Having seen David Gordon Green’s 2018 film “Halloween,” taking place 40 years after the original, “Halloween H20: 20 Years Later” by Director Steve Miner seems quaint. This film belongs to a different time…one where “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” ruled the box office, and horror movies were marketable and scary—and long before the ‘torture porn’ craze settled right in.
The film upends the multitude of sequels up to that point, resetting the plot to its simplicity. Laurie Strode (the role reprised by Jamie Lee Curtis) teaches at a posh private school in California, hiding from her alter ego and the memory of Michael Myers. But things are not to be so simple. In a series of events involving a few murders and Laurie’s medical files, Myers finds her and her 17-year-old son John (the film introduces Josh Hartnett) and brings terror to the Strodes once again.
What works best about “H20” is that it is earnestly scary (if sometimes a bit brutal) and mixes its hip cast (Hartnett, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Michelle Williams, LL Cool J) with Lee Curtis in a believable fashion. The film also trades the usual milieu of Haddonfield for Northern California, and does so effectively. Miner sidesteps convention by having most of the school’s kids go on a vacation to Yosemite, thus leaving only a few for the body count, not relying on a multitude of throwaway deaths and cannon fodder.
While “Halloween” (2018) would cement Laurie’s post traumatic stress, she is here clearly struggling with alcoholism and more, and the story makes no bones about it. It also sets up a tense relationship with her and John due to her backstory. Hartnett is a delight here. He steps right up to the action/drama role and shows why he became a virtual instant celebrity. Miner’s script isn’t overly deep, but does set up enough drama to make this movie more than just a slaughter-fest. By the time Myers shows up (this time played by Chris Durand), there’s enough tension going on to make us care about these characters.
“H20” is a bit of a sentimental one for me. I remember seeing this in the theaters when I was in my late teens. The set-pieces (Hartnett trying to be Laurie’s son while attempting to woo his girlfriend, played by Michelle Williams; the dated soundtrack, built from Creed’s “What’s this Life For?;” the posh country setting, and the legacy of “Scream” that it built off…“H20” tries. Of course it helps that it is directed by Steve Miner, the guy who gave us “Friday the 13th Part 2,” but there’s no mixing of styles here. This is a straight “Halloween” film and does’t make many missteps.
I guess you could criticize this film for some of its style choices, but it’s kind of a dead end. The movie is more in-your-face than the original; there’s no stalking or scene-setting here. Myers appears, is ferocious and dispatches someone, then moves to the next. The film also kills off key characters often too fast (but whose names will not be mentioned for those who have not seen the film). Some of the deaths are unnecessarily brutal (especially one in particular), and it seems Miner is trying to up the ante on how far a horror film was willing to go. There’s also that fact fact that a gate-locked private school doesn’t feel like Halloween; however, the film tries hard to build the right atmosphere with a trip to town and lights and decor.
The actors are all apt, and you can tell they are having fun with this script. Hartnett is great as Laurie’s estranged son, and Michelle Williams as his girlfriend performs well also. They are joined by the aforementioned Jodi Lyn O’Keefe and her boyfriend, played by Adam Hann-Byrd; and it was nice to see O’Keefe play a sweet role here before the more cynical “She’s All That” the following year. Adam Arkin joins along as a love interest for Laurie, and is instantly likable. Lastly, LL Cool J is fun to watch; he plays a security guard who secretly wants to be a romance author, and it just works.
As the film builds, its tension is good, and the ultimate confrontation between Laurie and Michael is handled well. The shot where they meet—face-to-face through a porthole in a window to the school—is wonderful, and shot brilliantly by Daryn Okada, the film’s cinematographer. Miner shoots the late half of the movie sort of like an action movie, and it pays off. Laurie is not overly-afraid, but plays the part of a woman trying to escape trauma and protect her son well. And, it has to be said, the finalé to this film—in particular its closing shot—is the best this series has seen in terms of closure to the Myers/Strode storyline, and likely won’t be topped again. It will have “Halloween” fans cheering, and just about everyone else as well.
All-in-all, “H20” is a good film. It’s not overly deep, but is not daft; it presents likable characters in a terrible situation that we want to see them survive. I think that’s what separates this from some of the series’ more lackluster attempts (primarily movies 5-7). We care about the characters here, which makes it work better. It presents action, horror, and entertainment, and doesn’t overstay its welcome. And it’s nostalgic. The film feels like it was written for a different time; it furthers the “Halloween” mythos while also serving almost as a standalone in itself. If you’re looking for a horror film this “Halloween,” you could do a lot worse than “H20.”
