Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
1998 Miramax Films/Dimension Films
Directed by: Steve Miner; Written by: Robert Zappia (and an uncredited Kevin Williamson)
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Adam Arkin, Michelle Williams, Adam Hann-Byrd, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Janet Leigh, Josh Hartnett, LL Cool J, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 86 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 7/10
20 years after Laurie Strode was terrorized by a psychotic, murderous masked man AND found out that masked man was her brother, she's long since faked her death, changed her name, and moved to a new town. She has a son, John, who's now turning 17, and she's even become the headmistress of a private boarding school. Of course, it's tough to just get beyond the memory of a brotherly evil murdering your friends and chasing you around a house with a massive steak knife. Laurie is still looking over her shoulder and she is hyper-protective over John, but she's at least sort of got a boyfriend in guidance counselor, Will, and a semi-normal life... UNTIL MICHAEL MYERS INEXPLICABLY COMES BACK. Yes, her tormentor, the hulking, masked embodiment of evil, who's been burned, shot, and stabbed is still somehow alive, and has tracked her down to her school in Summer Glen, California. Now, an entirely new generation of teenagers will have to deal with Michael's wrath, as he tries to hunt down and finally put an end to Laurie Strode.
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To say that the Halloween franchise has been hit and miss is an understatement. The first entry may be the greatest horror film ever made, the second is fun and tense, but the rest...well, I like the fourth one! The others are, at best, interesting, which is more than I can say for some poor entries in other long-running horror franchises. This seventh film, H20, gives the filmmakers the chance for a sort of soft reset that essentially overrules all the series mythology past the second film. For me, H20 works in that sort of 1978 Halloween retread fashion that both Halloween II and IV do: basically, take the formula of the first film, and competently execute it. It's a formula that works, even if there's not much new here, other than a rather cursory look at what Laurie Strode would be like 20 years after Myers originally traumatized her. Basically, Laurie's had a rough go of it and she is extreme in sheltering her son, but she's now worked her way up to a fairly prestigious occupational position, and seems to do an okay job of interacting with other people, in contrast to the far more prickly, anti-social version presented in the 2018-2022 trilogy that retcons this film.
Even if H20 doesn't do anything mind blowing, the formula execution is very pleasing. I love how this 1998 film, made by Dimension, the same studio that produced 1996's Scream, takes a visual page from that film, as the lighting, set design, and cinematography are all reminiscent of Wes Craven's satiric, yet still horrific masterpiece, and a great slice of late 90's visual flavor. There's also just a bit of the sly self-awareness from Scream (thanks to some uncredited rewrites from Scream writer, Kevin Williamson), but not enough to make H20 feel like a Scream rip-off, even though bits of Scream's musical score get spliced into the film during action scenes. There's some fun nods to classic horror cinema here too, particularly the casting of Jamie Lee Curtis' real life mother, Janet Leigh, the original scream queen from 1960's Psycho. Here, Leigh stars as a staff member named Norma(!), who has a matronly concern for Laurie. This film also features, as John, Josh Hartnett in his debut performance, showcasing that cool energy and potential that he never really got to fully realize, except perhaps in The Faculty later that year. The cast is rounded out by some big names, particularly a young Michelle Williams as John's girlfriend, Molly, and a fun LL Cool J playing the school's security officer. But really, the movie everyone wants to see is the one that happens when all these characters are out of the way, and a lone Laurie Strode faces off against Michael Myers, and thankfully, on this front, H20 delivers.
I'll tell you what, there's not much I like more than Sigourney Weaver protectively stepping in front of a child and yelling "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH!" at a 25-foot tall murderous alien or Laurie Strode telling some kids "Get out of here, I've got this" before facing off against a hulking, murderous, unknowable evil. Laurie Strode and Ellen Ripley are the uber-mothers, and a now 40-year-old Jamie Lee Curtis is still incredibly believable and riveting as a woman who uses her will-to-survive and wits to battle the otherwise unstoppable Michael Myers. The siblings' final battle is as epic as it should be, and should have been FINAL...but Michael Myers can never die. He's under contract.
To say that the Halloween franchise has been hit and miss is an understatement. The first entry may be the greatest horror film ever made, the second is fun and tense, but the rest...well, I like the fourth one! The others are, at best, interesting, which is more than I can say for some poor entries in other long-running horror franchises. This seventh film, H20, gives the filmmakers the chance for a sort of soft reset that essentially overrules all the series mythology past the second film. For me, H20 works in that sort of 1978 Halloween retread fashion that both Halloween II and IV do: basically, take the formula of the first film, and competently execute it. It's a formula that works, even if there's not much new here, other than a rather cursory look at what Laurie Strode would be like 20 years after Myers originally traumatized her. Basically, Laurie's had a rough go of it and she is extreme in sheltering her son, but she's now worked her way up to a fairly prestigious occupational position, and seems to do an okay job of interacting with other people, in contrast to the far more prickly, anti-social version presented in the 2018-2022 trilogy that retcons this film.
Even if H20 doesn't do anything mind blowing, the formula execution is very pleasing. I love how this 1998 film, made by Dimension, the same studio that produced 1996's Scream, takes a visual page from that film, as the lighting, set design, and cinematography are all reminiscent of Wes Craven's satiric, yet still horrific masterpiece, and a great slice of late 90's visual flavor. There's also just a bit of the sly self-awareness from Scream (thanks to some uncredited rewrites from Scream writer, Kevin Williamson), but not enough to make H20 feel like a Scream rip-off, even though bits of Scream's musical score get spliced into the film during action scenes. There's some fun nods to classic horror cinema here too, particularly the casting of Jamie Lee Curtis' real life mother, Janet Leigh, the original scream queen from 1960's Psycho. Here, Leigh stars as a staff member named Norma(!), who has a matronly concern for Laurie. This film also features, as John, Josh Hartnett in his debut performance, showcasing that cool energy and potential that he never really got to fully realize, except perhaps in The Faculty later that year. The cast is rounded out by some big names, particularly a young Michelle Williams as John's girlfriend, Molly, and a fun LL Cool J playing the school's security officer. But really, the movie everyone wants to see is the one that happens when all these characters are out of the way, and a lone Laurie Strode faces off against Michael Myers, and thankfully, on this front, H20 delivers.
I'll tell you what, there's not much I like more than Sigourney Weaver protectively stepping in front of a child and yelling "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH!" at a 25-foot tall murderous alien or Laurie Strode telling some kids "Get out of here, I've got this" before facing off against a hulking, murderous, unknowable evil. Laurie Strode and Ellen Ripley are the uber-mothers, and a now 40-year-old Jamie Lee Curtis is still incredibly believable and riveting as a woman who uses her will-to-survive and wits to battle the otherwise unstoppable Michael Myers. The siblings' final battle is as epic as it should be, and should have been FINAL...but Michael Myers can never die. He's under contract.
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