Halloween H20: 20 Years Later

Plot synopsis:
Marion Whittington (Nancy Stephens)--formerly Marion Chambers--returns home to find that her house has been broken into. She goes to her neighbors and phones the police, but her teenage neighbor insists on investigating her house. After getting the all-clear, Marion goes in and finds that her office has been ransacked; she was responsible for taking care of Dr. Sam Loomis, now deceased, and she discovers that the file she kept on Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has been stolen. Marion feels as if she's not alone in the house. Rushing next door, she finds her teenage neighbors murdered, and Michael Myers appears, wearing a trademark white mask. Michael stalks and kills Marion, then gets into a car and drives off just as the police arrive to investigate the break-in, discovering the bodies.Laurie has relocated to California. She is now known as Keri Tate, headmistress of a small private prep school. Laurie has a teenage son named John (Josh Hartnett), and the two of them live on campus with the rest of the students. Laurie still struggles with the events of Halloween night 1978, when Michael Myers stalked her and killed those around her. As a means to escape her past, she faked her death and has been living under her assumed identity of Keri ever since. Her past trauma, as well as the stress of living under false pretense, has turned her into a functioning alcoholic. She is also heavily dependent on medication for her emotional condition.Laurie has a secretary named Norma (Janet Leigh) who dotes on her like a parent, and notices how Laurie gets particularly shaken around Halloween. Laurie's boyfriend, Will Brennan (Adam Arkin) is a guidance counselor at the school, and the two of them share a semi-discreet relationship. But Laurie's relationship with John is becoming strained; she is overprotective of him and refuses to allow him much freedom. He is to stay within the locked school grounds at all times, and she denies him the right to attend an annual school camping trip to Yosemite, which is on Halloween. John's girlfriend Molly (Michelle Williams) also stays behind due to some problems with her tuition. Their friends Charlie (Adam Hann-Byrd) and Sarah (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) also fabricate reasons to stay behind so that the four of them can celebrate Halloween together on the near-deserted campus. John and Charlie convince the school's security guard, Ronny (LL Cool J) to open the gate and let them out so that they can walk into town and shoplift a bottle of wine for their party.Laurie meets Will for lunch in town and opens up to him a little, acknowledging that she's been unable to deal with something in her past. While he's in the men's room, Laurie chugs her glass of wine and orders another, hurrying the waiter so that Will won't realize she's had two instead of just one.On her way back to the school, Laurie sees John and Charlie walking down the street and becomes enraged that John has left the school grounds. John also gets angry at Laurie, asserting himself and telling Laurie that she needs to accept the fact that Michael Myers is dead. Laurie drives Charlie and John back to school and scolds Ronny for allowing the boys to get out.Meanwhile, Michael Myers has arrived at the school. He follows Laurie downtown and lurks outside the school later, staring in at Molly as she sits in Laurie's literature class. Laurie addresses the students before they leave for Yosemite and lectures them to be on their best behavior. Afterwards she surprises John by telling him she's changed her mind and she will allow him to go with the others. Since he has already made plans with Molly, Charlie and Sarah, he stays behind anyway without Laurie's knowledge.That night, Michael Myers slips onto the grounds of the school by distracting Ronny at the gate. Ronny is unharmed but knows something is wrong. John and his friends get ready to eat dinner together when Charlie goes off in search of a corkscrew. Sarah follows him, and they are both murdered by Michael Myers.Will and Laurie carve a pumpkin together and Laurie tells him that she is not Keri Tate and that her real name is Laurie Strode. Will thinks she is joking when she tells him that her brother killed her sister with a kitchen knife, and that years later he came after her. Will eventually realizes she's telling the truth and wonders how old Laurie was at the time. She tells him she was 17, then suddenly realizes that John has just turned 17 as well. Her sense of panic sets in and she tries to call John; the phones are dead. She immediately goes to her bedroom and retrieves a gun, discovering John's camping gear in his closet; she now knows John never left for Yosemite. Ronny appears at the front door and tells them that there is a strange car parked in the driveway. They decide to search for John and the others.Meanwhile, John and Molly get restless and search for Charlie and Sarah, finding Sarah's body hanging from a light fixture. Michael Myers appears and gives chase, and they flee back to John's residence. Myers corners them in a doorway blocked by a gate. Laurie and Will open the door and let the kids inside just barely in time before Myers can get inside the gate; Laurie and Michael stare at each other momentarily through the door's tiny window. Before Laurie can get her gun, Myers disappears.Laurie puts John and Molly in a room and locks it, while she and Will look for Myers in the hallway. Will sees a shadow and thinks it is Myers, grabbing Laurie's gun and shooting. It is really Ronny; Will has shot him in the head. As they panic about the mistake, Myers appears and stabs Will to death, chasing Laurie down the hallway. She hits him over the head with a fire extinguisher and runs off with John and Molly. They make it to their vehicle and Laurie drives off to the front gate.Before she drives off, Laurie has a sudden moment of revelation. Instead of running, she sends John and Molly off and closes the gate behind them, breaking the mechanism that opens it. She then grabs a fire axe and sets out looking for Michael. She finds him back in the school and the two of them stalk each other, wounding each other with the axe and various knives. Finally Laurie stabs Michael several times in the chest, sending him hurtling over a balcony into the mess hall. He seems dead, but Laurie knows better.Help arrives at the school; John and Molly have sent the police. Ronny is alive, the bullet having just grazed his head. Laurie's wounds have been bandaged, and she sees the coroner carrying Michael's body on a stretcher. She knows ultimately he will return, and that she must make sure he's dead once and for all, so she steals a policeman's gun and forces the medics at gunpoint to load Michael into a nearby van. Laurie takes off at high speed.While she drives down the mountainous road, Myers begins to reanimate and pulls himself out of the body bag. Laurie slams on the brakes and sends him through the windshield, driving into him with the van. The van plunges over the hillside and both Laurie and Michael are thrown from it. Michael gets the worst of the deal; the van slams into his body and pins it against a fallen tree. Laurie finds the fire axe and approaches Michael, who is still alive, but helpless. She calls to him and he looks up at her, mute but seemingly asking her for help. Laurie reaches out for him, their fingertips touching briefly, and she feels pity for Michael. Suddenly her rage wells up inside her, and she decapitates Michael with a single blow.

Tags: murder, cult, horror, violence, good versus evil, insanity

Review:
It proved that not only could horror be widely appealing at the hands of gifted writers and quality filmmakers, but also showed that the old tropes and clichés could be "hip" and "cool" again when handled with care and a degree of nostalgic love.So, it should come as no shock that after the colossal misfire that was the previous film ("The Curse of Michael Myers"), the "Halloween" series got a new lease on life with a post-"Scream" sensibility in this 1998 release- "Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later." A minor degree of self-awareness, a focus on modern teenage and young adult culture and a fun blast from the past by way of original star Jamie Lee Curtis made the series relevant and modern in a way that both worked to re-invigorate interest and also pay homage to the series origins.The film was lovingly crafted to serve as a book-end to the original, cleverly taking advantage of being released on the twentieth anniversary of the John Carpenter classic as part of it's schtick.
And a "Halloween" that honored the long- beloved roots of the series.Directed by Steve Miner, the film revolves around Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode, now living as a teacher under a false name.
But when her brother comes calling, the stakes are set for a final and apocalyptic battle from which only one can emerge alive.The success of the film really falls onto its clear adoration of the original and the desire to "evolve" and "complete" the story that it started in a new and fresh way.
Whereas prior sequels truly did feel like they were simply trying to re-create the magic of the original to increasingly diminishing results, "H20" actually has the guts to say "No, the best way to pay tribute to the origin of the series is to make homage and continue the story, but allow it to change with the times." A huge part of that is the result of that late-90's self-aware mindset popularized by other films, and I think it works wonders.
it's already a fairly short film, and it rushes a bit too much for everything to really set in.Still, those flaws being stated, I can't help but feel that for my money, this is the best of the "Halloween" sequels.
The notable feature here is the return of Laurie Strode, Jamie Lee Curtis making a comeback in a very different, commanding turn as the character she started out as so many years before.
I'm not saying I hate Season Of The Witch,I loved it,it's just that if you think about it,this is the real Halloween III.First,the good,Jamie Lee Curtis,her character is well written and well acted,this movie is the perfect closure for her,and it's even cooler that this movie was all her idea.The kills are cool,and there is still some good suspenseful scenes.The acting is good,and I like all the horror movie references.My last and biggest pro,the ending,it was perfect and unexpected.Now,the cons,I think that the movie feels a bit too dated,it could have been a bit longer,and there isn't enough Michael.My last con,is the fact that the previous three movies are completely ignored!That means that so many fans were just left out.Otherwise,Halloween H2O is a fun movie that should have been slower..
With Williamson in an unacknowledged, co-producer role, H20 added a bit of hip teen class to the Halloween series, with Dawson Creek's Michelle Williams, Jodi Lynn O'Keefe, and the debut of Josh Hartnett heading the cast along with scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis.
HALLOWEEN H2O: 20 YEARS LATER is the seventh picture in the Michael Myers film franchise and it is directed by Steve Miner.This film is a direct sequel to both the 1978 original and the 1981 sequel, HALLOWEEN II and set in an alternate timeline in which the events that transpired in HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS, HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS and HALLOWEEN 6: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS never occurred (rendering those films non-canon).Set 20 years after the events of the first film, H20 centers on a post-traumatic Laurie Strode living in fear of her murderous brother, Michael Myers, who attempted to kill her all those years ago.When Michael eventually appears, Laurie must face evil one last time, while the life of her teenage son hangs in the balance.The story is amazing and it was developed and created by Robert Zappia.
HALLOWEEN H2O: 20 YEARS LATER is the seventh picture in the Michael Myers film franchise and it is directed by Steve Miner.This film is a direct sequel to both the 1978 original and the 1981 sequel, HALLOWEEN II and set in an alternate timeline in which the events that transpired in HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS, HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS and HALLOWEEN 6: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS never occurred (rendering those films non-canon).Set 20 years after the events of the first film, H20 centers on a post-traumatic Laurie Strode living in fear of her murderous brother, Michael Myers, who attempted to kill her all those years ago.When Michael eventually appears, Laurie must face evil one last time, while the life of her teenage son hangs in the balance.The story is amazing and it was developed and created by Robert Zappia.
He created a darn good story and it was spectacular to put on screen.The screenplay is written by Robbert Zappia and Matt Greenberg and the script I am giving a lot of praise, because the dialogue, action and violence is so intense and so great that the performances are really good in this flick.Another thing I will give praise to is the direction of Steve Miner and he does a really amazing job with this feature film and he was so fantastic and he was also the perfect choice to direct Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and the film just really shines in every single sequence.The acting is getting credit to and this goes to Jamie Lee Curtis and Josh Harnett in his first feature film debut and they had great chemistry and they both did an amazing job in the film.LL Cool J is not bad as Ronnie, but he could have been a hell of a lot worse.
He created a darn good story and it was spectacular to put on screen.The screenplay is written by Robbert Zappia and Matt Greenberg and the script I am giving a lot of praise, because the dialogue, action and violence is so intense and so great that the performances are really good in this flick.Another thing I will give praise to is the direction of Steve Miner and he does a really amazing job with this feature film and he was so fantastic and he was also the perfect choice to direct Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and the film just really shines in every single sequence.The acting is getting credit to and this goes to Jamie Lee Curtis and Josh Harnett in his first feature film debut and they had great chemistry and they both did an amazing job in the film.LL Cool J is not bad as Ronnie, but he could have been a hell of a lot worse.
Michelle Williams was also amazing in this film and she does a good job.Chris Durand as Michael Myers, he is just spectacular in the role and he is much better than all of the other Michael Myers before him and while not the best, but considering the shoes he had to fill, he could have been a hell of a lot worse.The only criticism is the short run time and the film should have been at least an hour and 54 minutes long, but the short run time works for this movie and I think that is enjoyable for me.
Michelle Williams was also amazing in this film and she does a good job.Chris Durand as Michael Myers, he is just spectacular in the role and he is much better than all of the other Michael Myers before him and while not the best, but considering the shoes he had to fill, he could have been a hell of a lot worse.The only criticism is the short run time and the film should have been at least an hour and 54 minutes long, but the short run time works for this movie and I think that is enjoyable for me.
The music by John Ottman is good, but they used some of Marco Beltrami's score from Scream, which was released two years before HALLOWEEN H20 and this had John Ottman outraged, on a positive note, I love his version of the HALLOWEEN theme and it is really great with the orchestra.Overall, HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER does everything right, but the only flaw I have is the short run time, they could have made it longer, but they did not wanted to.This movie is an ABSOLUTE CAN'T MISS SPECTACULAR SMASH HIT, 10/10..
The music by John Ottman is good, but they used some of Marco Beltrami's score from Scream, which was released two years before HALLOWEEN H20 and this had John Ottman outraged, on a positive note, I love his version of the HALLOWEEN theme and it is really great with the orchestra.Overall, HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER does everything right, but the only flaw I have is the short run time, they could have made it longer, but they did not wanted to.This movie is an ABSOLUTE CAN'T MISS SPECTACULAR SMASH HIT, 10/10..
In 1998, with Wes Craven's 2 "Scream" films maintaining the public interest to great financial success, Dimension decided to put their acquisition of the "Halloween" franchise to good use (especially after the atrocious "Curse of Michael Myers") by making a sequel to end all sequels (at least until the atrocious "Halloween: Resurrection" turded up multiplexes).In addition to being one of the most instantly-recognizable titles in all of horror, "Halloween: H20" came to screens with an added incentive: it marked the series return of original protagonist/victim Laurie Strode (played with cat-like veracity by Jamie Lee Curtis).
"Halloween H20:20 Years Later" made by Steve Miner("House",the second and the third part of "Friday the 13th" series)is quite good,especially if you liked John Carpenter's classic "Halloween".The film disregards Parts 4-6,which is not necessarily a bad thing.Luckily it has plenty of suspense,and a good amount of scares-especially the prologue is quite terrifying.There is only a little bit of gore,so gorehounds will be disappointed.Jamie Lee Curtis is pretty good as a Laurie Strode,but the other characters played by the supporting cast are shallow and empty.The score by Marco Beltrami sounds exactly like the one from "Scream" and this is surely big mistake.All in all I enjoyed this one and you should too if you are a fan of "Halloween" series.7 out of 10-a solid horror flick!.
Possibly since we see two teenage girls watching a clip from SCREAM on TV so make up your own mind and it's good to see a horror film with some lighter moments which come from a performance by LL Cool J as a cop while at the same time the humour never becomes OTT By no means a classic example of cinema H20 is a fairly impressive movie for what it is - Yet another sequel in a horror franchise but one that kept this sometimes demanding viewer entertained.
This seventh entry in the wonderfully eerie Halloween series brings back a familiar face in Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), and continues Michael Myers' killing spree on the dreaded holiday.
It's also great to see Laurie again after all these years, and watching her fight Michael again brought back lots of memories from the original films.
The End. Taking place 20 years after the second film, and pretending the other sequels never happened, the Halloween series has come to an end.
but not all of it.What makes Halloween 7 a worthwhile story and a good watch is the fact that Laurie Strode/Keri Tate (Jamie Lee Curtis) is back in the storyline.
It doesn't come close to succeeding, but it does manage to become, in my opinion, the second best of the series, though that's pretty faint praise.There are some creepy scenes early on in this film (the one in the deserted rest stop bathroom, most notably), but this movie really exists for the sole purpose of having Jamie Lee Curtis kick Michael Myers's ass, and the catharsis in watching her do so is worth the price of admission.
But when Laurie Strode takes matters into her own hands and comes after Michael with guns blazing (so to speak), hold on to yourselves--violent tendencies seem to run in this family.The producers of this movie use a bigger budget to add some modern "scary" sound effects for atmosphere and fill out John Carpenter's original score with a sweeping orchestra--it's like John Williams' version of the Halloween theme.
The cast is uniformly excellent, but this one is all about Jamie Lee Curtis as original heroine Laurie Strode, who walks away with the movie thanks to a strong, effective and commanding lead performance.
The fact that they decided to make a Halloween 2 irks me a bit, but Halloween H20 was so good as a sequel and as a horror film that it more than makes up for it by concluding what I and other fans like to refer to as the "Halloween Trilogy" (Halloween, H2, and Halloween H20) or the "Laurie Strode Trilogy".
This might not be the scariest of all Halloween movies but it sure is the most fun filled and action packed of the lot.Jamie Lee Curtis finally returns as Laurie Strode the sister of the unstoppable serial killer Michael Myers and she does some serious butt kicking.She is one badass woman Michael Myers shouldn't have messed with I'll tell you that.The cast is pretty decent too...Josh Hartnett would be my pick next to Jamie Lee Curtis.I got my money's worth although I expected something completely different,I rather enjoyed the pleasant little surprise this had to offer instead.Some cool kills,great laughs,real kickass action and suspense....Great entertainment overall.My Rating-7.5/10.
this is what i call horror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!and so disgusting,bloody,painful...i love every second of this film.the theme songs.it's so dark i've seen this film like 300 times!!!i love the way Michael Myers acted in that film.best sequel of all Halloween's movies best teen movies and sexy.
I liked the way Jamie Lee acted in this movie and the fact that Laurie Strode came back in the series.
Jamie Lee Curtis had seen Scream, and realizing that Halloween was approaching it's twentieth anniversary, she approached it's writer to help her develop a new Halloween film starring Laurie Strode.
And of course, Michael Myers comes after her and her son.Right away H20 recreates the mood and tension that the first Halloween film was so good at.
Even though H20 is a little gorier than the original, it mimics it's style perfectly and makes for a very fun and scary ride.Unlike some of the previous Halloween films, especially the sixth one, H20 got Michael Myers right.
To this day it's still one of the freakiest films personally seen and introduced the world to one of horror's most iconic villainous characters Michael Myers.Which is why it is such a shame that not only are all of the sequels nowhere near as good but that the decline in quality is so drastic.
Of the sequels, 'Halloween H20: 20 Years Later' is by quite some way the best acted, Jamie Lee Curtis' wonderful performance being the film's best asset.In summary, the best of the sequels/follow ups and worth the wait.
Halloween H20 is the best Halloween movie in the series, there is once again a sequel that is better than the original, it has a better story line than all of the Halloween movies put together, there is a star studded cast, with LL Cool J from In the House,Michelle Williams from Dawsons Creek and Jamie Lee Curtis from near enough every decent horror film out.Now with all these successful movie stars in one of the most successful movies in the 90`s it is pretty obvious that this Movie will be a huge success, perhaps the greatest horror since Halloween the original.Now there is,unlike most Halloween movies, a very good story line,......
Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode/Keri Tate and her crazy brother Micheal Meyers is back to terrorize her,for another Halloween.Hot young talent Josh Hartnett makes his impressive acting debut as John Tate,the rebellious 17 year old son of Curtis who is sick to death of living under his tortured mother's thumb and yearns for independence.The fact that he is the nephew of a psychotic killer doesn't phase him.Dawson's Creek actress Michelle Williams performs decently enough as Molly Cartwell,Hartnett's intelligent girlfriend,who soon learns her boyfriend's family secret.
Anyway, the movie reunites Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, and her brother Michael Myers.
This being the first of the Halloween films that I've been able to see at the cinema because of the fact that the movies have been in straight to video hell here in England for years.This film I like more than the others even the first one though it is probably because this is the first time I've been able to see Michael Myers hack his way through the big screen.The movie isn't perfect and you can see that more than one mask was used at one point which could have ruined the film for me if it wasn't for the great ending.Jamie Lee is good as the battling old person who finally stops her brother and hopefully they will leave the series alone now and finish it on a high, a really good creepy film though one or two more scares and a longer running time would have made it better..
Overall this is a GREAT horror film - the first Halloween remains the best but as far as sequels, and especially endings to a long-running series, you couldn't ask for anything better.