Let’s ignore the previous trilogy, like the writers did, and skip straight to 20 years after Halloween II.
Laurie Strode, now Keri Tate, is living in California as the headmaster of a private boarding school after faking her death to prevent Michael from coming back for her. When Michael tracks down Loomis’ former nurse, he finds out where Laurie is and comes after her and her 17-year-old son, John.
Halloween H20 was one of two big slasher franchises to have a sequel 1998 (see Bride of Chucky). Because the slasher craze was in full swing after Scream, Michael and Laurie got a modern, sleek update to continue their story. Considering the impact the first Halloween movie had 20 years prior, it seems only fitting that the series join the slasher revival that it helped create.
I’ll admit, I didn’t know that the Thorn Trilogy was retconned from the movie’s canon until a few years ago. It all just made sense to me. We thought Laurie was dead in the fourth movie, but in this one she says she faked her death. Jamie died in the sixth movie, which is why she wasn’t mentioned. What do you want from me? I was 11 years old, and retconning wasn’t as common as it is now.
I saw Halloween H20 at the time of my Josh Hartnett phase. This started that year with The Faculty, which, along with this one, I remember renting from the video shop in the early 2000s. It was then followed up by The Virgin Suicides, which even now I put in my top 10 movies of all time. The movie also featured Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who after 3rd Rock from the Sun was a big deal for me.
Some characters are better than others. Jamie Lee returns to the role with a more believable development than the 2018 movie (later…) Moving thousands of miles away, faking her death, and changing her name shows that she’s really trying to prevent a repeat of that night, rather than encouraging it. Although she still carries some trauma, it’s only really prominent on Halloween, and she seems to be living a normal, healthy life otherwise.
I have seen LL Cool J in three movies and one TV show. He has survived them all (although I’ve only seen the odd episode of NCIS: Los Angeles, so I’m unsure of his fate on the show). He lived through a shark attack in Deep Blue Sea (1999) and a serial killer in the underrated 2004 mystery thriller, Mindhunters. He has a tendency to show up and save the other characters in the end, which I greatly enjoy. He’s earned those victories, since most of the time he’s the best character.
The rest of the cast is passable. Adam Arkin is a more grounded and funny character who is apparently ok with joking with students, which looking back now is a little bit odd and perhaps inappropriate. Jodi Lyn O’Keefe is a staple of this time, and she’s a lot more likeable in this than she was in She’s All That. I didn’t grow up watching the creek, so I didn’t know who Michelle Williams was prior to watching this. I think now, the only other thing I’ve seen her in is Dick (1999), which is hugely underrated. It also stars Kirsten Dunst, who was one of my heroes growing up, has a cameo from a young Ryan Reynolds, and shares some of the same songs as Guardians of the Galaxy, since it’s set in the 70s.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the cameo from Janet Leigh, which is so very special. It was her final film role, so it’s nice that it was with her daughter. The best moment in the movie (in my opinion) comes at the end of her last scene. Of course we couldn’t say goodbye without a Psycho homage, with car and string accompaniment. That would have been a wasted opportunity otherwise. Good job, Halloween H20.
The kills range from meh to memorable, at least for me. There are a couple of throat slits and a couple of back stabbings. But the three (out of seven) that are the most standout are: the ice skate to Jimmy’s face; Sarah hanging from a light after being cruelly chased through the kitchen; and the end decapitation. Those are fun.
Halloween H20 will always have that nostalgia for me. It’s probably my second-most-watched movie in the franchise after the first. It’s stylish, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, it has a decent cast with some fun humour, and I enjoy it because of those reasons.
Linsey Loves Horror 