Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later

Blood is Thicker Than Water

This week I went to see Halloween Kills with my good friend (and Booze and Buffy cohost) Jason. I’ve been excited to see this film since it was announced and though I tried to keep my expectations in check, I walked away pretty disappointed (you’ll have to wait until next year to read those thoughts). With that bad taste in my mouth, you can imagine that revisiting Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (such a ‘90s title) was a much needed palette cleanser.

Halloween H20 was written by Robert Zappia (The Tom and Jerry Show) and Matt Greenberg (1408) based on a story by Zappia and an uncredited Kevin Williamson (Scream). The film was directed by Steve Miner (Friday the 13th Part 2) and was released on August 5th, 1998 to mixed-to-positive reviews. Halloween H20 was made on a budget of $17 million, made $16,187,724 upon opening, and went on to make $55,041,738 worldwide. 

As the title suggests, H20 picks up twenty years after the events of the original film. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis, The Fog) is living under the assumed name Keri Tate (having faked her death) with her son John (Josh Hartnett, 30 Days of Night) as the headmistress of a private boarding school in California. Laurie lives in constant fear that Michael (Chris Durand, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) will track her down, which causes strain in her relationship with John. Her fears soon prove valid when Michael discovers her location and begins his rampage.

H20 marks the first time (but certainly not the last) that the Halloween franchise would reboot it’s timeline, by retconning the events of the Curse of Thorn trilogy. While this move is rather controversial, I maintain it was the right move. The Curse of Thorn mythology got too convoluted and, frankly, too silly, so removing that baggage and allowing the series to return to the basics was the right call.

Overall, H20 is a great film. Curtis’ return after 17 years injected new life into the franchise, and coming just two years after Scream resurrected the slasher genre it was the perfect time to capitalize on the twentieth anniversary of the original film.

Curtis’ return and performance aren’t the only great things that come out of this film. The script is tight and, after several installments where the supporting cast struggles to stand out (give or take a few characters), H20 takes a cue from Scream (and the original) with a likeable and well developed ensemble. The boarding school setting is a great change of pace and provides a lot of great set pieces.

Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later is a welcome return to form for the franchise (one that sadly doesn’t last too long). It successfully makes Michael scary again and brings Laurie’s trauma to the center. And that final act is a goddamn banger.

Rating: 4 ice skates to the face out of 5

Other Observations:

• Does the Dog Die? No dogs are seen or harmed.

• Harrison’s Favorite Scare: The dumbwaiter sequence. Love a good dumbwaiter sequence.

• Laurie’s receptionist is played by Janet Leigh aka Marion Crane from Psycho aka Jamie Lee Curtis’ real life mother (she even gets to dispense some kindly advice and then drive away in the Psycho car).

• As good as this movie is, it’s one of the worst masks in the series. It’s actually CGI at one point and it looks awful.

Next Week: Next week is the final entry in this year’s Halloween month with the absolutely dreadful Halloween: Resurrection.