The first timeline reset after the mess that was "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers", "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" finds Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) living under an assumed name as the headmistress of a boarding school in California, still fearful that her brother Michael Myers is out there, ready to come after her again, twenty years following his original massacre. She may be a psychologically scarred functioning alcoholic (making this one of the least endearing iterations of the character in the franchise) but Laurie is correct about Michael. After dispatching of Nurse Marion (Nancy Stephens) from "Halloween" and "Halloween II" back in Haddonfield, Michael heads west in search of his sister, eventually finding her in one of the drabber entries in the "Halloween" saga. The cast (including Michelle Williams and Josh Hartnett) here is fine, but the characters they portray are paper-thin, the version of Myers they have to contend with watered down, and the storyline they're stuck in is as uninspiring as they come. And while it's nice to see Jamie Lee Curtis back in the franchise, the filmmakers do the Laurie character a disservice by turning her into a lush bore, even if they do give her a solid final act to work in. "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" ultimately isn't any worse than "Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers" or "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" from a technical standpoint, but it desperately lacks their charm and will mostly appeal to viewers who like their slashers rote. For me, it ranks near the bottom of the franchise.
THE HALLOWEEN FRANCHISE
Halloween II (1981)
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