Halloween II

Starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence, who reprise their respective roles as Laurie Strode and Dr. Sam Loomis. It is the second installment in the Halloween film series and is a continuation sequel to Halloween (1978). The plot picks up directly after the cliffhanger ending of the first film, with Michael Myers following survivor Laurie Strode to the local hospital, while his psychiatrist Dr. Loomis continues his pursuit of him.

Though Carpenter directed a good portion of the film and wrote the screenplay to the sequel, Carpenter realistically could not direct the entire film in time due to directing his other film in that timeframe, appointing the direction to Rosenthal. Filming took place in the spring of 1981, primarily at Morningside Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on a budget of $2.5 million.

Stylistically, Halloween II reproduces certain key elements that made the original Halloween a success, such as first-person camera perspectives, and was intended (at the time) to finish the story of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode.

It also introduces the plot twist of Laurie Strode being the sister of Michael Myers, an element that would form the narrative arc of the series in subsequent films after Halloween II—including Rob Zombie’s remake and its sequel—but was dropped from the current series’ canon from the 2018 film onwards.

Halloween II was distributed by Universal Pictures, and premiered in the United States on October 30, 1981. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $25 million domestically. A sequel with an unrelated story, titled Halloween III: Season of the Witch, was released in 1982.

A direct sequel, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, was released in 1988. Another direct sequel, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, was released in 1998, which acknowledges only the first two films.

He survives his wounds and escapes into the night. Wandering the alleys, he steals a kitchen knife from an elderly couple and kills the teenage girl next door. Meanwhile, Laurie Strode, who narrowly avoided being killed that night, is taken to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital while Loomis continues his pursuit of Michael, accompanied by Sheriff Leigh Brackett.

Loomis mistakes teenager Ben Tramer for Michael due to Ben wearing a similar mask, resulting in Ben being hit by a police car and burning to death. The bodies of Annie Brackett, Lynda Van der Klok and Bob Simms are discovered by the police at residence of the Wallace. Upon learning his daughter has been killed by Michael, Sheriff Brackett blames Loomis and abandons the search, leaving Deputy Gary Hunt to take his place.

At the hospital, paramedic Jimmy develops an attraction to Laurie, but head nurse Virginia Alves limits the time he spends with her. After hearing a newsflash revealing Laurie’s location, Michael makes his way to the hospital, where he cuts the phone lines, disables all the cars in the parking lot, and slashes all the cars’ tires so no one can escape and call for help.

Wandering the halls in search of Laurie, he kills the security guard, the doctor, paramedic, and several nurses throughout the night. In her hospital room, Laurie dreams about the time she learned she was adopted, and remembers she once visited a young Michael at the sanitarium.

Jimmy and nurse Jill Franco grow increasingly concerned when they discover that more and more staff have gone missing throughout the night and search the hospital for Laurie, who is trying to evade Michael. As nurse Jill Franco tries to start the car to drive to the sheriff’s department, it fails to start and she sees that all the car’s tires in the parking lot have been slashed.

After finding Mrs. Alves dead, strapped to a gurney with an empty IV needle in her arm draining all of her blood out of her body, Jimmy turns to run to go for help but he slips in a pool of her blood and knocks himself unconscious, giving himself a concussion. Meanwhile, police are informed that Michael broke into the local elementary school earlier. Loomis rides with them.

His colleague Marion Chambers arrives to escort him back to Smith’s Grove on the governor’s orders and under the enforcement of a US Marshal. On the way, she tells him that Laurie is Michael’s younger sister; she was put up for adoption after the death of Michael’s parents, with the records sealed to protect the family.

Realizing that Michael is after Laurie and being told she was brought to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, Loomis forces the marshal at gunpoint to drive back to Haddonfield. Jill finally finds Laurie, only to be killed by Michael, who then pursues Laurie through the hospital. She manages to escape to the parking lot and hides in a car.

Jimmy regains consciousness and soon arrives and tries to start and drive the car to safety, but passes out again due to the concussion sustained from the slip and fall causing the horn to blare, attracting Michael’s attention. Loomis, Marion, and the marshal reach the hospital just in time to save Laurie.

Loomis shoots Michael until he falls down, seemingly dead. While Marion calls the police on the marshal’s radio, the marshal tries to check Michael’s pulse as Loomis warns him to stay away, knowing he isn’t dead. Michael revives and slits the marshal’s throat with a scalpel.

Loomis and Laurie run into an operating room, where he gives her the marshal’s gun before being stabbed by Michael. Laurie shoots Michael in both eyes, blinding him. As he swings the scalpel around the space violently, the two fill the room with flammable gas.

Loomis orders Laurie to get out before igniting the gas, immolating himself and Michael in an explosion. Laurie watches as Michael, engulfed in flames, emerges from the fire before finally collapsing. The next morning, she is transferred to another hospital, traumatized but alive.