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Halloween 2: How Does It Compare to Other Slasher Sequels?
By Travis Desmond

As I talked about in my last blog, to us hardcore horror fans, John Carpenter’s original masterpiece “Halloween” is almost a perfect movie. Now the question is…does the (first) sequel build on that masterpiece or tear it down?

There are many flops in horror when it comes to sequels, but at the same time, there have been quite a few successes as well. Halloween 2 was released 3 years after the huge success of the original and it added some plot twists that many felt handcuffed the series going forward. Of course the main plot twist would be that Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis’s character) is no longer portrayed as just the innocent victim that is being stalked by Michael Myers…but she is now his sister. This is something that even John Carpenter criticizes his decision about to this very day.

Is the much maligned sister twist enough to make this sequel a failure? I would say absolutely NOT. Compare it to other such sequels and you have a strong debate as to which is the greatest. Let’s look at the main 4 slasher series’ that most of us know and love: Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the aforementioned Halloween. NOES is likely regarded as the worst of these 4 sequels (though it does have a cult following) so we’ll put that aside. Also of some debate is whether Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is a worth sequel to the original, but that will come another day. As it’s not exactly universally loved among the horror community (although I absolutely love it) we’ll put it aside as well.

Essentially this debate comes down to whether Halloween 2 compares favorably to Friday the 13th Part 2. Both, in my humble opinion, are two of the greatest “part 2’s” that have ever come down the slasher pike. Friday the 13th Part 2 of course introduces us to Jason Voorhees as a masked killer, while Halloween furthers Michael’s bloodlust while adding the gore to satisfy the 80’s slasher era fans. Both were released in 1981. Also, interestingly, both feature Michael and Jason offing police offers of some form. In fact, two of the authority figures (the one I’m referring to in Halloween 2 was probably just a hospital security guard) both receive hammers to the skull. Interesting parallel but that’s what I’m all about.

So, parallels aside, which is the better sequel…Friday the 13th Part 2 or Halloween 2? That’s a very HARD question and quite possibly should have been the title of this article. I’m going with Halloween 2. It ups the kills, adds more violence, and does a good job of making a second entry that takes place right after the original. Friday the 13th Part 2 is also amazing, but it’s a very short movie, has even more plotholes/unanswered questions, and I feel like it’s overshadowed by the movies featuring Jason in a hockey mask. So with Halloween 2 being, in my opinion, the best of the 4 major slasher series’…I’ll answer the question posed by this article…how does Halloween compare to other slasher sequels? It not only compares favorably, it’s flat out superior.

Now does the movie surpass the greatness of the original? If you want my rating (as well as Vic’s) you’ll have to tune into our episode on Monday September 22th at 9 PM EST! You can listen to the episode LIVE or in our archives on blog talk radio on Filling the Void Radio Network!