20 years after the murders in Haddonfield, Laurie Strode has changed her name, had a child and is a functional alcoholic. When her murderous brother Michael tracks her down, Laurie is forced to confront her demons and fight the Shape once more.
Whew! After the pleasant surprise that was Halloween 4, I went into this movie with slightly raised expectations. Oops.
Directed by Steve Miner (Friday the 13th, Parts 2 and 3), and based on a treatment by Scream's Kevin Williamson, H20 represents both the return of Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, and another re-tooling of the iconic horror franchise to stay current with contemporary trends in the slasher genre. Whereas Halloween 4 amped up the violence to match the Friday the 13ths, H20 is responding to the success of po-mo slashers triggered by the release of Scream.
Whew! After the pleasant surprise that was Halloween 4, I went into this movie with slightly raised expectations. Oops.
This movie flirts with some interesting ideas, namely Laurie trying to wrestle with the trauma of her past. Both this and Halloween 4 feature scenes of their protagonists haunted by visions of Michael - I kept thinking that the most interesting idea for a Halloween movie would be one in which Michael's presence is never defined. Is he alive? Or is he a memory haunting the present?
That is maybe too cerebral a concept, but feels more in line with the ending of the original movie, where Michael vanishes into the night.
Ah well. Away from the movie that could be, and back to the movie we have.
The big problem I have with H20 is that it never really follows through on its set up. We start with Michael hunting through Dr Loomis's (now deceased) old files to track Laurie down, which is then followed by an introduction to Laurie, now a single mother fighting PTSD and her 17-year-old son's (Josh Hartnett) desire for independence. This is all well and good, but then the movie gets stuck having to cater to the younger set by delegating screen-time to Hartnett's John and his friends.
And then before we have a chance to really get a handle on either of these storylines, Michael is on the scene and stalking everyone through the darkened halls of the private school where Laurie is now principal. Ultimately H20 feels like it is missing a second act - it sets up characters with back story and motivation, and then sidelines them to wedge in some extra bodies for Michael to butcher.
Miner does a decent job with the set pieces - he is more adapt than Dwight Little with using a moving camera to hide and reveal information during suspenseful sequences - but otherwise the movie feels like an episode of a 90s teen drama. Curtis adds some weight to Laurie's struggles, but her decision to finally face Michael never feels organic, and the way she destroys him does not really feel that satisfying.
There are moments of greatness - the set-piece in the public restroom with a woman hiding from Michael with her clueless child is genuinely terrifying, and the old-fashioned car Myers uses is creepy - but H20 is not really as good or fun as it could be.
While it is not a bad movie, considering what it is trying to accomplish, H20 is surprisingly unremarkable as a motion picture.
Related
Halloween 4 - The Return of Michael Myer
There are moments of greatness - the set-piece in the public restroom with a woman hiding from Michael with her clueless child is genuinely terrifying, and the old-fashioned car Myers uses is creepy - but H20 is not really as good or fun as it could be.
While it is not a bad movie, considering what it is trying to accomplish, H20 is surprisingly unremarkable as a motion picture.
Related
Halloween 4 - The Return of Michael Myer
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