What were you guys’ opinion on Halloween II? I really enjoyed it and thought that it was and still is the best sequel to the original, even before Halloween (2018). A lot of film critics bashed the movie for gore and violence compared to the original but there was only like two scenes with blood involved. I overall thought the movie was the best in the series besides the original and I’m still confused on why people hate it so much. What were you guys’ opinions on the sequel?
It’s my third favorite in the series (behind the new one) and I generally enjoy it. It’s a fun film, it has my favorite Michael look, and Warlock is one of my favorite people to portray Michael.
It is my favorite film in the franchise. I agree that it is the best sequel. It feels the most like the original, even if there is more blood/gore (which honestly there really isn’t THAT much). To me it is leaps and bounds better than the 2018 film. The 2018 film has some really out of place humor and the gore is amped way up ( The doctor Sartain death was really stupid ). I’m with you. I don’t get the hate it gets from people either. Sure it is slow at times but the original film was slow at times too. Some people hate the sibling twist in H2 but I don’t think that’s a big deal. It doesn’t make Michael any less scary for me. After all, he killed his older sister at the beginning of the first film. He could have killed her boyfriend or he could have killed a neighbor but instead he killed his sister Judith. Does that make him less scary in the original because he killed a family member? No. So I don’t get the whole fuss about the sibling connection. Also, maybe he wasn’t hell-bent on killing Laurie in H2 because she was his sister but because she got away and he heard she was taken to the hospital on the radio. Anyway, I agree that it is a great film and it is underrated.
Oh absolutely, I LOVE H2 1981. It’s my favorite sequel for sure. I love the way it still feels like the original. I also love the eerie synth soundtrack, and all the Samhain stuff with Loomis, who again, knocks it out of the park. I’ve never really had a problem with how Michael moves more slowly and robotically in H2, because at least to me, it makes sense. Think about it, at the end of H1, after he got shot and falls off the balcony, in my mind, that killed what little “human” was left within Michael, so naturally, in H2 he moves more slowly because he is now basically a dead man’s body being driven by an evil force.
Now for the brother sister thing. I always hated it, because it does take away from the mystery of Michael. Laurie was never intended to be his sister, just a random target like any other, which is FAR scarier. Why? Because if you’re living in a small town, and an escaped murderer is on the loose who has no specific target, or motive, that means ANYONE could be killed, including YOU. However, take that away with the family motive/ brother sister thing, and you and everyone else are completely safe unless you get in his way. Also, it humanizes him too much in my opinion. I know he’s a man, but there’s something supernatural there too, this is why he’s “the shape”, it’s why he’s “the boogeyman”. That’s what he was intended to be, and that’s what he was in H1. In H2, he’s still creepy no doubt, but he’s just missing that edge.
Overall though, I love H2 1981, and it’s not only my favorite sequel in the series, but it’s also my #2 favorite movie in the whole series, just behind the 78 original of course.
This is all I have to say about my personal view on H2. You can draw your own conclusion from this. 
Great photo ImNightmare! Here’s a photo of me from this past halloween a few days ago. The warlock look is such an awesome look. I had people taking pictures of me all night and telling me I looked just like him. Of course there were people running away screaming 
It’s my favorite, even a bit more than I since I’ve seen I so many times.
I just love the feel, Warlock’s physical acting, the kills, and the general creepy and brutal nature of it.
I don’t understand the hate either, love the film !
Guys, as a person whose fave film in the franchise is indeed H2, I’m kind of amused by so many people apparently being surprised by the criticism. H2 is a solid sequel but there are a LOT of problems with it. H40 is a better film overall by far and it’s not even close. H2 was probably a bit scarier overall, but H40 is the better FILM, and for many reasons.
However, nothing will likely shake my biased love for H2. The atmosphere was fantastic, the cinematography excellent, and Warlock as Myers was so fantastic.
I disagree. H40 feels like a jumbled mess. There is way too much happening with constant location/scene changes. For example when the podcasters go to the cemetary and the groundskeeper sees michael off in the distance. It feels like they showed him for like 1 second and hurried to a whole new scene. It’s hard for me to explain but the film moves along too fast. I cannot consider this to be a better film with one of the worst characters ever in Dr. Sartain (think that’s how you spell it). The twist with him was beyond awful and ridiculous (he’s really going to suddenly become a killer and kill the deputy just to study michael more?). The kill where michael stomps on his head and his head explodes was beyond stupid. Then there’s the really out of place humor. I liked the kid and babysitter at first but when she goes to open the closet door and michael attacks her and the kid says “oh shit” like it’s a joke, that took me right out of the movie. I didnt feel the atmosphere in the new film at all. Michael goes to one house, kills someone immediately with next to zero buildup, then goes to the next house and kills someone else immediately. No tension, no suspense until the third act and when he kills the friend of Allison outside. I don’t hate the new film, but I was really let down.
I guess I just don’t see it when someone else says the new film is just a better movie.
Ive never really seen halloween 2 get hated, i love h2. I think i still prefer 2018 more but h2 is amazing in so many ways
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^^^^^ I agree with this a lot. H40 does not hold a candle to H2 and ITS NOT EVEN CLOSE…I really liked the mask but not much else.
Yeah the mask looked awesome and there were a few nods to some of the other films that were cute and clever (Allison seeing Laurie standing outside like Laurie saw michael in the original and michael looking over the balcony and Laurie is gone) but overall I was let down. Definitely not the worst sequel but definitely not the best either.
I agree with most of you. H2 is a classic and best of the sequels by far! 
Agree with you. Everyone sees things differently I suppose.
With the new film it just felt like they didn’t know what kind of movie they wanted to make.
I hope you realize that Halloween 2 suffers from the same issues and many more. Let’s not forget the huge plot hole about Laurie as a child. There’s really nothing much in terms of story and the kills were for the most part empty, if not cool. The empty Hospital, the retcon of the great ending from Halloween 1, etc. the movie was basically a sequel just for the hell of it. Halloween H40 is a superior exercise in storytelling on every front.
The new film has a better structure, defines Michaels evil in a realistic way, has some of the greatest scenes in the franchise and is much more grounded. Halloween II was a decent sequel, but even John Carpenter admitted himself he didn’t even know what to do with it. And it shows.
Halloween 2 may have been a scarier film, but I’m actually kind of shaking my head at how many people actually think it’s a better movie than the new one. Many of the biggest flaws of Halloween 2 are so glaring while the much superior filmmaking and storytelling shine through so clearly. It should be pretty obvious.
I’m sorry, but the idea that Halloween 2 is a better film is frankly pretty laughable. I think there’s a complex around here where a lot of people only really look at Michael Myers, as opposed to looking at the actual film.
Not that big of a deal, but again I completely disagree. Sure, I know Halloween 2 has its share of problems. I never have said it is perfect. The original film isn’t perfect either. I’m sorry but this new film is not as great as everyone is making it out to be. The doctor character suddenly decides to become a homicidal maniac at the ripe old age of 60 something just so he can study Myers more? Then what, he gets killed immediately after that? What’s the point? His death was as unrealistic as it gets.His head explodes from getting stomped on. That whole sequence was as far from realistic as anything in the franchise. Michael walks into a busy gas station with cars parked everywhere and kills the people inside and no one notices?? The babysitter is getting butchered and the kid is reacting like he is in a parody. The new film retcons the original ending, not H2. In H2 he is still out there. In this one he was captured right away. After taking all that punishment and with his superhuman strength he is just captured?? And they dont even show it. They just tell us he was captured. Very lazy of the film. Again, I don’t hate it but the rest of us aren’t idiots because we see things differently.
Trust me, I’m not exactly a fan of the doctor angle either. But although it seems like a silly twist, it makes some sense but doesn’t really create any major plot holes, as opposed to Halloween 2. Also, the doctor didn’t necessarily just decide anything. It looked possible he had planned it for quite a long time.
Yes, this movie did retcon pretty much everything since the original one. That has no bearing on the effectiveness of the film. What I’m referring to is loomis’s reaction at the beginning of Halloween 2, which was one of the worst decisions in that films production.
A lot of the stuff you’re referencing is mostly nitpicks. Granted, some of the faults in Halloween 2 or nitpicks as well but some of them are glaring flaws.
What I’m saying is that ultimately H40 is a vastly better piece of filmmaking. I actually agree that Halloween II was scarier (which is natural because it was the first sequel, by now Michael Myers has been done to death and it’s hard to be unpredictable) and had some of the most iconic moments in the Halloween franchise, but overall wasn’t nearly as good as film as H40.
The new film told a very good story overall, and was vastly better than Halloween 2 in virtually every aspect of Storytelling and filmmaking. Not to mention doing a great job of showing Michael’s evil in an effective but yet very grounded way. The scene in the gas station before he gets the mask just might be the greatest cinematic achievement of the entire franchise, at least since the first film. There’s a lot more to a film than just how scary it is or how good it looks. The storytelling, the technique, the tension, character development, the directing, etc. Quality isn’t subjective. H40 is by Leaps and Bounds the better film overall. Halloween II was great for an eye candy sequel but it was for the most part a simple sequel absent of much real artistry; there wasn’t a terrible amount of substance in it. H40, however, had it in spades. Halloween 2 was for the most part a sequel just for the sake of being one. H40 was a carefully orchestrated and well-constructed film with a lot of real guts to it.
Halloween 2 just doesn’t compare on much of any technical level of filmmaking.
I guess we’ll just agree to disagree. I could definitely see that the doctor had planned it all along. Good point. I think with H2 maybe Loomis giving that look didnt really ruin anything. Maybe at the end of H1 he had that look of “I knew this was going to happen” but when he went downstairs and looked again it really set in for him that “oh crud, how the hell did he get up? I knew he was a force of evil but even I underestimated him!” I do wish they would have just completely recapped the full ending of H1 instead of reshooting it. Then they could have had him go downstairs and deliver that badass line: “you dont know what death is”
At the end of the day I think H2 is a better film. You think the new one is… and that’s okay
I know it sounds bold and people like to hear, but I’m not saying that’s my opinion. H40 is a better film. I already explained it out right, can’t really add much more to it. Much better piece of filmmaking all around. H2 is the Michael Myers show, but H40 was an actually good movie all around, and it did his character much more justice anyway.