The 'Halloween' series was in dire need of a fix, with the past three entries being more disappointing than the next. While I wouldn't say 'H20' is still a home run when it comes to a proper sequel, it's thankfully much more entertaining and has some real tension and of course the return of Jamie Lee Curtis. The film was their first attempt at retconning, as they're currently doing with the upcoming 11th entry by ignoring the Jamie Lloyd story and setting the film 20 years after the events of 'Halloween II' where Laurie Strode has changed her name to Keri Tate and is the headmaster of a California boarding school. Michael Myers is still haunting her after so many years, and she lives in fear for both her and her son John (Josh Hartnett) expecting him to return for revenge on his sister. The rest of the story is really dull, and is what keeps 'H20' from achieving greatness with the film taking too many cues from 'Scream' and 'Scream 2'. It was touched up by Kevin Williamson who wrote those films, but he seemed to leave the good dialogue and tension for those films and not this one.
The film has too many jump scares, in fact that's the only scare it has in its hat. They happen far too often and with annoying music stings. The original film and good horror films in general have build up to these jump scenes but also have mood, atmosphere, tension, and general dread. 'H20' only attempts this in the last 20 minutes of the film, but boy are those 20 minutes great. Whatever problems I may have, once Jamie Lee locks the gates and pulls out that fire axe to fight Michael and that theme song swells, I don't know but it just washes all my problems away and I always enjoy the finale of this film. I don't ignore the film's problems, but it also doesn't take away the third act's fun, genuine horror, and what must have been one of the few movies to do so at the time having Laurie be one step ahead and know that Michael will get up again and takes matters into her own hands to ensure he doesn't. 'H20' also has one of the best horror movie endings of all time and one that I can only imagine how shocking and surprised it was at back in 1998. It's too bad the next entry would completely destroy it's impact and it's awesomeness if one were to watch it immediately after as I had to for these reviews.
Other negatives I have may just be nitpicks but I don't like how this film looks. It looks like every Dimension Films production at the time, and even 'Scream' had this look and yes even then it doesn't appeal to me. I feel the biggest problem with 'Halloween H20' is that it just blends in with other teen slashers at the time such as 'Scream', 'Urban Legend', and 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'. They should have only focused on Laurie's story, which thankfully they seem to be doing with the new film. The teens in this story other than John are nameless and generic bodies for Michael to kill and even John himself is a poorly written character. He just complains and moans the whole film, and then he's injured and sent away in the last act. He's useless. This film is Jamie Lee Curtis' and no one else. 'Halloween H20' is an improvement on parts 4-6, but its also your usual 90's slasher fluff. The film tries too hard to be like the imitators rather than a genuine 'Halloween' film. Thankfully, Jamie Lee Curtis saves the film to a certain agree and it's still worth a look if you weren't fans of the previous sequels. If only they stopped with this one...
3/5
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