‘Halloween II’ (1981): 10 Things You May Not Know

What’s most interesting about Halloween II is how it literally picks up the minute where Halloween leaves off. A wounded Michael Myers wanders off to recover, later tracking down Laurie at the local hospital. It made Michael’s original killing spree that much more horrific, with the boogeyman brutally murdering many more innocent people before that same Halloween night was over.

Originally, co-writers John Carpenter and Debra Hill had set the story a few years in the future. The plan was for Michael to target Laurie’s new home in a high-rise apartment building. Early into the writing process, however, the pair switched gears by picking up directly after the original Halloween.

Feeling there wouldn’t be any story left to tell with Michael Myers and Laurie Strode after Halloween II, Carpenter planned to conclude their story with this sequel. This is why Michael Myers is shown burning to a crisp at the end of the film, with Dr. Loomis staying nearby to ensure he doesn’t escape. Viewers are left to assume Loomis perished in the fire as well, but because we don’t see his death, his fate is left ambiguous.

At the time of the film’s release, however, John Carpenter said straight up that Loomis and Michael Myers were both dead. “The Shape is dead. Pleasence’s character is dead, too, unfortunately,” the filmmaker said in a 1982 interview. Obviously, this was retconned to bring both characters back for Halloween 4 and its subsequent sequels, but if not for the box office failure of Halloween III, Loomis would have never emerged from the flames alive.

Michael’s appearance has gone through some changes over the years, with the character typically wearing a new mask in each sequel. While some of the changes in the mask between films have been severe, the one shown in Halloween II looks very close to the original one used. It would have to, considering the film takes place on the very same night.

As it turns out, an actual mask used during filming from the original film was reused for Michael Myers in the sequel. While the mask does appear to look slightly different, this is mostly due to it fitting differently on the new actor Dick Warlock’s head, as he had a different body type than Nick Castle.

Related Article: The Toughest Halloween Movie Quiz You’ll Ever Take

What’s most notable about Halloween II‘s contribution to the franchise is its revelation that Michael Myers and Laurie Strode are brother and sister. This is a theme which was repeated in each of the subsequent installments (sans Halloween III), even making its way into the plot of Rob Zombie’s movies. It wasn’t until this year’s Halloween when the storyline was finally dropped from the canon.

Following the release of the film, Carpenter has expressed his regret in making the pair siblings. The twist was not initially part of the plan and was added to the screenplay during the writing process. Carpenter describes the decision as “purely as a function of having decided to become involved in the sequel to the movie where I didn’t think there was really much of a story left.” It seems the biggest issue is the reveal takes away the mystery behind Michael’s motivations, which are scarier when left unexplained.

When Rick Rosenthal came on board as the film’s director, he sought to do the 1978 original justice. Inspired by its method of focusing on suspense over nudity and gore, Rosenthal had directed a version of the film which was much lighter on the extreme content. This worried Carpenter, who was concerned the film wouldn’t be as scary unless some changes were made to make it more extreme.

Much to Rosenthal’s chagrin, Carpenter reshot several scenes for the film, adding some of the more graphic content. This highly upset Rosenthal, who would later say Carpenter’s changes “ruined” the pacing of his version of the film.

Nancy Loomis reprises her role from the original film as Annie Brackett, but only for a moment when her corpse is shown. However, that’s not the only cameo Loomis has in the film. One of Michael’s first victims in the film, Alice, is speaking on the phone with her friend, Sally, before Michael kills her in her home. Guess who provides Sally’s voice? Nancy Loomis.

Related Article: Halloween III: Season of the Witch: 10 Things You May Not Know 

One of the most horrific deaths in the films comes not by Michael’s hand, but from a freak accident. Mistaking teenager Bennett Tramer to be Michael Myers, Dr. Loomis approaches him, yelling for him to stop. Tramer walks off into the street, where he is hit by a speeding police car and pinned to an ambulance. A fire breaks out, roasting Ben’s corpse to ensure he was dead if the accident wasn’t enough.

Want to know who plays the cop driving the squad car that hits Tramer? Dick Warlock, who also plays Michael Myers in the film.

In 2011, Universal brought the film to Blu-ray as part of a 30th Anniversary Edition package. Curiously, the “Moustapha Akkad Presents” line was removed from the opening credits, replaced with, “Universal, an MCA Company, Presents…” Considering Akkad’s passing in a terrorist attack, fans found the omission very disrespectful, as did Akkad’s son, Malek, who said, “Any horror fan would find this as an insult to the man who has done so much to the series.”

Because of the backlash, Universal recalled the Blu-ray to issue out replacements with the original credit restore. When Scream Factory released their own Blu-ray version of the film the following year, Akkad’s name was back in the opening credits, as it should be.

When Jimmy finds the body of Mrs. Alves in the hospital, he winds up slipping on a pool of blood and bashing his head on the ground. The character slips in and out of consciousness for the rest of his time in the film, ultimately passing out just before driving Laurie to safety. Because the character isn’t shown again, it was widely assumed poor Jimmy had died from his head injury, with fans ultimately not knowing for sure.

However, if you watch the TV edit of the film, things turn out much better for Jimmy. In the end of the movie, we can see a shot of Jimmy riding in the back of the ambulance with Laurie. This shows he did survive after all, with Laurie holding his hand and telling him, “We made it.”

Because Nick Castle had moved on from Halloween to focus on directing, a new actor was needed to portray the role of Michael Myers. With the part not yet cast, Dick Warlock sought the role by setting up a meeting with Rick Rosenthal. On the way to Rosenthal’s office, Warlock noticed the Michael mask sitting in an adjacent room. He put it on and walked into Rosenthal’s office, proceeding to stare coldly at the filmmaker rather than answer his questions. Because he was so unnerved, Rosenthal wound up casting Warlock for the part.