is forced to defend himself even more in this one.  He is constantly being blamed for Myers’ murderous rampage and he has to keep telling people that it’s not his fault, that he tried to warn everybody, but you can tell that deep down Loomis does feel responsible.  Pleasence is great in this film.

The film was written and produced by John Carpenter and Debra Hill.  They hired Rick Rosenthal (who would later direct Halloween: Resurrection) as the director, a man with no feature film experience and only a few TV projects and short student thesis film under his belt.  Since its release Carpenter has been very vocal about the fact that he was not thrilled with Rosenthal’s original cut of the film and that he not only re-edited the film, but also re-shot sections of the death scenes himself, in an effort to “bring it at least up to par with the competition”(Twilight Zone Magazine, 11/82). 

“The Rosenthal Version” occasionally gets some play on cable channels like AMC, and though the film is forever in the shadow of it’s iconic predcessor, I unlitmately believe that Rosenthal did a very good job of continuing the now legendary story of Michael Myers.  Stylistically Rosenthal begins the film very much in the vein of Carpenter’s original, but as the film plays out, he slowly takes the viewer away from everyday suburban America and into a much darker and frighteningly surreal place.  He ultimately takes Carpenter’s ideas and film and by the end, manages to make them his own.

It should be noted that, horribly, the film was used as a murder defense for a man that killed an elderly couple in December of 1982.  He stabbed the couple a total of 43 times and during his trial claimed that he suffered from hallucinations brought on by Halloween II, which he saw while under the influence of several mind altering substances.  The film was played for the jury, and the man was eventually found guilty and sentenced to death.

Aside from the morbid real life controversy, the only thing I don’t really like about the film is the fact that Carpenter and Hill introduce the notion that Laurie is Michael’s sister.  I rather like the idea that Laurie was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  In the first film it doesn’t really play like she’s being singled out by Myers and frankly that is one of the things that I find most frightening about it.  It’s scary that there is no reason!  In the second film we find out that they are siblings and we also find out that Michael is a fan of Celtic folklore with an attraction to the Celtic New Year (a.k.a. Samhain).  It’s a section of the film that kind of makes me cringe when I watch it these days. Fortunately I don’t hate it enough for it to ruin the whole viewing experience for me.

I think Halloween II holds up pretty well today, at least as well as the original and probably even more so than many other 80’s “slasher films”.  It is a good sequel and a good film in general, with a good balance of 80’s horror cheese and legitimate cinematic style.  It does not get the critical acclaim of the first film, but it does have a loyal following.  This August Rob Zombie’s H2 is going to be released.  It is reportedly not a remake of Rosenthal’s film, but from the look of production stills and the circulating teaser trailer, it is clear that there are at least some similarities.  I’m hoping he can pull it off, but I have yet to see a film of his that I like and the buzz around this film is exceptionally bad.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.