Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 205 – Halloween II (1981)
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While Dr. Loomis hunts for Michael Myers, a traumatized Laurie is rushed to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, and The Shape is not far behind her.
Halloween II, the sometimes denigrated sequel to the original, is Jeff’s pick. The film picks up right where Halloween (1978) left off but with much more of an 80s slasher feel than the first entry in the franchise. Jeff laments the “apparent” loss of Dr. Loomis and thinks Laurie Strode is more of a target than an active participant. Crystal advises viewers that if they watch Halloween II without thinking too much, they’ll have a good time. She doesn’t care one way or the other about the reveal that Laurie is Michael’s sister and points out Michael’s move into the realm of the supernatural with his ability to survive umpteen point-blank gunshots.
Chad is glad Halloween II is different from the first entry in the franchise. To his mind, it would have failed if the filmmakers had tried to copy John Carpenter’s seminal work. He agrees that the filmmakers beefed up the gore and the violence to compete with early 80s slashers. He liked it coming out of the theater in 1981 and he still likes it. Though admittedly not fond of the Halloween franchise, Bill enjoys Halloween II more now than when he first saw it. He still doesn’t care for the Laurie-is-Michael’s-sister twist, pointing out that the idea doesn’t really go anywhere in this specific movie.
Collectively, your 1980s Grue-Crew enjoy Halloween II and though admitting it doesn’t reach the heights of its predecessor, give it a hearty recommendation. Hey! It’s Halloween! At the time of this writing, Halloween II can be streamed from Shudder and Tubi (w/ads) and is available on physical media as a SHOUT! Factory Collector’s Edition [4K UHD] and on Blu-ray as a stand-alone or in a variety of box set combinations from multiple companies.
For more Halloween franchise-related podcasts, check out these episodes from the Gruesome Magazine family of podcasts:
Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Bill will be Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce (1985).
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