The Firelight Shocks DVD Review Section

Halloween 2 Distributor: Goodtimes Region: 1 Ratio: 2.35.1 (Not enhanced) Sound: Dolby Digital Surround

Taking place the very second that the first left off, Halloween 2 brings back Donald Pleasence as Dr Loomis and Jamie Lee Curtis as Lorie Strode, as well as police chief Charles Cyphers. Well-known stuntman Dick Warlock plays Michael Myers this time, and it is in this one that we are told that The Shape is in fact Strode's brother. Seeing as how Halloween 2 brings back most of the original's main cast, is scripted by the original director (John Carpenter) and the original producer (Debra Hill) and even brings back Dean Cundy as the cinematographer, you'd think that it might be one of the finest sequels of all time. However Halloween 2 received a critical slamming for a reason... That 'reason', I may add, has nothing to do with the technical elements of the film - Cundy's photography is first class, as you'd expect, and the notable homage's to the original, as well as to Argento's Deep Red, are fun to spot. Moreover, first time director Rick Rosenthal does a fine job - many of the death scenes are staged with aplomb and the tension really begins to build during the last ten minutes. Nope, the problem with Halloween 2 is that it is simply just another bloody stalk and slash movie. Few thrills and not much of a supporting cast either. Instead, we have just a seemingly endless barrage of cardboard characters introduced to the viewer in order to be massacred in a grisly fashion. Seeing as how the first film was so much more than this, it is really sad to see a sequel, which could have been a classic, degenerate into showing us a naked woman graphically drowned in a hot tub (followed by a shot of her tits). This would no doubt be all very well in your usual run of the mill teen-kill movie, but as a sequel to one of the classiest and most intense horror films ever made it is an insult. I'm not opposed to a dumb old slasher film by any manner of means - I just would have expected more from a direct sequel to Halloween. However, if taken as 'just' a slasher movie, Halloween 2 is certainly better than most. It has the spurting arteries, it makes you jump a few times, the acting is fantastic (although Curtis is wasted) and Michael Myers is definitely still scary. Moreover, the film looks good - it is presented in its widescreen format for this release - and the last ten minutes will probably have you right on the very edge of your seat. Yes, this is indeed a very good slasher movie. Taken to a hospital and stalked by Michael Myers (who is in turn tailed by Pleasence), Curtis gets to scream and cower a great deal. The hospital scenario is used fantastically too (though I still think Visiting Hours made better use of it), and the token 'money shot' (this time it's a syringe through the eyeball ala Dead and Buried) is pretty damn excruciating. Furthermore, the old Halloween 'urban legend' about the razor blades in the apple is hinted at in a painful looking segment which is soon dropped. Oh yeah, and Mad Mike is dead, dead, dead at the end of this film. Guess that's Hollywood though - when the third film flopped they brought back the monster. Hell - and they're doing it again with Halloween 8: He's Grown a New Head (or something). So is this a good sequel? I'd have to say that it's just okay. Is this a good slasher film? Definitely - one of the best the eighties has to offer in fact. However, if you're looking for a worthy sequel to one of the best horror films ever made then I'd vouch for Halloween H20 before this one.

EXTRAS: I had read a review of this DVD by Allan Bryce in The Dark Side, where he mentioned the variable quality of the transfer used for this disc - and he was right. The picture quality is not great - there is a lot of grain and, especially near the end of the film, there is some very notable print damage. However, the movie is in widescreen and when the scenes are well lit they look good. I'm probably making Halloween 2 sound a lot worse than it is. Basically, the picture quality is fine but not great. It hasn't been enhanced for widescreen televisions either, which is a bugger. Universal is preparing a new edition of this movie for DVD later in the year, so fans of the film would be better holding on for that. This release, meanwhile, is going cheap at many places so if you're not the biggest fan of the movie this isn't such a bad buy. Your only extra is 'production notes'. All told, they're not bad - but a trailer wouldn't have gone amiss. If you enjoy slasher films then I'd definitely say that this is worth buying, if you don't usually enjoy slasher films but liked the first Halloween then I'd say that you should proceed with caution...