Halloween H20
Review by Peter Syslo

HALLOWEEN H20 (1998) is probably my least favorite film, in the HALLOWEEN franchise. That’s right; I like HALLOWEEN RESURRECTION better than I like H20. I don’t know what it is, but H20 just rubs me the wrong way, for some reason. I have to be fair though, because I do like some aspects of the movie and that is why I watch it from time to time. However, I think that it is mainly the script and the “ Hollywood – ization” of it all that kind of turns me off. I think that the HALLOWEEN movies work best when they are from smaller/independent studios and when they are created with actors, not “stars” (that is not to say that everything independent is good – at any level of studio production, there are good and bad pictures). I just t hink that the “grandiosity” of the whole project and the fanfare of the Jamie Lee Curtis “reunion” commandeered the film and as a result, the overall quality suffered. In fact, a good analogy for H20 would be something like this: picture an “all-star-jam” version of a Ramones song, that you would see on the Grammy’s – complete with various 60-70 year-old musicians and actresses up out of their seats dancing to it. Does that paint a clear picture?

HALLOWEEN H20 is directed by Steve Miner (who directed FRIDAY THE 13TH parts 2 & 3) and is written by Robert Zappia and Matt Greenberg. The film is produced by Malek and Moustapha Akkad, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, Kevin Williamson (of Dawson ’s Creek fame), and Paul Freeman. The movie stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh (Jamie’s mother and PSYCHO icon), Josh Hartnett, Adam Arkin, Michelle Williams, LL Cool J, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Adam Hann-Byrd, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Nancy Stephens in a cameo (Nurse Chambers, from parts I & II). Whew! It does sound like a line-up for an awards show.

The movie picks up 20 years later, from parts I and II (they took place on the same night) - H20 doesn’t even acknowledge parts 4, 5, 6 which is a little strange, but makes sense considering the “unrealistic” aspect of this storyline. The film begins with Michael stalking and killing Nurse Chambers (Stephens), which is actually one of the best scenes in the movie. At her house, Michael finds information about Laurie (Lee Curtis) still being alive and about her being the headmistress of a prestigious school (wait a minute – didn’t Laurie’s death come into play in part 4? I just noticed that). So, Michael “hits the road” to find the sister that he always failed to kill. From this point on, it’s about Michael stalking Laurie’s wise-ass son (Hartnett) and his friends, while Laurie comes to grips with her “Michael Myers” past – she has d aily hallucinations about Michael, pops numerous prescription pills, and is a functional alcoholic. Michael finally comes face-to-face with Laurie and the climax is all about a showdown between the newly-strong, “Sigourney Weaver-esque” Laurie and Michael (the final scene was almost touching, in a bizarre, classic movie-monster way, but RESURRECTION ruined that whole idea through an “escape” explanation).

As I stated previously, this is my least favorite of the series; but it does have some interesting moments. There are some good scares, like the opening scene with Nurse Chambers, the scene where Michael stalks a woman in a public bathroom, and the “hiding”/hallucinations involving Michael. I do like some of the concepts of the film, like Laurie’s daily mental state, dealing with 20 years of aftermath – that was really interesting and different. However, the whole storyline of Michael traveling to find Laurie, now a headmistress of a school, was a little bit of a stretch. Also, I feel that all of the teen “content” could have been cut out of the film completely. I kind of like the idea of Laurie meeting up with Michael again, but couldn’t it have happened in a more original, yet plausible way? Maybe Laurie could have traveled back t o Haddonfield for her stepfather’s funeral or to Smith’s Grove for Dr. Loomis’ funeral. I know that Jamie was killed in part 6, but maybe Laurie could’ve come back to care for the granddaughter that she never knew she had. I don’t know, but the storyline and the film could have been better executed. I think that the film should have just concentrated on the relationship between Michael and Laurie - that would have been a more powerful film and it would have been in the spirit of the franchise; I feel that this installment was more of a “popcorn” film.

Regarding other details, the movie looked great, although it was lacking in that brooding-yet-festive Halloween atmosphere (except for the opening scene). Lee-Curtis, Adam Arkin, Nancy Stephens, and LL Cool J were the best actors in the film and they seemed to fit most naturally with the overall piece; Michelle Williams was the best actor in the teen mix. Chris Durand played Michael Myers and I thought that he did a fine job, except for the fast, table-turning scene at the end – that was a little out of character. Actually, the Myers mask was not really that scary in this one, I felt – it was too white or something – I feel the scariest uses of the mask were in parts I, II, and 6. Lastly, the music was OK, but was too much in places – the minimalist score or no music would have been more effective, at times (I don’t think that the c omposers, John Ottman/Marco Beltrami, were completely happy with it, from what I’ve heard in the documentary/commentary).

To sum it all up, I feel that there are better sequels in the series, and I feel that some of the HALLOWEEN spirit was lost in this one. Even though I liked some things, it left me unfulfilled and left me wanting for the movie to be redone, for the fans’ sake. There are some cool scenes and a funny cameo by Janet Leigh, but the film just seemed like a “remake”; you know, the way that Hollywood puts a big layer of icing on a film, but doesn’t tend to the cake underneath. Just remember, Carpenter made the original with around $300,000 dollars and a small film crew and it resulted in a classic; bigger isn’t always better. Hopefully, the franchise isn’t completely dead and maybe at some point in the future, it will get back to its “indie” roots. Anything is possible.