Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later – A Look Back in Review

By and large, I am not a fan of films which feature child stars. There are exceptions but a shift in the Halloween films from Laurie Strode to Jamie Lloyd as its primary protagonist did not endear me to them. I found the character to be almost unlikeable. Still, I watched them. I did not enjoy them, but I watched them, maybe out of some odd loyalty to horror films. When the seventh Halloween film was announced, with the return of Jamie Lee Curtis as its draw, I was intrigued.

First, the name of this film was super-clever: H20, as in Halloween, 20 years later. This told me, someone was thinking about this! Then, in addition to Curtis, Josh Hartnett would be joining the cast. I knew who he was, as many others might have, and was interested to see what he would bring to a horror film. Adam Arkin had been on a few episodes of Northern Exposure, not a show I watched but one I saw bits of, from time to time. I knew the names, Michelle Williams and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but little about the work they did prior to 1998, when Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later was released. Of the majority of the more modern cast, I knew the most about Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, who played Maggie Cory on the soap-opera, Another World. Another addition to the H20 cast, LL Cool J, did a cameo in the film, BAPS, but had not done much outside of music videos. Aside from Curtis, two of the film’s most notable cast members would be Nancy Stephens, who played Marion Chambers from the original Halloween film and Psycho star, Janet Leigh. The bonus for Leigh, of course, being the fact she is Jamie Lee Curtis’ mother.

H20 opens with Marion Chambers coming home to find glass broken on her front step. After deciding against entering, she goes to the neighbor’s house and running into Jimmy, wearing a hockey mask and carrying a stick. This is, as most horror audiences know, a nod to hockey-mask-wearer, Jason Vorhees.

One of the brightest reintroductions of a character comes in the form of Laurie Strode. As the reigning Scream Queen, Jamie Lee Curtis is introduced via a fitting close-up of her…screaming. It seems, to the audience, she has recovered from her trauma and moved on to become headmistress of an elegant California school. Upon meeting her son, played by Hartnett, we see her recovery to be anything but complete or successful. Throughout the film, we get glimpses of her past manifesting themselves in her present. Still, as Keri Tate, she has managed to carve out a life for herself and her son.

Although there are many callbacks to the original Halloween film, one of my favorites happens when Ms. Tate calls on a student in her class. Molly, played by Michelle Williams, gives an answer which ends with the phrase, “…it was his fate.” This mirrors Laurie’s answer about Fate being an immovable force in the original Halloween. If you’re paying attention to the background details, a banner in Ms. Tate’s classroom reads, “Learn from the past, live in the present, plan for the future.” The reason I like this is, this is a smart device (nostalgia) to state the film’s overreaching theme.

H20 also references the film, Psycho a great deal. Josh Tate is teased by his friends about how he will still be living with his mother twenty years later – the same way Norman Bates lived with his mother. She was named, Norma, the name of Ms. Tate’s secretary – played by Psycho star, Janet Leigh. Norma delivers the line, “It’s Halloween, I guess everyone is entitled to one good scare,” a line delivered in Halloween by Sheriff Brackett. Norma then says, “If I could be maternal for a moment…” which is very meta since the actress is Curtis’ own mother. At the close of this scene, Norma walks toward her car. A piece of music from Psycho is played as Leigh approaches a car like the one she drove in Psycho – complete with the same license plate number! My poor movie-nerd heart could not be beating any harder, at this point.

The film’s most obvious reference, to audiences of the time, is to Scream, made a few years before H20. The introduction with Marion is reminiscent of the introduction of Casey Becker. Some of the same music from Scream is played when Michael Myers stalks down a hallway, chasing his victims. In their dorm room, Molly and Sarah are watching Scream 2, which takes place on a school campus, much like the one H20 is taking place on. Remember, at Stu Macher’s house, his guests were watching Halloween. Later, Ms. Tate tells Molly to “…drive down to the Beckers…” mirroring what Mr. Becker tells his wife in Scream…which was a callback to the original Halloween.

This is a fantastic use of meta. For those who don’t understand the term, meta refers to the practice of immersion where the film references the real world. It’s a nice thing, when done right, like in H20 and the Scream franchise.

A reference most might miss occurs when Ms. Tate is on the phone, watching the buses leave the school. She says, “Mrs. Cheney, can I call you back?,” referencing Lon Chaney, an actor famous for an array of movie monsters.

Unlike some other films, these references help to tell the story of H20. Talk of Fate, of Halloween scares, and reinforcing some of the tropes of horror films all combine for smart, intelligent horror-storytelling. Cinematic elements such as pacing and lighting help to move the plot along without it feeling too rushed or too plodding. The body-count is reasonable, considering we’re dealing with a classic horror killer. Each of the deaths feels natural, in as much as murder can feel natural. We’ve been given enough development for the secondary characters to care about their safety.

To this point, LL Cool J’s character development of Ronny is very similar to the treatment Tatum received in Scream.  The audience is given insight into what he wants beyond his job as a security officer, a peek into his home life, and a glimpse into who he is, as a person. This humanization of a secondary player is good storytelling and it makes for a heightened sense of risk for the film’s characters. Considering Ronny’s role in the film, caring for him makes his survival all the better.

There are some witty Easter Eggs in H20, aside from the ones already mentioned. Mr. Sandman, a song played in the first two Halloween films, plays in the opening scene with Marion. It later comes on the radio in Laurie’s car, prompting her to turn it off. On the front porch of Marion’s house is a decoration in the form of a cenobite from a Hellraiser film. One of the officers investigating Marion’s death is named Fitzsimmons, the same as the police chief in Friday the 13^th Part III. There are others but my favorite is the moment Laurie tells her son, Josh, and his girlfriend, Molly, “Do as I say, now!” She told little Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace the same thing before she put them, too, in a closet to protect them.

I love a solid ending to a film and H20 did not disappoint. Not only did we see a confident Keri Tate – or Laurie Strode – confront her tormentor but she did it with confidence. The confrontation harkens back to earlier in the film when Molly talks about Victor Frankenstein (another horror reference!) having to confront his creation and take responsibility for mistakes of his past. Much as she was in Halloween and Halloween 2, an injured Strode approaches her brother and calls out to him. He reaches out to her and she reaches back. The music slows and the audience is allowed an excellent beat of genuine Pathos for both characters. It’s brilliant. Then, in a moment of clarity, Strode swings the axe and ends the threat of Michael Myers.

Were it not for corporate greed, this would have been the perfect ending to the franchise.

Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later follows the then-trend of smart, well-executed horror films. It had a believable story, a stellar cast, great pacing, and all the necessary elements of a good horror movie. It’s one of about five horror films I can watch the end of – and start it over without a break.

The film’s only difficulty, for me, is the odd mask Michael uses. It feels off, in a way I cannot name. There is a distinct lack of anything resembling fear when Myers is onscreen. The walk is there, the jumpsuit is present, but the mask feels too…something. I wasn’t scared of this Myers the way the first one scared me. This is a minor quibble for what I think is the best film in the entire Halloween franchise.