Starting where Halloween finished, Michael Myers continues his killing spree; his main target, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), is now a patient at the local hospital. Attempting to save her and stop Michael is Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence).
By the time 1981 strolled along, any originally in the Slasher sub-genre had been drained away. Dozens of look-a-like, feel-a-like films had been made. Halloween II is just another one. It’s given up on any kind of suspense or the need to introduce the characters before they are killed. Michael just walks along, slowly (can’t any of these people just run away?), and kills whoever he happens to run into, normally with a blade, but sometimes with a needle and once with hot water. He spends much of his time in the local hospital where Jamie Lee Curtis is wasted by being drugged for half the film. Apparently, this is a great hospital for psychotic killers as almost no one is in it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a hospital and found it nearly empty with the nurses playing in hot tubs due to all their free time. While the tiny hospital staff frolics, Dr. Loomis comes up with some of the dumbest dialog in any film. He sees the word “Samhain” and starts going on about druid gods and sacrifices. “Samhain” is a common word and just means the fall harvest festival. If that’s all he’s going on, he should have just said “Ah, Michael is killing to get some apple cider.”
So, there are some standard, predictable murders, some shouts of “he’s not human, he’s evil,” and a bit of running. The end. But a few thoughts about that end (ending spoilers ahead): Michael is not only shot and burned to death (and we see him burn), but he is also blinded. It’s just interesting to keep those things in mind for the many, many sequels.
The other films in the series are Halloween, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween 5, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Halloween: Resurrection.