HALLOWEEN II: 4K Blu-ray (Universal/Moustapha Akkad, 1981) Shout!/Scream Factory

Rick Rosenthal's Halloween II (1981) ought to be ‘required viewing’ for any director attempting a sequel, remake or update of a classic horror film. This sequel pulls off the near impossible feat of matching John Carpenter's horror classic chill for chill. And, it remains so reverent to the mood, tone, style and pacing of the original that it’s pretty hard to discern both films were not directed by the same person or, in fact, made in tandem. But no, 3 full years had actually passed between Carpenter’s debut scare-fest and this follow-up, the only discernible clue of that passage of time (for those, scrutinizing the picture), Jamie Lee Curtis’ wig to replicate her original hairstyle in the first movie (Curtis, having bobbed her tresses since for another film role). Otherwise, an uncanny continuity is upheld, the result being that to watch both movies back-to-back feels very much like one 4-hour epic slasher. Despite Dick Warlock taking over as 'the shape' from Nick Castle in the original, I have never been able to note any jarring differences in the performances given herein. Purists: please don't flood me with examples of how Warlock and Castle differ in their take on Michael Myers. Let us merely agree they do, but unremarkably so to the untrained eye. Scripted by John Carpenter and Debra Hill Halloween II takes up exactly where the original movie ended. Doctor Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance) sends Michael Myers (Dick Warlock) over a second story balcony to his presumed death, firing six slugs into him with his revolver. Regrettably, the inhuman Michael is immune to gunfire. He gets up and continues his bloodthirsty pursuit of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), the only survivor from the first movie.

After witnessing the slaughter of virtually all her high school friends, Laurie is in a state of catatonia. She is hurried to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital by attending EMS workers, Budd (Leo Rossi) and Jimmy (Lance Guest) for treatment (In the original script by Hill and Carpenter Michael stalked Laurie through her new high rise apartment complex). The hospital is well staffed, but totally unprepared for the evil lurking just outside. Despite her protestations, Dr. Mixter (Ford Rainey) administers a powerful sedative. This leaves Laurie incoherent and barely conscious. Meanwhile, Michael arrives at the hospital to inflict his carnage. Systematically he picks off the staff one at a time and in the most terrifyingly creative ways. He drains the blood from head nurse, Mrs. Alves (Gloria Gifford) by strapping her to a gurney in an operating room. He also strangles a naked Budd, drowns Budd's girlfriend, Nurse Karen (Pamela Sue Shoop) in a scorching recuperative bath that peels away her skin, sticks a hypodermic needle through Nurse Janet's (Ana Alicia) eye, whacks a hammer through the skull of security guard Mr. Garrett (Cliff Emmich) and sticks a knife into Nurse Jill's (Tawny Moyer) back, using it as a handle to raise her up to the ceiling until her shoes fall off. If nothing else, we have to give Carpenter and Hill top marks for keeping the slaughter amusing and varied at all times.

In the meantime, Laurie becomes semi-conscious. Realizing she must escape Michael once more, Laurie stumbles through the bowels of the hospital, crawling on wounded hands and knees through tight windows and air ducts until Sam Loomis arrives. He confronts Michael inside one of the operating rooms, opens the valves on the oxygen tanks and instructs Laurie to run for her life, moments before igniting the tainted air with an open flame from his cigarette lighter. Michael emerges from this blaze as a human torch, but falls to his 'presumed death' inches away from a traumatized Laurie. In the original cut, the intention was to reunite Jimmy and Laurie in the back of an ambulance pulling out of Haddonfield Memorial with Laurie in tow. Earlier in the story, Jimmy, having discovered Mrs. Alves drained of her plasma, though – in the dark - quite unaware he is standing in a pool of her blood, slipped and fell, striking his head on the hard tile floor, presumably to have rendered him with either a concussion or actually caused him to crack his own skull and die. For whatever reason, only the TV version of Halloween II contained this more optimistic reunion between Laurie and Jimmy. The film version left Laurie alone, weakened, and departing for another facility in which, we are to assume, she will receive the proper care and be restored to her health.

Despite its more gruesome assemblage of murders, the ante upped to accommodate audience’s expectations more than to satisfy Carpenter’s thirst for blood (indeed, Carpenter has always insisted ‘real horror’ is in the mind of the viewer, not in the graphic depiction of violence on the screen (and proved this validity with the original Halloween), Halloween II is nevertheless a very spooky film. In keeping with Carpenter’s original intent, the slaughter in Rosenthal’s sequel is tempered and ‘creatively’ executed, mostly photographed in half-shadow with quick edits. We get just enough to shock us out of our seats without turning our stomachs. Thus, Halloween II remains a clever addendum to the original movie, in a way that so many horror movies today, regrettably, are not.  It was always Carpenter's intent his serial killer should die at the end of this sequel. That various directors have continued to resurrect Michael Myers from the ashes ever since, and with the original producer, Moustapha Akkad’s blessing, though very much without Carpenter’s direct participation and/or finesse, is a pity because none of the subsequent movies to have come down this franchise’s pipeline ably retain the original’s all-pervasive air of unbridled evil that permeates every frame of Halloween and nearly all of the scenes in this first sequel. Director Rosenthal has gleaned valuable lessons from the master. He recaptures Carpenter’s mood and terror without 'aping' it. Stylistically, Rosenthal manages another minor coup. His staging retains the best elements of suspense from the first movie, never devolving into pure camp or gory homage. Carpenter was recalled to the studio after the first rough cut had been assembled to tweak the footage. Rosenthal was reportedly not pleased with this decision or with what he perceived as Carpenter's creative 'tampering'. Nevertheless, Halloween II stands on its own because of Rosenthal's meticulous attention to detail.

Halloween II arrives in 4K Blu-ray from Shout!/Scream Factory, and, in another stunningly handsome image harvest, derived from an original camera negative, color-timed to perfection by the picture’s original cinematographer, Dean Cundey. Like the previously reviewed release of Halloween, the sequel has been afforded a spanking new Dolby Atmos mix that, ironically, is not quite as immersive as the audio upgrade afforded its predecessor. First, the video: superbly rendered in every way, with exceptionally nuanced colors, marvelously achieved film grain, and minute details abounding, even from the darkest recesses of the screen. Contrast could scarcely be better. The color palette here favors ‘reds’ and ‘blues’ and looks incredible. There are no age-related artifacts. The image is crisp and solid. You are going to love this presentation. The Atmos mix here is at the mercy of the original sound design. This always sounded strident and tinny, much more so than the original movie – go figure. So here, the results, while better, are still not quite as good as one might anticipate. We get 2 audio commentaries, the first, featuring Rosenthal, the second starring Dick Warlock who, in addition to playing ‘the shape’ here, also coordinated all the stunt work in this sequel. Disc 2, contains the same 4K upgrade on standard Blu-ray though, curiously, with only Warlock’s audio commentary intact. Added to the mix is the documentary, The Nightmare Isn’t Over – The Making of Halloween II, with interviews from Rosenthal, Warlock, composer, Alan Howarth, Dean Cundey and others, also, an episode of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds, deleted scenes and alternate endings with optional commentary from Rosenthal, a stills gallery and theatrical trailer, TV and radio spots. Regrettably, Shout!/Scream has not seen fit to include a hi-def transfer of the TV cut of Halloween II. It is included here, but only as a DVD. Also sadly missed, Andrew J. Kuehn’s documentary on the history of horror movies, Terror in the Isles, which was included on Universal's 30th Anniversary Blu-ray of Halloween II. Bottom line: as with the original movie, Halloween II’s arrival in 4K is a quality affair not to be missed by horror purists and fans of this franchise. The extras lack the comprehensiveness of the first movie’s offering via Shout!, but otherwise, this one is a no-brainer.

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

4.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

5+

EXTRAS

4