It Came From the Bargain Bin: HALLOWEEN H20: 20 YEARS LATER (1998)

The Back Story: The year was 1998, and the HALLOWEEN film series was in dire need of resuscitation. Despite continued, near-universal praise for John Carpenter's classic original 1978 film and the well-received 1981 follow up, the franchise had been on shaky ground ever since then, watered down by far too many nonsensical, shoddily executed sequels. A third, in-name-only "Halloween" installment (1982's not-nearly-as-bad-as-you've-heard HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH) unsuccessfully tried to turn the franchise into an anthology series of annual stand-alone horror films unrelated to the saga of serial killer Michael Myers. When "III" tanked, producers realized their mistake and eventually brought Myers back to the screen later in the decade. Over the next several "Halloween" installments, an ill-advised attempt to create more of a "back story" for the Myers character (1988's strictly average HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS, 1989's awful HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS and 1995's execrable HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS) resulted in the formerly fearsome serial killer being re-characterized as the Earthly representative of an ancient evil and the idol of an underground Druid cult (?). Audience numbers and box office dollars dwindled with each new installment, and the series' continuity quickly became a jumbled mess. There was only one thing to do... go back to basics.

Fortunately 1996's hit "Scream" had re-ignited interest in the slasher-film genre by shining a light-hearted spotlight on its many conventions/cliche's as well as grounding the story in more "realistic" situations. "Scream" writer Kevin Williamson was on a hot streak at the time and Miramax/Dimension Films, who owned both the "Scream" and "Halloween" properties, approached him to help "reboot" the aging "Halloween" series in time for the 20th anniversary of the original film. Williamson and two other screenwriters devised a new continuity for the seventh film which wisely chose to erase the "Druid Thorn Cult" nonsense from the previous three installments and instead opted to pick up the saga exactly where "Halloween II" had left off. Fans rejoiced at the news that Jamie Lee Curtis was returning to the franchise to reprise her role as Laurie Strode, and the stage was set for the first true "Halloween" sequel in more than fifteen years.

As "Halloween H20" begins, we are re-introduced to Nurse Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens), who was last seen in "Halloween II" assisting Dr. Sam Loomis (the late, lamented Donald Pleasance) in his pursuit of Myers. It's two days before Halloween 1998 and when she comes home from work, she discovers that her house has been broken into. As she waits for the police she gets a long overdue visit from Michael Myers before the opening credits even roll. Seems that Nurse Chambers had been caring for the late Dr. Loomis in his declining years, and Myers dropped by to ransack the Doctor's files in order to find out what happened to his sister, Laurie Strode.

Laurie, meanwhile, seems to have done pretty well for herself in the two decades since the Worst Family Reunion of her Life. She faked her death and is now living under an assumed name ("Keri Tate"), serving as the headmistress of Hillcrest Academy, a posh private boarding school hidden away in the California hills. Her teenage son John (Josh Hartnett, in his film debut) is the only one who knows her dark family secret, and that her confident exterior hides a woman who depends on a steady diet of pills and booze to keep the constant nightmares and flashbacks at bay.

It's Oct. 31st at Hillcrest Academy, and as the rest of the student body prepares for a school-wide camping trip to Yosemite (do private schools really do such things? Never mind, it's just a convenient plot device to empty the campus so the real action can start) John and his girlfriend Molly (Michelle Williams of "Dawson's Creek") and their friends Charlie (Adam Hann-Byrd) and Sarah (Jodi Lynn O'Keefe) are plotting to stay behind and throw their own private, lovey-dovey Halloween party deep in the basement of the main campus building. Laurie/Keri has no idea that her son is still on the school grounds and is settling down for a romantic evening of her own with her boyfriend, the school's guidance counselor (Adam Arkin). Eventually, of course, the kids' secret celebration is interrupted by a certain Mr. Myers, who has been sneaking around the campus for the entire day waiting for the right moment to strike. Poor Charlie and Sarah are quickly done away with, and John and Molly run screaming to Laurie/Keri's front door with Michael right behind them, causing Laurie's Mama Bear instincts to kick in... that's when the fun REALLY starts. This is what we bought our tickets for -- to see Laurie Strode finally cast off 20 years of post-traumatic stress disorder and kick her brother's ass!!

I won't spoil the rest of the film for you in case you haven't seen it, but suffice to say that the last 20 minutes or so of "Halloween H20" are very satisfying stuff. Laurie and Michael put each other through the wringer in a cat-and-mouse battle that encompasses the entire school before a finale that would've ... and should've ... been the perfect ending to the "Halloween" film series once and for all. (But of course, they had to go and make "Halloween: Resurrection" in 2002 and screw it all up. *SIGH*...)

HALLOWEEN: H20 is not a perfect film by any means, but it is a heck of a lot of fun nonetheless, and it's certainly leagues ahead of any of the three preceding films. Director Steve Miner knows a thing or two about constructing a fast moving slasher flick, as he's got two "Friday the 13th" films on his resume. Rather than going for an out-and-out gore fest, "Halloween H20" is a slow burner that builds to an action packed finale. Curtis appears to be having a blast slipping back into the role that made her famous, and the younger cast members do their jobs well enough (only Hartnett and Williams have enough screen time to show much personality) though rapper LL Cool J is more or less wasted in a thankless bit part as the school's security guard.

Sharp-eyed genre fans will appreciate the little in-joke featuring Janet Leigh of "Psycho" fame (she also happens to be Jamie Lee Curtis' mother) as well as numerous nods to the original films.

"Halloween H20" can be purchased for around five bucks from the fine folks at Echo Bridge Entertainment, a budget label that recently entered into a deal with Miramax/Dimension films to distribute a number of their back catalog titles (including "Halloween 5" and "6," as well as numerous entries from their other genre series like "Hellraiser," "From Dusk Til Dawn," and "Children of the Corn"). The DVD is bare-bones and lacks any special features, but for such a bargain price, most "Halloween" fans aren't likely to complain. My advice: ignore "5" and "6" and go right to this one. This film, along with the first two, are the only "Halloween" flicks you really need.