HALLOWEEN: 20 YEARS LATER (Monsters at Play Film Review)

 

What exactly were John Carpenter and Debra Hill thinking when they set out to write the continuation to their breakout hit Halloween? That 1978 shocker was not only a critical and box office success, it became the most successful independent film ever made at the time. In Halloween Michael Myers is the personification of the boogeyman. Though his motivation is vague, the script is just literate enough and the cinematography clever enough, to imply why Myers might be compelled to stalk intrepid babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). After escaping from a sanitarium 15 years to the day he murdered his sister Judith, Myers returns to his childhood home. Watching from a window he sees the teenage Laurie who is the same age as the sister he butchered. She’s interacting with a young boy only a few years older than he was when he committed the act. He’s also standing at the very door he walked through right after the crime. As Laurie walks away from the house Myers watches as she sings to herself, “I wish that we were all alone, just the two of us…”

Michael (Nick Castle) watches Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) walk away from the Myers house.

 It’s not a huge stretch to assume that the masked madman might view this an invitation to dance. Halloween 2 elaborates on this subtle “Laurie as sister” theme by unashamedly making her his actual sister. Because Judith’s murder appeared to be punishment for her sexual encounter with her boyfriend, Myers reasons for wanting his chaste younger sister dead are simply nonsensical. This third act revelation from the charmless sequel cast a pall over the entire Halloween series. By giving Myers a reason to kill (however slight), it altered his personae from neighborhood boogeyman to an obsessed psycho who merely wanted to off his entire family. (It’s a conceit practically inspired though when compared to the further revelations about Myers in the subsequent sequels.) Carpenter stated early on that what made The Shape such a scary presence was that he was a complete enigma. The more you know about the thing in the shadows, the less frightening (and compelling) it is.

THE SHAPE stalks the Strode girl.

 It only took them 20 years to get the boogeyman back where he belonged: in the darkness, waiting for the Strode girl. But 20 years later, Strode is no longer a girl but a functioning alcoholic with a treat bag filled with angst. She’s also no longer Laurie Strode after faking her death and changing her name to Keri Tate. Tate is now the headmistress of a private California boarding school and the mother of 18-year-old John (Josh Hartnett). Bypassing the Shape shenanigans of Parts 4 –6 (where Laurie is dead and Myers goes after her orphaned daughter) writers Robert Zappia and Matt Greenberg connect the dots directly from Halloween 2. Though shot in both eyes and burned in an explosion, the persistent Myers has been wandering the world in search of his sister for several years.

Michael (Chris Durand) tracks down Marion (Nancy Stephens) who has information on Laurie's whereabouts.

On October 29, 1998 he finally tracks down the home of the late Sam Loomis (the late Donald Pleasence). Loomis, it turns out, had a rather surprising relationship with Nurse Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens from H1&2) and shared a home with her. After finding a secret file on his sister, Myers finally ends the life of the nurse who survived a previous attack 20 years ago that night. He learns of Laurie’s whereabouts and heads out to California to end the life of sister number two once and for all. Back at the boarding school, Keri deals with recurring nightmares and a drinking problem. Her Halloween ordeal has made her overly protective of her son; putting the two at odds with her extreme behavior. A school camping trip over the Halloween weekend pits the mother and son against each other. Keri doesn’t want him leaving home; especially during this troubling anniversary. Though Keri concedes at the last minute, John and his friends have already planned a private Halloween celebration on the empty campus (where the Tate’s also live). Thinking that John has left with the rest of the students, Keri plans a party of her own with school instructor Will (Adam Arkin).

Keri AKA Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) finally sees Michael (Chris Durand).

Soon Myers shows up and begins another Halloween cutting up some randy teens before setting his sights on sis. Halloween H20 is a satisfying denouement to the saga; thanks in no small part to Curtis’ involvement. Her performance here is both brave and exhilarating; there isn’t one false note in the reprise of her best-known role. Her grounding portrayal of the broken Laurie makes the Myers menace all the more plausible – and even scary. She is ably supported by a cast of solid actors including her mother Janet Leigh (in a fun cameo), L.L. Cool J., Michelle Williams and the aforementioned Arkin and Hartnet. This belated valentine to fans of the series was directed with great skill by the underrated Steve Minor (director of the scariest Friday the 13^th installment - Part 2). Halloween: H20 is a fitting finale to the long night HE came home.

Yes Keri, HALLOWEEN 2 was just a bad dream.