I really hate this family...

Halloween 2 (2009)

     To say Laurie Strode is disturbed would be a gigantic understatement. The movie starts with her wandering the streets after an extremely traumatic situation. She's ushered to the hospital where we're treated to emergency services going over her body that's just been ravaged. The 'dead' body of Michael dumped in a van, and off to the morgue it goes. Predictably, Michael is not dead, the van hits a cow, and guess who's running around the countryside chopping people up. Somehow he has no problem finding Laurie in the hospital. Like, in under 15 minutes. Naturally he butchers the shit out of all the nurses as Laurie escapes. After spending 26 minutes running, screaming, seeing another security guard butchered....ooop...ha-ha, fuck you. It's a dream. Laurie wakes up screaming because she's had a massive nightmare.

     Oh look, Michael really IS still alive and starts stabbing the fuck out of everything. Because that's really all this movie is. Chopping up people, spraying blood everywhere. I guess he really DID survive that van wreck.What made him bulletproof? Was he bitten by a spider or some shit? Yes, there was a transition scene featuring a white horse and his dead mother spirit, but I dismissed it because it seemed hoaky.  Michael is shown having visions of his dead family, and in his mind, he's trying to put everyone together. So it appears he wants to kill Laurie so they can all be a family again. He also cuts up a dog and eats its raw innards. And since this has become a family movie, it should be noted that Laurie is also starting to crack into psychosis.

One word: Cardio.

     One question, however: Why did they make Dr. Loomis such an insufferable prick? He was a man of integrity, but they've made him to be a complete asshole who's only interested in chasing money. It makes very little sense and robbed McDowell of the opportunity to expand Loomis in a much deeper character. He's built up to be brought down in a violent way and it seemed so far from his character. There might have been a slight hint in prior film, but this was an extreme flip. It was a wasted opportunity, I feel.

     Without a doubt, there's a lot of horror in this film. Very disturbing scenes that work. No, it won't give you nightmares, but there will be times when you look at the screen and go 'fuuuuuu....'. HOWEVER...you might find yourself becoming desensitized to all the blood drenched scenes. It becomes tiresome but I have to say the best moments are those long 'God-pauses' Michael takes right before stabbing the shit out of whom ever is in front of him, or just happens to be in the same room.

Cast notes

Howard Hessman?

Margot Kidder

Weird Al?!? (Actually, it makes sense when you see it)

So there it is. I've watched every Halloween movie as of 2017. As I've said before, this franchise has been all over the place, and has also had its ups and downs (mostly downs). But the important thing is, I never have to see them again. And I probably won't. However, it should be noted that horror franchises don't end. They just pause....

Halloween 2018