One of the most successful horror series of all time first began back in 1978 with the Original Halloween. It was a terrifying breath of fresh air at the time and arguably started the genre we know today as 'stalk & Slash'. Anyway, due to it's success, 5 sequels followed with varying success...I do believe Halloween 5 went straight to DVD outside of America so things were starting to go downhill. The series desperately needed a kick up the ass and in 1998, 20 years later, Jamie Lee Curtis did just that with Halloween H20...
♥ An Anniversary To Die For ♥
Okay, so the movie begins and we soon find out that Michael Myers (The Halloween series villain) is far from dead and actually very much alive as he spills blood to gain information on his long lost sister, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who is apparently dead after a 'tragic automobile accident'. Is she dead...Hell No! She's just moved to Northern California, changed her name to Keri Tate and become the headmistress of 'a very posh, secluded private school.'
So the movie plays out and we learn that Laurie/Keri is still suffering with the terrifying memories of what happened to her 20 years earlier and drinking an awful lot of alcohol. Thank goodness she has her son, John
(Josh Hartnett), to look after her. However, her inability to move on with her life is causing friction between them. There is a lot of character build up in the movie so that when the shite actually hits the fan then we do actually care about what happens to these people.
It's not long before Michael tracks her down and shows up and this is where the movie truly begins. 40 minutes of pure suspense, terror and proper Saturday night entertainment! Teens are done away with, people run and scream with limps, Michael falls down, gets back up, falls down, gets back up again until we come to the final showdown. That's right...Laurie V Michael...This movie is basically the movie where Laurie stops running and faces her monster...and in glorious style she does it. There is something incredibly sexy about Jamie Lee Curtis approaching a building at nightime with an axe in hand screaming 'Michaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel!'
If you don't already know then tough...It's no secret that Michael and Laurie are brother and sister and you can see the movie makers struggling to keep that link there...With such lines like:
The movie has annoyed many hardcore fans as it basically completely ignored all the sequels after Halloween 2 and just kept to the original storyline. It totally doesn't bother me that it's ignored 3,4,5 and 6 as they just aren't good enough I'm afraid...The Halloween series should be Halloween, Halloween 2, Halloween H20 and that's it. That is a perfect trilogy.
The ending to this movie is what you need to watch it for. The last 40 minutes are incredible...you'll be jigging your leg uncontrollably! It's true that the first half is kinda dated and plays out like a bad Dawsons Creek episode but it's worth it if you stay with it.
♥ DVD Extras ♥
Honestly, not a whole lot to get excited over but here they are:
Unmasking The Horror 'Making Of Featurette' > This is actually a pretty decent documentary on the series and Halloween H20's conception...Jamie Lee lets us in on how the idea came about...'Somebody mentioned the date and I thought, hmmm, it's been 20 years I've been in the movies with Halloween as my big screen debut...Yeah I can still get a job!'
Music Video > Anybody who actually cares about these or watches them, please let me know because I don't think that person exists. It is an awful indie/rock slow paced song that just doesn't fit in with the Halloween spirit. It's called 'What's This Life For?' By Creed...Whatever...swiftly moving on...
Trivia Game > A mildly entertaining quiz where you answer questions on the series. Get a question right and you hit michael over the head with a fire extinguisher continuously. Get a question wrong and Michael stabs you in the leg! Complete the quiz and the ending of the movie is given away so please don't do this before watching it...But anybody who watches extra's before seeing the movie has got serious problems right?! Lol!
Trailer > Self Explanatory!
And that's your lot...The Featurette is actually a decent insight so kudos to that but the rest is bunk!
Fear not, the picture transfer is Flawless and remains crystal clear complete with 'definite shadows' rather than awful grain like my old VHS copy! Remember those...And an awesome 5.1 sound mix keeps the hairs on the back of your neck standing firmly to attention!
Well I use Play.com an awful lot so I'll take a look there. Okay so it's on offer there at:
£4.99 with free delivery!
That's not bad but I'm sure you could probably find it cheaper on ebay but you'll have to rely on sellers to post it out quickly. Play.com items arrive not the morning after you order but the next!
♥ Conclusion ♥
I'm biased because I love this movie and can quote it line for line from beginning to end due to the ammount of viewings I've given it. I'll try and be honest. The movie does drag a little before you get to the last 40 mins and is a little dated but is totally worth the wait. There is blood here for the gore hounds but it really does recapture the originals motto which is terror and suspense not blood and guts. The acting is rather excellent too with an exceptional performance by Ms. Curtis who really does give everything she's got for this movie to produce what she had in mind! It also is a perfect ending to the series and should have been left there...and that's it but no...they gotta keep reeling them out and Halloween Resurrection followed 4 years later which ruined everything that H20 had built up.
Halloween H20 is the last great movie in the original series (not counting Rob Zombies Remake) and gave Halloween the kick-start it needed, taking it back to the top spot of movie charts worldwide and earning a deserved Fortune!
Production Year: 1980 - Horror - Director: Paul Lynch - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Leslie Nielsen, Casey Stevens, Anne-Marie Martin, Antoinette Bower
Production Year: 1981 - Horror - Director: Rick Rosenthal - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Lance Guest, Charles Cyphers, Jeffrey Kramer, Dana Carvey
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Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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Advantages: Original characters, classy, good actors, scary and suspenseful. Disadvantages: Too short, for some reason another voice is used to resemble Donald Pleasance - let's jsut say it doesn't
Advantages: Original characters, classy, good actors, scary and suspenseful. Disadvantages: Too short, for some reason another voice is used to resemble Donald Pleasance - let's jsut say it doesn't
![Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later [DVD] [1998]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/76558861.jpg "Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later [DVD] [1998]")
May 4th, 2008
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