For fans of John Carpenter's Halloween, 1998 marked the twentieth anniversary of its debut. Along with the various commemorative re-issues on video, series guru Moustapha Akkad opted to film a Halloween 7 to further mark the occasion. Scream wonderboy Kevin Williamson was called in to write a story treatment, and genre veteran Steve Miner (Friday the 13th Parts 2 and 3, House, Warlock) was tapped to direct. John Ottman was recruited to score the film, re-vamping Carpenter's original theme into an orchestral arrangement. But coup de grace was in landing Jamie Lee Curtis to reprise her original role of Laurie Strode. And with a cast of fresh-faced TV teens, several title changes, Williamson ultimately not getting any screen credit, and a want-see that pushed the movie up from its projected October release to a late summer debut, Halloween: H20 - Twenty Years Later hit screens and raked in an impressive $50 million-plus.
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Truly, Miner was going for a direct follow-up to the first two installments only; the events of the later Halloween movies are either ignored or brazenly contradicted. His opening prologue features returning character Nurse Marion (Nancy Stephens) and two neighbors being offed by Michael Myers (Chris Durand), who just shows up with no further explanation with his whereabouts all this time. And Dr. Sam Loomis, the script explains, simply "died a few years ago."
Mirroring the first two films by shooting in 2:35.1 aspect ratio widescreen (is there any other way to see a movie?), Miner clearly wanted to recreate the tension of evil coming to a seemingly non-threatening environment. Here, instead of the your-neighborhood-and-mine locale of Haddonfield, the setting a posh prep school in California, presided over by headmistress Keri Tate.
But Keri Tate is not her real name; it's merely the identity Laurie Strode assumed after she faked her death. Hence, the one acknowledgment to Halloween 4's exposition, and even that exposition is now shown to be a false report. And Keri's substance abuse is taking a toll both on her and on the well-being of her headstrong teenaged son John (Josh Hartnett).
Her medicine cabinet is cluttered with enough prescription drugs to make any hypochondriac envious. This lady swills vodka by the glassfull after a hard day's work, and when her lunch date leaves the table for a minute, she quickly downs her glass of Chardonnay and orders another from an embarrassed waiter. Clearly our Laurie is on her way to becoming a full-fledged lush when big bro Michael comes calling, having tracked her down through files he acquired from Nurse Marion's filing cabinet during the prologue.
With the senior class leaving on a bus trip, a few renegades stay behind, making for fodder for Senor Myers. And there are a couple of gruesome murders and a decent chase before Laurie takes control, sending the survivors to safety while she, axe in hand, goes back into the main building, to face her tormentor.
The conclusion to H20 seems to indicate that the franchise is finished. And as fun as it's been, it's a welcome finish. And what of the internet hearsay that yet another chapter may still be in the works? If Moustapha Akkad thinks he can once again make the cash registers ring at local cineplexes....
