Halloween: H20 (1998)
Director: Steve Miner Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Adam Arkin, Josh Hartnett, Michelle Williams, LL Cool J, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Adam Hann-Byrd, Nancy Stephens, Janet Leigh, Chris Durand Screenplay: Robert Zappia, Matt Greenberg Producers: Paul Freeman Runtime: 85 min. US Distribution: Dimension Films Rated R: Violence, gore, profanity, sex
By Nathaniel R. Atcheson (nate@pyramid.net)
There are many films that feature crazed individuals roaming around neighborhoods, skewering Innocent Bystanders in the futile attempt to get the one person who typically escapes. These individuals are intensely violent people, who show no remorse or feeling at any time during any of these films. Sometimes the films that revolve around these people are good; often times they are lousy. Any way you look at it, I think the makers of these films have been focusing on the wrong side of the story all these years.
Sure, knives plunging into teenagers' backs is interesting. An ice skate in the face will never fail to grab my attention. I even like the fracturing of ankles by means of dumbwaiters. But, for all of the happy joy that one may find in scenes like these, I doubt that any of them can compare to what it would be like to understand the thought process of a maniac like Michael Meyers. He is, perhaps, one of the most interesting characters in any film I've ever seen. There is no character development, of course (such a term can only be used mockingly in this context), but he is certainly a prominent character in this film. I think a mock-biography on Michael Meyers would have been more interesting than anything presented in Halloween: H20.
Unfortunately, it seems that viewers are more content with the slasher stuff. I can identify with that; it's fun to escape into ultra-violence like this every once in a while. As a horror flick, H20 isn't too bad. It's fun, and even witty (gasp!) at times. It's intelligently-crafted by director Steven Miner, and well-acted by the wonderful Jamie Lee Curtis. There isn't a whole lot of new material presented in this particular genre piece, but I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it.
This is the seventh film in the Halloween series, the first of which was made twenty years ago by a fellow named John Carpenter. I tried so hard to see that film before this one, but, alas, I was unsuccessful. I've seen the last five minutes of it, but I can't make a fair judgment of quality. I hear it's good. I'll leave it at that.
Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role from the first film as Laurie Strode (though she's changed her name for security reasons). She is the sister of the homicidal maniac, Michael Meyers. Among other things, I'd like to know why they have different last names.
Well, poor Laurie is still very upset, twenty years later, and it turns out she has good reason: Mike is back in town, and he's pissed! He's here to take revenge on his sister, who apparently failed to kill him. For some reason, he wastes a lot of time with Innocent Bystanders, and doesn't even work towards mutilating poor Laurie until the very end of the film. When it turns out that she was right about her brother, she takes it very well, and tries valiantly to murder him with a fire axe.
I guess most sins are exploited in various kinds of films. Like the other members of the "teen slasher" genre, H20 is porno for the violence-obsessed. It's not quite as shameful as some of the less-intelligent entries into the genre (there are so many that listing examples is highly pointless). Miner is miraculously able to manifest suspense and menace out of a lot of scenes (the dumbwaiter is a terrific set piece), and, no matter how many times you look at that imitation of William Shatner's face, it still looks scary. I was amazed that I actually felt suspense at any time during this film -- not even the Scream films managed to provide suspense for me.
Curtis is very likable here, as she always is. I think she's a gifted, funny actress who hasn't gotten a lot of recognition for her talents. Her role here feels a bit obligatory, as if the paycheck were a little more influential than the chance to create something grand and artistic, but I liked watching her anyway. What's also nice is that there are some good scenes between Laurie and her son, John (Josh Hartnett) that effectively lampoon as character development.
There are also some nifty turns towards the end, such as an unexpected final showdown between our heroine and her loony bro. H20 is a step above its siblings in acting and directing, but the very fact that it's a slasher flick keeps it from really getting anywhere. What would have made worlds of difference here? Show me a psychoanalysis of Michael Meyers. Or maybe a thermal brain scan. I'd like to see a nutty psychiatrist question him in prison, and toy with him in a covertly sadistic way. I mean, it's cool and interesting that Mike kills a lot of people, but aren't the thoughts behind that crazy mask more interesting? I'd sit through ten more Halloween films if just one of them explained just what, exactly, can make a man so insane.
**1/2 out of **** (6/10, C+)
Visit FILM PSYCHOSIS at http://www.pyramid.net/natesmovies
Nathaniel R. Atcheson
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews