I think most people would have been happy had they just left it here and never made another.
Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later (1998)
Directed By: Steve Miner (Friday the 13th Part 2,Friday the 13th Part III)
The Prologue
So after Halloween got off into a weird tangent with the man in the black and the wrist tattoos it was actually Jamie Lee Curtis that had the idea to make a new Halloween that went back to the original feel and she wanted John Carpenter to direct it. Her idea turned out to be, Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later. The movie happened but John directing sadly didn’t. It being near the end of the 90′s you just knew that a new Halloween would follow the format that had been set by the now smarter horror films that were coming out, ones that at times even poked fun at themselves. Halloween would for sure get a taste of that in Halloween H2O and now as I, believe it or not, having just seen this film for the first time can confirm that that is just what this film does and it does it in a fun to watch way.
The Movie
Laurie Strode, now the dean of a Northern California private school with an assumed name, must battle the Shape one last time and now the life of her own son hangs in the balance. Three things become very clear from the start when you watch Halloween H2O. One being you miss Dr.Loomis as sadly Donald Pleasence had long since passed away making Loomis impossible to be in it. Two, the script sure has a flavor of Scream in it, which I picked up on before knowing it shares the same writer as Scream. And three, this is for sure the 90′s folks! We got a “smarter” slasher, we got the talk, we got the style, we got people from Dawson’s Creek and we got Creed music! We even got the standard art cover that every horror movie around this time shared. Just by watching it I was ready to frost my hair and put on a Backstreet Boys CD..OK, maybe not.
What this movie does do good is return the character of, Laurie, back to us with Jamie Lee Curtis who had been greatly missed in the sequels which this movie seems to want to ignore in ways, only keeping the fact everyone thought she was dead. Word is the script had references to parts 4-6 and a scene was even shot tying everything together but who could really make sense of why Laurie would flee, change her name, and keep her son all the while leaving Jamie behind. So perhaps it’s better we ignore that as well as much as I hate ignoring sequels. Also unlike most Halloween movies the gore is really boosted up here to spite a few very cool looking ones not taking place on screen. As a fan of gore I appreciate the effort this movie gives us with that. Sure it wasn’t even on a scream level with it at the time but some do look very cool including the “broken leg” scene I’m sure those of you who have seen it remember and appreciate.
As I said, you can sense a smarter vibe through the film. It’s in the way people act and the way people talk. In H2O we don’t deal with cookie cutter people running around we almost get a feel of these folks being real people with real goals and problems which can make you care for them to a degree and feel worse for them when Myers shows up. But this film is by no means perfect. I really have issues with the mask here. From what I’ve read the mask wasn’t the mask they started off with because that mask was hated on by those who saw it and it was worse. Scenes were re-shot and even CGI is used in parts to cover up the first mask and if I don’t like this one I’d hate to see what that one was like.
Also while they tried to mix in the style of the original with a new feel it somewhat gets lost as the movie progresses. It’s a very good mix of old and new when the movie starts but as things go on we move into just another 90′s horror film mode and at times leave the style out. If the movie had kept the look of the opening part and kept the old school person point of view for the killer I would have liked it even better. Also this movie does rely on a lot of suspense, like the original. However I feel here it uses that a tad bit too much and way over using the jump scare. Sure it makes you jump at first but when over used you tend to become numb to it as you just suspect it. That being said you can’t argue to much with someone who says this is the best Halloween besides the original. I’d place it above both 2 and 4 which was my favorites besides the first one up until now..Still don’t it feel a bit empty without Loomis? But that can’t be helped.
The Conclusion
It’s the 90′s and in MY mind one of the best of the 90′s! But did all of you think it was as good as I do? Well some of the list I received for the best of the 90′s lists I’ll be doing shows more than a few of you think so. If you look passed the mask and the empty feeling of no Loomis you’ll find one of the best slashers of the 90′s in this. Also, if anyone is looking for this on beautiful HD, then you should pick it up in blu ray format along with some other Halloween titles by checking out Echo Bridge, and you can do that by CLICKING HERE.
The Rating (7.5/10)
Chucks website
