In 1978, the most consummate face of evil, Michael Myers, has committed a most incorrigible crime spree ever. Many people have died as a result of his disturbing behavior, many more lives were crushed and dispirited. The only survivor who has managed to witness Myers' fiendish attacks was Laurie Strode (Jaime Lee Curtis). All of this horrifying reality took place twenty years ago...
Twenty years later, Laurie Strode must move on. Under the incognito, Keri Tate, Strode has acclimatized herself to a new lifestyle. She now works as head mistress of an elite preppy school in northern California. Laurie Strode, a.k.a. Keri Tate also happens to be an overprotective mother to her teenage son, John (Josh Hartnett). However, there is always a way the past can come back to haunt their prey and wreck vengeance to the first degree... Strode's big bad brother, Myers is back...or is she just suffering from post-traumatic stress which induces hallucinations. Either way, Strode knows that the ultimate manifestation of depravity is stalking her once again...
With most of the students gone for the weekend on a remote trip to Yosemite National Park, Strode is left alone to take care of the school. Still, she manages to bump into a few guests...and not all of them are pleasantly here to stay. Strode is luckily kept company with a kind and gentle psychiatrist and practicing counselor (Adam Arkin). Romance blossoms in the air, permeating throughout the desolate school halls. The remaining few teens also decide to have a slumber sleepover party...much to the scorn and disapproval of Strode. Strode's very own son, and his girlfriend (Michelle Williams) just coincidentally happen to be "left behind." This chance of events though will just aggrandize Myers' wrath...and now, he has an even greater opportunity to amass a higher body count...
The only means of security in this isolated prep school is an incompetent, loony security guard (rapper L.L. Cool J), who keeps his boring life and job preoccupied by reading whimsical love poems to that special someone...
Now, on Halloween night, 1998, someone holding a sharp kitchen knife with a roughneck personality to match is roaming the campus. His cravings for violence and murder may never be ingratiated. Laurie Strode knows that in order to vanquish her fears...she must confront the definitive personification of the "bogeyman," and slay this demon with a huge, powerful axe. Only then, can she overcome her nightmares which have hurt her for these past twenty years...
HALLOWEEN: H20 a.k.a. HALLOWEEN: H20 - TWENTY YEARS LATER is an arbitrarily effective shocker. The seventh installment in the financially successful HALLOWEEN franchising series has the requisite gory murders, i.e. a decapitation, impaling, throat slitting, slashing, et. al. This movie manages to conjure up an ample number of screams from the timid audiences. What abets boosting HALLOWEEN: H20 from the ordinary slasher flick is undeniably the sole presence of Jaime Lee Curtis. She has the charms, wit, looks, and demeanor to make her truly, a scream queen worth "dying for." Jaime Lee Curtis has made a poignant, puissant heroine in this "slash and stalk" flick, and her ability to show a calm countenance in the face of trouble make her a fine and appealing actress. Curtis, no doubt, became one of the horror industry's prime attractions and she should be proud of herself for progressing her own film career so well. Kudos to you, Jaime!
In the beginning, the opening homage to PSYCHO (1960) is amusing and germane. Jaime Lee's own mother, Janet Leigh (PSYCHO) also boasts a cameo in this motion picture. She happens to have only two scenes throughout this whole movie as Norma, Tate's personal assistant. Leigh though, had a gem of a cameo with her role as a smart-mouthed member of the school administration.
HALLOWEEN: H20 possesses decent suspense even if it relies too much on pretentious, false scares. Too frequently, there are so many false alarms in this movie that the audience may eventually lose their patience. They want Myers to show up...and to perform his nightly rituals. Too often, I have admitted ending up cheering for the bad guy once he starts carving up his next, unlucky victim!
Very good acting and the direction by Steve Miner (FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 & 3) moves this film at a modest pace. The suspense is steady enough so that the film doesn't fall down quickly into a state of boredom. It is always fun to watch everyone's favorite infamous masked murdered Michael Myers do things his way. He doesn't take any bull from anybody...he just kills them if they stand in his path...in the wake of his own destruction...
HALLOWEEN: H20 is a respectable finale to the popular series. Get ready for chills, thrills, and blood spills! From the murderous spree in the beginning to the unconditional denouncement, HALLOWEEN: H20 is a scary hayride!
RATING: **1/2 out of ****.
Twenty years later, Laurie Strode must move on. Under the incognito, Keri Tate, Strode has acclimatized herself to a new lifestyle. She now works as head mistress of an elite preppy school in northern California. Laurie Strode, a.k.a. Keri Tate also happens to be an overprotective mother to her teenage son, John (Josh Hartnett). However, there is always a way the past can come back to haunt their prey and wreck vengeance to the first degree... Strode's big bad brother, Myers is back...or is she just suffering from post-traumatic stress which induces hallucinations. Either way, Strode knows that the ultimate manifestation of depravity is stalking her once again...
With most of the students gone for the weekend on a remote trip to Yosemite National Park, Strode is left alone to take care of the school. Still, she manages to bump into a few guests...and not all of them are pleasantly here to stay. Strode is luckily kept company with a kind and gentle psychiatrist and practicing counselor (Adam Arkin). Romance blossoms in the air, permeating throughout the desolate school halls. The remaining few teens also decide to have a slumber sleepover party...much to the scorn and disapproval of Strode. Strode's very own son, and his girlfriend (Michelle Williams) just coincidentally happen to be "left behind." This chance of events though will just aggrandize Myers' wrath...and now, he has an even greater opportunity to amass a higher body count...
The only means of security in this isolated prep school is an incompetent, loony security guard (rapper L.L. Cool J), who keeps his boring life and job preoccupied by reading whimsical love poems to that special someone...
Now, on Halloween night, 1998, someone holding a sharp kitchen knife with a roughneck personality to match is roaming the campus. His cravings for violence and murder may never be ingratiated. Laurie Strode knows that in order to vanquish her fears...she must confront the definitive personification of the "bogeyman," and slay this demon with a huge, powerful axe. Only then, can she overcome her nightmares which have hurt her for these past twenty years...
HALLOWEEN: H20 a.k.a. HALLOWEEN: H20 - TWENTY YEARS LATER is an arbitrarily effective shocker. The seventh installment in the financially successful HALLOWEEN franchising series has the requisite gory murders, i.e. a decapitation, impaling, throat slitting, slashing, et. al. This movie manages to conjure up an ample number of screams from the timid audiences. What abets boosting HALLOWEEN: H20 from the ordinary slasher flick is undeniably the sole presence of Jaime Lee Curtis. She has the charms, wit, looks, and demeanor to make her truly, a scream queen worth "dying for." Jaime Lee Curtis has made a poignant, puissant heroine in this "slash and stalk" flick, and her ability to show a calm countenance in the face of trouble make her a fine and appealing actress. Curtis, no doubt, became one of the horror industry's prime attractions and she should be proud of herself for progressing her own film career so well. Kudos to you, Jaime!
In the beginning, the opening homage to PSYCHO (1960) is amusing and germane. Jaime Lee's own mother, Janet Leigh (PSYCHO) also boasts a cameo in this motion picture. She happens to have only two scenes throughout this whole movie as Norma, Tate's personal assistant. Leigh though, had a gem of a cameo with her role as a smart-mouthed member of the school administration.
HALLOWEEN: H20 possesses decent suspense even if it relies too much on pretentious, false scares. Too frequently, there are so many false alarms in this movie that the audience may eventually lose their patience. They want Myers to show up...and to perform his nightly rituals. Too often, I have admitted ending up cheering for the bad guy once he starts carving up his next, unlucky victim!
Very good acting and the direction by Steve Miner (FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 & 3) moves this film at a modest pace. The suspense is steady enough so that the film doesn't fall down quickly into a state of boredom. It is always fun to watch everyone's favorite infamous masked murdered Michael Myers do things his way. He doesn't take any bull from anybody...he just kills them if they stand in his path...in the wake of his own destruction...
HALLOWEEN: H20 is a respectable finale to the popular series. Get ready for chills, thrills, and blood spills! From the murderous spree in the beginning to the unconditional denouncement, HALLOWEEN: H20 is a scary hayride!
RATING: **1/2 out of ****.