Halloween II is the American slasher of 1981 and the second installment of the Halloween movie series. Directed by Rick Rosenthal, written and produced by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, it is a direct sequel to Carpenter's Halloween , immediately picked up where it left off. Set on the same night of October 31, 1978, Michael Myers followed the surviving Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) to the nearest hospital while Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is still chasing his patients.
In style, Halloween II reproduces certain key elements that make the original Halloween a success, like the first camera viewing angle, and the movie picks up right at the end of the final cliffhanger of the original movie. This sequel was a success at the box office, earning more than $ 25.5 million in the United States. In terms of responses from film critics, the film has received mixed reviews both during its early run in theaters and since then; some commentators have criticized generally uneven film speeds, hole plots and muted character performances, while praise is given to the truly frightening moments that capture the spirit of the first film.
Initially, Halloween II was meant to be the last chapter of the Halloween series to revolve around Michael Myers and the city of Haddonfield, but after an unenthusiastic reaction to the Season of the Witch (1982), the character of Michael Myers was brought back six years later in the The Return of Michael Myers (1988).
Video Halloween II (1981 film)
Plot
On October 31, 1978, Michael Myers was shot and fell from the balcony. Taking shelter to recover from his injuries, Michael steals a kitchen knife from an elderly couple's house, and kills a teenage girl who lives next door.
Laurie Strode, who survived the death killed by Michael at night, was taken to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, while Dr. Sam Loomis, keep chasing Michael. While with Sheriff Leigh Brackett, Loomis finds and pursues teenager Ben Tramer, who is dressed as Michael, but an approaching police car suddenly bumps into a teenager, killing him in the process. Sheriff Brackett received word of the death of his daughter, Annie. Blaming Loomis for his death, Sheriff Brackett returns home to tell his wife about it, leaving Vice Gary Hunt in charge of helping Loomis.
At the hospital, Jimmy's paramedics developed romantic feelings for Laurie, who disappointed the nurse's chief. Alves. Michael found Laurie's location on the radio, because of news about the murder that reached the media, and walked to the hospital. Once there, he cuts the phone line, disables the car, and kills the hospital personnel. Mr. Security Officer Garrett descended to restore strength in the basement, and was killed with a hammer's claw to his skull. Med paramedics were strangled, while Nurse Karen was scalded by hot water in the hospital hot tub, while Mrs. Alves was connected to an IV by Michael as it slowly drained Mrs. Alves's blood. Meanwhile Janet rushed to find Dr. Mixter, only to find him dead with a stuck needle into his eyes. Before he can escape, Michael kills him with a syringe. Jimmy and Nurse Jill Franco searched the hospital for Laurie, who tried to avoid Michael; Jimmy found Mrs. Alves's body, and slipped in a pool of blood on the floor, losing consciousness.
Elsewhere, Loomis was told that Michael entered the local elementary school. As he investigates, Loomis's colleague Marion Chambers and a marshal come to escort Loomis back to Smith's Grove on the orders of the governor. Along the way, Marion tells Loomis that Laurie is Michael's sister, but the information is kept secret for her safety. With the realization that Michael was after Laurie, Loomis ordered the marshal to return to Haddonfield.
Only after finding Laurie, Jill is killed by Michael who holds the scalpel, who then chases Laurie through the hospital. Laurie ran to the parking lot, and hid in Jimmy's car. Upon realizing, Jimmy got out of the hospital, and got into the car for help, but he fell unconscious on the steering wheel because of his wound, reminding Michael to their location. Loomis, Marion, and Marshall reached the hospital just in time to save Laurie. Loomis shot Michael five more times. When Marion attempts to contact the police, Michael kills the marshal, and chases Loomis and Laurie into the operating room. Michael stabbed Loomis in the stomach, injuring him, but Laurie shot Michael in his eyes, blinding him. Loomis and Laurie fill the room with ether and oxygen gas. Loomis ordered Laurie to run and sacrifice herself by turning on the gas, which blew up the operating room with her and Michael inside, exterminating them both in the fire. Michael, engulfed in flames, stumbled out of the room before falling dead. Early the following morning, Laurie was put into the ambulance and pushed to safety, after imagining Michael's body burning in his mind.
Maps Halloween II (1981 film)
Cast
Production
Development
Carpenter and Hill, first author of Halloween, initially considered setting a sequel a few years after the Halloween event. They plan to have Myers track Laurie Strode to his new home in a high-rise apartment building. However, the arrangement was later converted to Haddonfield Hospital in a script meeting.
Halloween executive producer Irwin Yablans and Moustapha Akkad invested in the sequel, boasting a much larger budget than its predecessor: $ 2.5 million (compared to only $ 320,000 for the original) even though Carpenter refused to direct. Most of the films were taken at Morningside Hospital in Los Angeles, California, and Pasadena Community Hospital in Pasadena, California. There is a discussion of making the film Halloween II in 3-D; Hill said, "We are investigating a number of 3-D processes... but they are too expensive for this particular project, and most of the projects we do involve a lot of night shoots - crimes lurking in the night It's hard to do that in 3-D. "
This sequel is intended to conclude the story of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode. The third movie, Halloween III: Season of the Witch , released a year later, contains a plot deviating entirely from the first two films. Tommy Lee Wallace, director of Halloween III, stated, "It is our intention to create an anthology of the series, sort of along the Night Gallery line, or The Twilight Zone , just on a much larger scale, of course. "When asked, in an interview in 1982, what happened to Myers and Loomis, Carpenter flatly replied," The shape is dead, the fun character is also dead, unfortunately. " Neither Carpenter nor Hill was involved in the next sequel featuring Michael Myers again.
Write
The scenario from Halloween II was written by Carpenter and Hill. In a 1981 interview with Fangoria magazine Hill mentioned that the finished film was somewhat different from the initial draft of the scenario. The plot turning from Laurie to sister Michael requires a retcon of the timeline between Judith's murder and the events described in first Halloween; while Michael Myers is said to have committed crimes fifteen years ago and became twenty-one years old.
Film critic Roger Ebert, who praised the first film, notes that the flow of the sequel is rather simple: "The plot of Halloween II really depends, of course, on our old friend, Idiot Plot, which requires everyone in a movie behave at any time like an idiot.That's necessary because if anyone uses common sense, the problem will be solved and the movie will end. "The characters are depicted as shallow and like boxes. Hill rejects such criticism by saying that "in the thriller, what the character says is often irrelevant, especially in a sequence whose purpose is to build tension."
Historian Nicholas Rogers argues that some of the film appears to have gained inspiration from "contemporary controversy surrounding the holidays themselves." He pointed specifically to scenes in the film when a boy in a pirate costume arrived at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital with a razor blade lodged in his mouth, a reference to the urban legend of contaminated Halloween candy. According to Rogers, "The Halloween movie opened behind a steaming story about Halloween sadism and is clearly traded on uncertainty surrounding the trick-or-treating and general security festival."
Casting
The main cast of Halloween changed their role in the sequel with the exception of Nick Castle, who has played adult Michael Myers in the original. British veteran actor Pleasence continues Dr. Sam Loomis, who has been a Myers psychiatrist for the past 15 years while Myers was instituted at Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Curtis (then 22), returned to play teenage caregiver Laurie Strode, sister of Myers. Curtis needed a wig for Laurie Strode's long-haired role, because his hair was cut shorter. Charles Cyphers imitated the role of Sheriff Leigh Brackett, although his character disappeared from the film when his daughter's body Annie (Nancy Loomis) was found. Nancy Loomis appears as Annie in a cameo role when her father, Sheriff Brackett, closes his eyes when his corpse is taken out of the house on a stretcher. Actor Hunter von Leer heads the hunt for Myers in the role of Deputy Gary Hunt. He admitted in an interview that he had never seen Halloween before being cast in the section. He stated, "I do not see the original first but come from a small town, I want the Deputy to have mercy." Nancy Stephens, who plays Loomis nurse Marion Chambers in the original language, also changes her character and is given a more important role, revealing to Loomis the family relationship between Laurie and Michael.
The acrobatic player Dick Warlock plays Michael Myers (as in Halloween, listed as "The Shape" in credits), replacing Castle who started his career as a director. Warlock's previous experiences in the film were as a substitute in films such as The Green Barrels (1968) and Jaws (1975), and the 1974 TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker >. In an interview, Warlock explains how he prepared the role since Myers received more time on screen than the original version. Warlock said,
[I watched the scene] where Laurie curled up in the closet. Michael broke through. He took the hanger and thrust it into his eyes. Michael fell and Laurie walked to the doorway of the room and sat down. In the background, we see Michael sitting up and turning towards him in the rhythm of the music.... Anyway, that and the tilt are the things I bring with me to Halloween II . I really did not see much more to hang my hat in the first movie.
Warlock also claims that the mask he wears is the same as Nick Castle used in the first film. Hill confirmed this in an interview.
The supporting cast consists of relatively unknown actor and actress, except for Jeffrey Kramer and Ford Rainey. Most of the previous cast or later appear in a movie or television series by Universal Studios (distributor for this film). Kramer had previously played a supporting role as Deputy Jeff Hendricks at Jaws and Jaws 2 (1978). In Halloween II , Kramer plays Dr. Graham, a dentist examining the scorched remains of a boy confused with Myers. Rainey was chosen to play the drunken home doctor Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, Frederick Mixter. A number of character actors are cast as hospital staff. Many acquaintances director Rosenthal. He told an interviewer, "I have studied acting with Milton Katselas in the Beverly Hills Playhouse and I brought many people from Playhouse to Halloween 2 ." These include Pamela Susan Shoop, Leo Rossi, Ana Alicia and Gloria Gifford. Rossi plays the role of Budd Scarlotti, a hiperseksual EMS driver who mocks Jimmy as a "college student."
Shoop plays Nurse Karen Bailey, who was scalded to death by Myers in a hospital therapy tub. Featured in the only naked scene in the film, Shoop discusses shooting the scene in an interview: "Now it's hard! The water is cold, and poor Leo Rossi and I can barely keep our teeth from chattering! The water is also pretty dirty and I end up with ear infections. "Gifford and Alicia play a small supporting role as Mrs. Virginia Alves and orderly Janet Marshall. Actor Lance Guest plays an EMS driver, Jimmy. Last Starfighter director Nick Castle stated in an interview, "When I was assigned to film, Lance Guest was the first name I wrote on my list for Alex after seeing him on Halloween II Saturday Night Live and Wayne's World Dana Carvey stars also briefly appear in non-speaking roles, wearing blue baseball caps and receiving instructions from TV reporters.
Redirecting
Carpenter refused to direct the sequel and initially approached Tommy Lee Wallace, art director of the original Halloween , to take over the wheel. Carpenter told an interviewer, "I once made the movie once and I really do not want to do it again." After Wallace refused, Carpenter chose Rosenthal, a relatively unknown and inexperienced director whose previous credits included episodes from the Secret Midland Heights series (1980-1981). In an interview with Twilight Zone Magazine, Carpenter explained that Rosenthal was chosen because "he did a great short called Toyer .That's full of excitement and tension and extraordinary looks."
Style, Rosenthal tries to create elements and themes from the original film. The opening title features a jack-o'-lantern that splits into two to reveal the human skull. In the original, the camera is enlarged in the jack-o'-lantern left eye. The first scene of the film is presented through the first-person camera format in which a voyeuristic Michael Myers enters the house of an elderly couple and steals a knife from the kitchen. Rosenthal tries to reproduce the "jumping" scene on Halloween, but does not film Myers on the periphery, which he appears in many of his original scenes. Under Rosenthal's direction, Myers is the main feature of most scenes. In an interview with Luke Ford, Rosenthal explained,
The first movie I ever did [Halloween II] is a sequel, but it should be an immediate continuation. It started one minute after the first movie ended. You must strive to maintain the first film style. I want it to feel like a two-part. You have the responsibility and restraint of the established style. It's the same crew. My philosophy is to do more thriller than slasher movies.
The decision to include more gore and nudity in the sequel was not made by Rosenthal, who argued that it was Carpenter who chose to make the film bleed more than the original. According to the film's official website, "Carpenter came and directed some sequences to clean up some of Rosenthal's work." One film reviewer noted that "Carpenter, concerned that the image would be considered too 'tame' by a violent audience, re-filed several death scenes with more gore." When asked about his role in the lead process, Carpenter told an interviewer:
That's a long and long story. It is a project I follow as a result of some kind of pressure. I have no influence on the direction of the film. I have influence in postproduction. I saw a rough piece Halloween II , and it was not scary. It's just as scary as Quincy . So we had to do some post-production work to bring it at least on par with the competition.
Rosenthal was unhappy with Carpenter's change. He reportedly complained that Carpenter "destroyed my [fast] [fast] movie." Regardless, many graphical scenes contain elements not seen before in the movie. Roger Ebert claims, "This film has the first close-up I remember of a syringe inserted into the eyeball." The film is often categorized as a splatter film rather than a sword movie due to the high level of viscous blood. Film critic John McCarty wrote of the spark film: "[They] aim not to scare their audience, of course, or to push them to the edge of their seats in suspense, but to embarrass them with explicit gore scenes." In the splatter film, indeed the message.... "Rosenthal then directs the eighth film in Halloween series, Halloween: Resurrection (2002), which contains graphic hardness content.
Music
Carpenter compiled and scored with Alan Howarth, who was previously involved in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), and worked with Carpenter on several projects including Escape from New York i (1981), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), Christine (1983), and Prince of Darkness (1987). The movie score is a variation of the Carpenter composition of Halloween, especially the familiar piano melody played by the main song in a 5/4 time rhythm. Scores are performed on organ synthesizers rather than pianos. One reviewer for the BBC described the revised score as having "a more gothic feel." The reviewer insists that it "does not sound as good as the original piece", but "it still remains a classic piece of music."
The film features the song "Mr Sandman" performed by The Chordettes, which will then be featured in the opening scene Halloween H20: 20 Years Later . Reviewer commented on the decision to include this song in the movie, calling the "interesting" and "not the songs that you would associate with a movie like this one." The song works well to "emulate Laurie's situation (sleep a lot), [making] innocent-sounding lyrics seem threatening in a horror movie." Another critic saw the entry of the song as "inappropriate" and asked, "What is that about it ?"
Release
To advertise Halloween II , Universal prints a poster showing a skull that struck the pumpkin. This image is depicted by film historian and sociologist Robert E. Kapsis as "an unmistakable horror motive". Kapsis indicates that in 1981 horror had "become a genre of non grata" with criticism. This effect can be seen in the promotions of distributors of this film as a horror while at the same time emphasizing that the sequel, like its predecessor, "is more of a quality tension film than a horror movie 'slice and dice'." The use of the More Of The Night HE Came Home tagline - a modified version of the original tag Halloween - hopes to complete the same task.
Theatrical run
Halloween II aired on October 30, 1981. The film grossed $ 7,446,508 on its opening weekend. The rights were sold to Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis and the film was distributed by Universal. While the gross income of the sequel paled in comparison to the original $ 47 million, it was a success in itself, surpassing the earnings of other films of the same genre released in 1981: Friday the 13th Part 2 ( $ 21,722,776), Omen III: The Last Conflict ($ 20,471,382) and The Howling ($ 17,985.893). Internationally, Halloween II was released across Europe, but banned in West Germany and Iceland due to graphic violence and nudity; the 1986 release on home video was banned in Norway. The film is featured in Canada, Australia, Philippines and Japan.
Novelization
An adaptation of the scenario was printed as a mass-market novel in 1981 by the horror and science-fiction writer Dennis Etchison under the pseudonym Jack Martin. Novelization Etchison is distributed by Kensington Books and became a bestseller. It also displays black and white images from the movie at the beginning of each chapter.
Television
An alternative version of Halloween II (sometimes referred to as 'The TV Cut') has been aired on television since the early 1980s (most recently at AMC and Chiller), with most graphic and blood violence edited and many additional little scenes were added, while others were removed. The length of the film is still running almost identical to the theatrical version. There are many edits like Alice's murder, Dr. Mixter, Janet, and Mrs. Alves - all is considered still happening, but some are off the camera. Jimmy's discovery of Ny. Alves has died and his subsequent derailment in a pool of blood has been significantly shortened (or removed entirely in some prints) and moved just before the explosion that killed Myers. Also added scenes Michael cuts power (this explains the dark arrangement throughout the second half of the film) and the electric generator kicks in. There was also an additional dialogue between Laurie and Jimmy, Laurie and Mrs. Alves, Janet and Karen, Karen and Mr. Garrett, Bud and Karen, Jill and Jimmy, etc. Another important difference is the murder of Marshall. In the theatrical version his throat is slashed, while in the TV version it softens, with Michael grabbing it and stabbing it from behind (no detail is shown). While the theatrical version ends with the death of Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis and leaving the audience in the gray area as to whether Jimmy survived, the piece of television showed a long ending showing Jimmy alive (with head wound wrapped from his slip) in an ambulance with Laurie Strode. They held hands and Laurie said, "We did it."
Release home video
Halloween II was first released on VHS and laserdisc in 1982 by MCA/Universal Home Video and later by Goodtimes Home Video. From 1998, the DVD edition has also been released by these companies. Yelling! The factory re-released the film in a 2-disc DVD and Blu-ray edition DVD on September 18, 2012 with new special features, including alternative television pieces.
Although the film was released with an 'X' certificate for its British theater performance, the 18-VHS release of a 17 second BBFC cut that greatly reduced the violence and nudity during Karen's killing in the jacuzzi. The deduction was finally released for the 2002 Asylum DVD, and all subsequent releases were completely cut off.
In 2007, the film was released as a two-disc double "Universal feature" with Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Lions Gate re-released the movie on DVD in Australia in 2008 without any special features. On October 13, 2013, the film was re-released on DVD in Australia by Via Vision Entertainment with the same extra DVD as the launch of Scream Factory AS.
Blu-ray release
Universal Studios released the film on Blu-ray in the United States on September 13, 2011. It's packed as a 30th Anniversary Edition and includes a deleted scene, My Scene screen, Pocket BLU apps, alternative endings and documentary features 1984 Terror in Aisles .
The release sparked immediate controversy due to the fact that Universal removed the credit "Moustapha Akkad Presents" and replaced it with "Universal, An MCA Company, Presents"... in a font that does not match the rest of the opening credits. Akkad's son, Malek, called the acrobat "disgusting. It's a shame [;] obviously, biased [.] [O] roughly, every horror fan would regard this as an insult to the person who has done so much to the series. And to come after his tragic death, he is not even there to defend himself. It's not classy. I'm talking to Universal now and they're looking for it. ' "However, Akkad is still credited on the packaging.Fans immediately called for a boycott of the disk and set up a Facebook page.On November 28, Universal began sending an email announcing that the revised Blu-ray is now available and for previous disk owners to provide the studio with their "address and daytime phone number".
Yelling! The factory re-releases the film in a 2-disc Collector's Edition Blu-ray on September 18, 2012 under the new Scream Factory label with new special features, including two new audio comments, two new features "behind the scenes", deleted scenes, alternate endings, trailer theater, TV and radio place, and still the gallery. The Collector's edition also contains a TV snippet, along with downloadable scripts from the movie, on a second DVD disc for both release formats. The new Blu-ray release restores Akkad's credit. Blu-ray was released in Australia on October 13, 2013 with the addition of Blu-ray, TV cut scenes and trailers.
Merchandising
Trick or Treat Studios has released a series of official masks and costumes of Halloween II , costumes and props from Universal Studio, which began in October 2012. Some of them include Halloween II Michael Masker Myers, Michael Myers Halloween mask with tears of blood, Michael Myers props, and Michael Myers shirt.
Reception
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that Halloween II represents the "fall of greatness" that "does not even seek to do justice to the real." He also commented, "Instead, he tries to defeat all the other [Halloween] violence from the last few years." Web-based criticism, James Berardinelli, offers a very stinging review:
The main problem is the basic motivation of the film. Halloween is a work of love, made by people who are committed to creating the most thrilling and engaging movies they can. Halloween II is driven by a desire to make money. It is postscript - and not a very good one - slapped together because box office success is guaranteed.
He accused Carpenter and Hill of not believing "in this project the way they believe in the originals, and it shows in the final product." Creepiness of the first film has been replaced by a recurring sense of boredom. " Berardinelli was not impressed with the decision to give Myers so much screen time. He said, "The Shape, which is a sinister and sinister force, has turned into a slow zombie.All characters have been dilobotomi, and, according to the slasher trend, gore content has gone up.Almost no blood on Halloween; Halloween II cheerfully piled it up. "
Janet Maslin of The New York Times compares this film with another horror sequel and a slasher movie that was recently released in the early 1980s than the original. "With the latest horror film standards, this - like its predecessor - is a class act." He notes that there are "various crimes, because there are characters, and the audience is more likely to shout more at moments of thrill than the scary ones." Maslin praised the performance of the players and Rosenthal and concluded, "It may not have demanded a lot of horror movies, but that's more than many of them offer." David Pirie's "Time Out" magazine gave a positive sign to Rosenthal's movie, stating, "Rosenthal is not Carpenter, but he's done a fair job to emulate the last visual style in this sequel." He writes that the Myers character has evolved since the first film became the "Absolute Crime agent." Film historian Jim Harper points out, "Time has been a bit fairer for the movie" than the original criticism. In retrospect, "many critics have admitted that it is much better than the many imitators who flooded the genre in the eighties."
Like the original Halloween , this film and other slasher films have come under fire from feminist critics. According to historian Nicholas Rogers, academic critics "have seen films of slaughter since Halloween as undermining women as decisive ways such as hardcore pornography." Critics like John Kenneth Muir point out that female characters like Laurie Strode survive not because of "good planning" or their own intelligence, but luck alone. Though he managed to repel the killer several times, in the end, Strode was rescued in Halloween only when Dr. Loomis arrives to shoot Myers.
In 1982, the Academy of Fiction Scientific, Fantasy & amp; Horror Films, USA, nominated the film for two Saturn Awards: Best Horror Movie and Best Actor for Fun. The film was defeated by
" Halloween II killing"
An incident with a small connection to the film heightens attitudes about the powerful effects of media violence on young people. On December 7, 1982, Richard Delmer Boyer of El Monte, California, killed Francis and Eileen Harbitz, an elderly couple in Fullerton, California, leading to the trial of People v. Boyer (1989). The pair were stabbed 43 times by Boyer. According to the trial transcript, Boyer's defense is that he suffered from hallucinations at Harbitz's residence brought by the "Halloween film II", which the defendant had seen under the influence of PCP, marijuana, and alcohol. The film is played for the jury, and a psychopharmacologist "shows the similarities between the scenes and the vision the defendant described."
Boyer was found guilty and sentenced to death. The incident is known as the "Halloween II" killing and is featured in a short segment of TNT's Monstervision , hosted by film critic Joe Bob Briggs. After the trial, moral criticism came to defend a horror movie and refused a call to ban them. Thomas M. Sipos, for example, states,
It would be ridiculous, after all, to ban horror movies just because Boyer claims to have thought that he was reviving Halloween II, or to ban cars because Texas housewife Clara Harris deliberately ran down and killed her husband. Nor does it make sense to ban useful items such as drugs or weapons simply because some people abuse them.
References
External links
- Official website from the Halloween series.
- Halloween II at AllMovie
- Halloween II on IMDb
- Halloween II at Rotten Tomatoes
- Halloween II in Box Office Mojo
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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