1981 was the year of Raiders Of The Lost Ark and On Golden Pond, both contenders for the Best Picture Oscar that surprisingly (and not undeservingly) went to Chariots Of Fire instead. However, it was also the year that John Carpenter's 1978 masterpiece Halloween saw its first follow-up hit movie screens, and under Rick Rosenthal's competent direction, Halloween 2 is a highly commendable sequel.
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Picking up moments after the original ended (although the new material was filmed three years later), Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance) discovers that killer Michael Myers has survived his gunshots and is still on the loose on the streets of Haddonfield, Illinois. After this brief prelude, the eerie opening titles run, accompanied by a new arrangement of John Carpenter's Halloween theme, re-worked by Alan Howarth into a wonderfully creepy synthesized version, complete with sombre church organ padding.
Poor Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Having survived her earlier encounter with masked fiend Michael Myers (now played by Dick Warlock), she has been taken to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital and sedated (much against her will -- she rightfully suspects that she is still in danger and wishes to remain at the height of her senses). Sheriff Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers) has an expanded role this time, as he must come to terms with his daughter Annie's death at the hands of Myers and must also continue to accomodate Loomis, whom he cannot help but resent because of the relaxed security at Smith's Grove which allowed Myers to escape.
And then there is the hospital staff, a bunch of mostly unmemorable characters who will serve as fodder for Myers; be it knife, scalpel, hypodermic, hammer or scalding water, our Mikey knows how to dish out some mayhem.
The downside of Rosenthal's film is that it comes on the heels of such an inimatable original. In comparison, Halloween 2 does pale. But in the big picture, it's a fairly minor paling. And a supporting character from the first film, one Nurse Marion (Nancy Stephens), makes a cameo appearance here to reveal a startling revelation about Myers' fixation upon Laurie Strode; we wouldn't see this chain-smoking character again until the 1998 installment of the Halloween series, and by then her luck would be running out.
Although the conclusion to Halloween 2 seems to incontrovertably kill off both the villain and protagonist, fans wanted more; hell, Gulf & Western were still striking gold with each Friday the 13th follow-up. And Myers fans did get their wishes seven years later, in 1988. In the meantime, they had Tommy Lee Wallace's stunted farce Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch from 1982 to pique their interest.
