Halloween II (1981) Reviewed By Anubis Cast & Crew credits Yes, box office bucks beget sequels yet again as Michael Myers continues his Halloween night stab festival, this time with a higher body count, more graphic violence and implements of torture and death that extend beyond the realm of the kitchen. This time young Laurie, who should be rewarded with more than her usual fee of $5 and full fridge privileges for this night of babysitting above and beyond the call of duty, is taken to the Haddonfield hospital to get some of those stab wounds healed. Mikey (who's revealed in a sidebar here to be Laurie's big brother) follows the "always looked like she's 35" heroine and offs everybody else in the facility, but fails to kill the incapacitated young lady who's his real target. Instead, the seemingly unstoppable kill machine is blown to the proverbial smithereenies like Wile E. Coyote thanks to the selfless sacrifice of Dr. Sammy Loomis, a loaded gun and a roomful of oxygen tanks and ether. Thus ends the threat of Michael Myers... at least for the next sequel. After that he's fair game again. The Misadventures of Miguel Myers give up the whole "we're an artsy, independent type horror movie, ya mooks!" attempt and instead embraces it's place as a full-on slasher flick, this of course following the bank brought on by Betsy Palmer's matriarcal rampage one year earlier and son Jason's murder spree that followed in the epic 365 days that would be known as "1981". The absurdities are plenty (the poorly lit hospital, the lack of a full night staff at said hospital and Jamie Lee's uncanny marksmanship with a revolver despite no prior experience to name a few), the violence is excessive (syringes into eyeballs, flesh boiled in scalding water, business end of a claw hammer to the back of an unsuspecting head, etc.) and the back story complicates itself (Mike is Laurie's brother and there's something about the Pagan holiday/deity Samhain going on here?!), all in what's become the true slasher serial state of affairs. Though I applaud Carpenter, Hill and Rosenthal for seemingly giving up their delusions and accepting the series for what it is, Halloween II really isn't any better than the first, but it's not exactly any worse. It's comparing apples and mountain oysters: two entirely different orbs. I could ball up a pile of shit and paint it red, but it doesn't affect the price of bull testicles in Beirut, now does it? My point? I have none. Why not? Your guess is as good as mine, I'm just here for the free cheese balls and $3 champagne. Moral of the Story: When threatened with budget constraints, hospitals will cut back on their staff, stop buying replacement light bulbs and greatly diminish the quality of their security. Sequels: Halloween III: Season of the Witch , Halloween IV: the Return of Michael Myers , Halloween V: the Revenge of Michael Myers , Halloween: the Curse of Michael Myers , Halloween: H20 , Halloween: Ressurection Sequel To: Halloween

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