Halloween II 4K 1981

October 31, 1978 A wave of bloody murders sweeps through the city. Residents whisper the name of Michael Myers - a bloody maniac who reappeared just on Halloween. His former victim, Laurie Strode, survived, and he returned to finish what he started. This time, Laurie's pursuit brings him to the hospital, and in her dark corridors, a cold-blooded, unkillable psychopath finds his victims.

4k movies reviews
A short, tall and incredibly strong man in a pale mask and a knife in his hands appeared on big screens shortly before Halloween in 1978 and instantly became the personification of true evil, from which it was impossible to hide. A nightmarish maniac named Michael Myers did not spare anyone who came across him on his way through the night, opening the doors to the other world. And although the killer himself did not possess any supernatural powers, killing him was not at all as easy as we would like. Having perpetrated a real massacre in a small quiet town, Myers managed to hide, as if he had never happened, but every viewer knew that the Haddonfield curse was not yet finished and it could return again, only with much more bloody and terrifying consequences. Coming from the wild fantasy of John Carpenter, Debra Hill and Irvine Jablans, known as "Halloween" has become one of the most iconic and iconic horror creations in the history of the genre. A modest, but extremely tense and frightening film was not exchanged for compromises, but dealt with its victims in such a way that even viewers with the most persistent psyche felt like little children on whom a monster was approaching. The $ 325 thousand spent on the creation of "Halloween" were repeatedly blocked at the box office, after which Carpenter's tape was firmly entrenched at the highest steps of the list of the most profitable works of Hollywood, and this in turn meant that the story of Michael Myers a priori could not end on one part. With due respect for the fateful proposal of producer Irwin Jablans about cooperation, John Carpenter nevertheless refused the right to personally direct the sequel to the film, but he nevertheless took part in the work on the script, again teaming up with Debra Hill. And although the sequel to the cult "Halloween" was no longer so mysterious and uncompromising, the creators managed to bypass many of the traps that happen with the sequels, and gave us an eerie bloody spectacle with spectacular, memorable scenes forging the legend of Michael Myers as one of the first invincible maniacs. who are not taken by a bullet or a knife. And this despite the fact that he himself is an ordinary person of flesh and blood.

So, the plot of the film unfolds immediately after Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), with the help of Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Plazans), managed to escape death at the hands of the silent killer Michael Myers. Having received quite serious, but not critical for life, injuries, the girl goes to the local memorial hospital, where all the necessary assistance should be provided to her, but it is too early for Laurie to relax, since her nightmare pursuer has not yet completed his bloody campaign and is preparing to set off again in pursuit , for which he is ready to make any sacrifices. In the meantime, Dr. Loomis is trying to understand why Myers is trying so hard to catch Laurie, and he finally opens up facts about which he did not know all these many years, while he investigated the psyche of the maniac and tried to help him. As it turns out, the connection between Laurie and Michael is much more complex than it might seem, and the Haddonfield assassin's actions have very strong motives. Loomis has no doubt that Halloween night has not yet collected all the bloody tribute, and therefore goes to the hospital, where the unfortunate survivor was taken, since apparently this is where Myers will go, driven by the desire to finish what was started back in 1963, when he killed his older sister. And when the doctor finally arrives at the hospital, he receives direct confirmation of his worries, since Michael Myers arrived here for Laurie and has already begun to administer his perverse justice, which is very difficult to cope with even for an armed policeman. But Loomis has no right to leave the maniac freely walking around the hospital, and therefore he will have to join forces with Laurie in order to put a worthy end to all villainy this time.

Undoubtedly, the main and only reason that prompted the creators to return to the town sprinkled with the blood of adolescents is the box office, and not just the desire to reveal some other artistic facets of the story about a maniac who made a serious rustle and disappeared into the night. And to the credit of John Carpenter, he did not want to inscribe in his directorial career, far from the most obligatory, in his opinion, sequel, being at an acceptable distance from the active creative process, acting for his successor Rick Rosenthal as a creative consultant. The sequel to one of the most iconic horror films in history shows us Michael Myers already in the guise of a popular culture icon, which immediately leaves an imprint on his sadistic activities. Previously hiding in the shadows and acting extremely carefully and accurately, the maniac stopped hiding in the shadows and gained strength, which he himself could only dream of earlier. Wandering the corridors of the hospital like an invincible robot, Myers increases the number of victims and is simply unable to curb his lust for blood. However, the more often we see it on the screen, the less anxiety it causes. And sooner or later, all the maniacs who crossed the line of one film and acquired a special status in the eyes of the audience face similar problems on their way. So when watching the second part of "Halloween" you need to understand that you should not expect the blood-chilling atmosphere of the original film from it, but you need to tune in to an attraction that will evoke mostly intriguing rather than frightening emotions. But at the same time, it should be noted that Rick Rosenthal studied all the precepts of John Carpenter very accurately, from which in "Halloween 2" the suspense periodically skips, brought up on the basis of "Psycho" and other cult pictures that inspired the creators of the first film. In addition, do not forget that Rosenthal had at his disposal not only the dramatic sketches of Carpenter, but also a truly outstanding minimalist soundtrack, created directly by John himself for the original. And there is no doubt about its artistic effect. The title melody of "Halloween" can be recognized with just a couple of notes, and even with repeated listening, it causes tension, which covers all the shortcomings and straightforwardness of the presentation of the material in the sequel.

It is also necessary to say that the creators did not forget to please us with unexpected revelations, which greatly encouraged the general concept of the narrative of "Halloween" and showed us things that add a special deep meaning to this franchise. From now on, Michael Myers hunts for his main prey for a reason, as a strong bond appears between them, which can only be cut with a knife. And Jamie Lee Curtis, with his game, has to convey all those experiences that are inherent in her heroine by the script, and Donald Placens will have to protect her, like the apple of his eye, since the tall, silent maniac will not retire until he fulfills the mission of his whole life, no matter what she was not insane.

See the next part: Halloween III: Season of the Witch 4K 1982

Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (88.9 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital Mono

Subtitles
English SDH.