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Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later (1998) - Steve Miner

It sounds like a good idea. Psycho slasher of Haddonfield Michael Myers has returned to have another go at murdering his sister Laurie Strode. This time marking the twentieth anniversary of the night that he had murdered her friends and those close to her. It all seems really neat until they unravel what has already been made. 

Laurie Strode, now going by Keri Tate works at a private school with her son in Northern California. She is haunted by the events that happened to her twenty years prior and has apparently reflected that into her son. He resents her and acts rebellious as a seventeen year old with his private school friends. Michael Myers eventually finds her and comes calling for a reunion of sorts. Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie with Josh Hartnett, Michelle Williams, Joseph-Gordon Levitt, LL Cool J, and Janet Leigh to round out the cast. 

This movie acts as though Halloween 3 - 6 had never happened. Which is unfortunate. It puts your franchise in a weird place. I really dislike when horror movie franchises do this. Your fans shouldn't have to try and piece things together. This leads to the Halloween franchise having four different dimensions. This is complicated! 

The first dimension is a dimension where Halloween 1 & 2 happened and then that jumped right to Halloween H20 & Resurrection. This is the world in which Michael Myers is squarely aiming for Laurie. The second includes Halloween 1, 2, 4, 5, & 6. This world introduces magic and supernatural events. It continues on the story that Michael must murder every member of his family. This is why he goes after Jamie Lloyd. The third is the Rob Zombie universe which is the rebooted Halloween series starting with Halloween (2007) up to Halloween 2 (2009). These movies are more brutal and acknowledges supernatural elements. The fourth is the Halloween 3: Season of the Witch installment that is a completely different tale in another world.    

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later is a disaster. After watching the movie you are left with a bad taste in your mouth. Probably due to the incredibly short running time and lack of Michael Myers. The film has its clever moments but is too muddled by bad decisions. 

  • During the scene where Norma is leaving, she stands in front the car from Psycho (1960). The music playing in the background at this part is also from Psycho. Janet Leigh, who plays Norma, played Marion in Psycho. The license plate on the car is also the same as the second car Marion buys in Psycho, NFB 418, which are Norman Bates' initials.
  • On one of the newspaper clippings seen during the opening credits, a picture of Dr. Sam Loomis can be seen. The character was featured in the previous Halloween films, and was portrayed by Donald Pleasence.
  • The reports that Kevin Williamson's original treatment for "H20" included a scene in which "Halloween 4" through "6" are acknowledged as being "in continuity" and "canon" are completely accurate. The scene did exist, and involved a bitchy student at Keri/Laurie's school giving a class report on the "Haddonfield Murders", and going into great detail about Jamie Lloyd, Danielle Harris and JC Brandy's character from "Halloween 4" through "6". The student talks about Jamie losing her parents in an auto accident, as was the explanation in those sequels for Laurie Strode's absence. (In fact, the only reason for Laurie to be in the Witness Protection Program with her son under an assumed name as "Keri Tate" at all was because the original story for "H20" was conceived like this, with "Halloween 4" through "6" in continuity, and Williamson thus being required to create an explanation for Laurie's "death" in the previous movies and her subsequent resurrection.) The student's report chronicles Jamie's being hunted and eventually killed by her uncle, Michael Myers. Upon hearing this oral presentation in the classroom, a grief-stricken Keri/Laurie then retreats to a restroom and throws up. This scene was of course omitted from the actual film.

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