When Halloween H20: 20 Years Later was released in 1998, there was no way that it could win as much praise as the 1978 movie. But when fans rewatch it now, they can definitely find some things to love about Halloween H20.
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Halloween: H20 is a direct sequel to Halloween and Halloween II, which is one reason why it works so well. Laurie Strode as the final girl is still in fine form and this time, she’s the headmistress at Hillcrest Academy in California. Laurie pretended to die and is going by the name Keri Tate and also raising her son John (Josh Hartnett). There are many timelines in the Halloween movies and it can be tough to put them all together, but this timeline makes a lot of sense and is easy to follow. It’s tough when audiences have to work so hard to figure out how the different storylines are connected and how the events of the past affect the present and future.
Halloween’s villain Michael Myers is always perfect and he’s just as scary and perfect in this film. There’s a great scene when Laurie tells her boyfriend and guidance counselor Will Brennan (Adam Arkin) that she’s Laurie Strode and that Michael Myers is back to try to kill her again. Will takes this information pretty well considering how terrifying it must be to hear this and it’s sweet seeing Laurie in a healthy relationship and having someone to lean on.
Michael Myers is always going to scare audiences no matter how many times he shows up in movies and thankfully, he’s just as awful here, as he goes after his victims with no remorse or anything at all. Halloween H20 also has a great ending as it seems like Laurie kills Michael. While fans love getting the chance to watch more movies from this classic horror franchise in 2018, 2021, and 2022, it’s true that fans really want to see Laurie finish off Michael Myers once and for all, and this seems to be happening in Halloween H20.
The movie also functions as a great and underrated teen horror movie. This is thanks to the performances from Josh Harnett and Michelle Williams of Dawson’s Creek fame as his girlfriend Molly Cartwell. After Laurie and Will find Michael at school, they find him trying to murder John and Molly and manage to help them get to safety. The scenes of Josh and Molly together are just as cute as in any movie about teenagers and this young couple adds a heartwarming element to an otherwise scary movie. John and Molly also humanize Laurie even more as audiences know that she cares about them and wants to make sure that she’s not responsible for their deaths.
While fans compare Halloween Kills to Halloween (2018), Halloween H20 feels like it gives Laurie the strong storyline that she deserves. In Halloween Kills, Laurie is fighting back against Michael, which is great to see, but she spends the majority of the film in the hospital and fans don’t get to see enough of her. In Halloween H20, Laurie has decided the kind of life that she wants to live and that’s worth celebrating, even if many fans don’t love the movie, and it’s also possible to enjoy the film while acknowledging that nothing will compare to the first film. It’s also interesting to see Laurie’s decision to pretend to be dead and go by a new name come back to haunt her which is something that she definitely thought would happen.
All in all, Halloween H20 is a fun movie and delivers what it promises: a new story for Laurie Strode, a way for Laurie and Michael Myers to face off against each other again, and a new setting with new characters like Laurie’s son and his girlfriend. Nothing can come close to the incredible cinematography of the original Halloween movie, but for an entertaining horror film with scares and good characters, Halloween H20 does fit the bill.
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