"Halloween" Franchise Rewind Marathon: 'Halloween H20: 20 Years Later'

Look. They really, REALLY tried with this one.

By: Josh McCormack

For the next few days I will be taking a quick look back at the long-running "Halloween" franchise leading up to the release of David Gordon Green's latest entry. Since the newest film is wiping the slate clean of all the sequels and remakes, I thought we could turn back the clock and talk about all of the films in reverse order. 

Happy Halloween!

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'Halloween H20' is a solid movie that with a few tweaks could have been great.

It's certainly one of the better movies in the franchise and after the crap I've watched over the past three days, revisiting this one seemed like watching 'Citizen Kane'. However, while bringing back Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode was one of the major ingredients needed to bring the franchise to its roots, it's missing perhaps more essential trademarks than any of the other sequels. 

Let's begin with the good stuff first, because there's plenty of it. First and foremost, Jamie Lee Curtis is absolutely fantastic in this movie. In fact, it may be one of her best performances in her entire career. One of the things that somewhat worries me about the interpretation of Laurie in the upcoming reboot is that she seems to be so infatuated with the horrible events forty years ago that it might as well have happened yesterday. In 'H20', however, Laurie is really trying to let go of the past. She isn't prepping her family for another attack from Michael (it helps that she saw him burn alive at the end of 'Halloween 2', since that one is canon in this timeline), but rather she's living a normal life as a professor and single mother who just can't shake the memory of Michael pursuing her twenty years prior. Curtis plays this wonderfully, almost embarrassed every time she even feels threatened by the memory of Michael Myers.

Josh Hartnett is also fantastic as her son, John. It could be a thankless role, but his interactions with Curtis show a really interesting dynamic of how one woman's trauma has made her overprotective and how it has affected this parent, child relationship.

'H20' also isn't a gratuitous movie. In fact, it might be the most accessible film to general audiences since the 1978 original. By pretending every movie after 1981's 'Halloween II' didn't happen, the audience isn't required to play much catch up with the events of parts 3-6. It's also a lighthearted movie that has a brisk running time and likable, if somewhat underdeveloped, characters.

My issues with 'H20' are less focused on the script and more with the cosmetics. Steve Miner is a competent director who in fact started his career making slasher movies like 'Friday the 13th' parts 2 and 3. In the years afterwards he became a dramatic director and had just prior worked on 1992's "Forever Young" which co-starred Curtis, making him her top choice when suggesting directors. His filmmaking is by no means bad, but it lacks a certain style that a throwback to Carpenter's films is begging for. The lighting is also a big issue here. The whole movie is lit like a typical 90s drama with absolutely none of the character a director of photography like the original's Dean Cundey would have brought to it.

The movie also has an obscene amount of fake jump scares. Literally, the average almost one per minute. Laurie gets jump scared by her own reflection at one point. 

However, my biggest issue with 'H20 may be the score. 'Halloween' has always been known for its simple piano and synth based soundtrack and that is something that carried through for almost two decades, even throughout the sequels. In 'H20' the decision was made to have composer John Ottman take over with a full symphony orchestra and something just feels off about it. Michael Myers stalking people works so well to the sound of simple, electronic keys being played in rapid succession. When you add violins and trumpets, it just makes scenes that are meant to be close-quarters and tense feel overly bombastic. It's also strange to hear the iconic 'Halloween' theme with flutes.

Oh, LL Cool J has a minor role in this movie too. And it's about as stupid as it sounds. 

'H20' had a troubled production and a lot of that shows. It's constantly shifting between wanting to please fans of the original 'Halloween' but also trying to keep up with the 90s slasher favorites like 'Scream'. Michael's mask is also constantly changing from practical to goofy looking CGI, due to the fact that halfway through production someone suggested it needed more work. And it's a little strange to see Laurie spend an hour of the movie so frightened by the very idea of Michael and then just all of a sudden turn into Rambo once he finally shows back up in her life. 

However, on that note, Laurie Strode going full badass in the final act of this movie is utterly fantastic. 

All my problems fall by the wayside the second Laurie grabs a fire axe and stands as a lone warrior screaming, "MICHAEL!" and the original John Carpenter theme turns on full blast. 

The ensuing fight is a pure delight for horror fans. It recreates moments from the original film, although this time Michael seems to be on the back foot and Laurie Strode's full-force anger, reclaiming control of her own narrative is still an absolute thrill to watch.

The movie ends so satisfyingly with Laurie decapitating her serial killer brother, seemingly ending Michael Myers' reign of terror once and for all. We end the movie looking at Laurie, her eyes closed, heavily breathing slowly in the way her brother once did twenty years prior.

Perfect. 

It's just a shame the rest of the movie can't quite reach the heights of this finale and even Curtis' performance. What's cool about David Gordon Green's new film is that he seems to be treating the subject matter with just as much dedication of those who worked on 'H20', but this time around he's blessed with a more classic visual style and the presence of John Carpenter as both creative consultant and, perhaps more importantly, the film's composer. 

'H20' is faulty and hasn't aged super well, but it's still a must see for any 'Halloween' fan and remains one of the better entries in the franchise.