Halloween II picks up where the last film left off with Laurie Strode a complete and utter basket case. She lashes out at her friends, her psychiatrist, and anyone else in her way. To make matters worse, Dr. Loomis has just released a new tell-all book about the events of the last film, revealing that Laurie is actually Michael Myers' sister which sends her into an even deeper depression as the anniversary rolls around and Michael returns to carve up a new batch of victims.
Writer/director Rob Zombie deserves a massive amount of credit for doing his own thing here. Whereas his first film felt like a less effective paint by numbers remake of John Carpenter's film with just a few of his own flourishes poking through, his sequel is one of the more interesting installments in the series.
There's a lot in this film that feels forced or out of place like most scenes with Michael Myers visiting with visions of his mother, his younger self, and a random white horse, but the dramatic moments between survivors Laurie, Annie, and Annie's father are heartbreaking and played with an unbearable amount of realism.
Writer/director Rob Zombie deserves a massive amount of credit for doing his own thing here. Whereas his first film felt like a less effective paint by numbers remake of John Carpenter's film with just a few of his own flourishes poking through, his sequel is one of the more interesting installments in the series.
There's a lot in this film that feels forced or out of place like most scenes with Michael Myers visiting with visions of his mother, his younger self, and a random white horse, but the dramatic moments between survivors Laurie, Annie, and Annie's father are heartbreaking and played with an unbearable amount of realism.