Twenty
years ago, film maker John Carpenter released an independent horror film that
would change the face of the genre forever. That film was Halloween and with a
blend of spine tingling terror and a wonderfully eerie score, it became a huge
hit, spawned several sequels, and remains one of the best thrillers of recent
memory.
Twenty
years later, Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the role that gave the scream queen her
start with the help of Scream writer Kevin Williamson. H20 was directed by Steve
Miner who got his start directing two of the Friday the 13th films.
I
have to tell you! I was mighty disappointed in H20 which, for a while, looked
like it had a pretty good chance at being decent. I didn't find it particularly
scary and it left many key elements unexplained. Being a fan of this genre, I
know films of this type aren't always supposed to make sense, but some things
need to be cleared up! Where the heck was Michael Myers for the last twenty years?
This is one of many plot points that H20 never answers.
Thankfully,
what H20 does have is Curtis and she's quite good playing the tormented Laurie
Strode who, every Halloween, has terrible nightmares due to the horrible things
that occurred in the first two films. She has now changed her name and teaches
at a private school in California. SheÕs safe until a certain masked man
returns to make her life a living hell again!
H20
pushes Halloween 3-6 aside and links itself only to the first two films. The title
serves as double meaning. Halloween twenty years later, and blood is thicker than
water. Pretty witty, huh! It's too bad that this film never rises above the standard
slasher fare. Aside from Curtis and a wonderful cameo by Curtis' real life mom
and Psycho star, Janet Leigh, this movie just doesn't, if you'll pardon the pun,
cut it! Unlike Carpenter, there is nothing special about Miner's direction. He
was obviously rushed through this production.
Also,
this is not the Michael Myers I remember. The Myers of yesteryear was slow and
ominous. He lurked in the dark and had the look of death in his eyes. He was,
in fact, the bogeyman in every sense of the word. This Myers, by comparison, seems
like a composite of every killer you've seen in countless Halloween rip-offs,
making H20 seem un-original.
Let
this be a lesson to those considering doing a sequel to a classic horror film.
Let all great homicidal maniacs stay where they belong. Running rampant within
our imaginations. Don't tarnish the memory of a great film by making an unworthy
sequel!
Twenty
years ago, film maker John Carpenter released an independent horror film that
would change the face of the genre forever. That film was Halloween and with a
blend of spine tingling terror and a wonderfully eerie score, it became a huge
hit, spawned several sequels, and remains one of the best thrillers of recent
memory.
