Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (1998)

Directed by Steve Miner. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Adam Arkin, Josh Hartnett, Michelle Williams, Adam Hann-Byrd, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, LL Cool J, Janet Leigh, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nancy Stephens, Branden Williams. [R]

After being missing for a couple of decades, Michael Myers goes looking for his little sis, finding her working as headmistress of a boarding school under a fake name. Seventh entry in the long-running Halloween franchise ignores everything that came after part two, and emphasizes suspense/scares over gore and body count (à la the original classic), while also adding layers of trauma to the Laurie Strode character and a light sprinkling of Scream-style hipness/irony—Kevin Williamson was one of the executive producers. Unfortunately, director Miner is no John Carpenter, and the film lacks style, dread, wit…and when the kills arrive, there are no surprises, especially when it comes to who dies and who survives. Curtis makes for a sympathetic, nigh-compelling lead (her performance is easily the best thing about the movie); Arkin and Hartnett are both pretty listless as her love interest and son respectively. The cameo from Curtis’ real-life mother (Leigh) alongside the car she drove in Psycho is an amusing treat (her character’s name is even “Norma”). At the time of its release, arguably the best sequel in the series, but competition wasn’t exactly fierce. Followed by Halloween: Resurrection.

51/100