This is Halloween 3! - Lackluster Sequels!

Well, we’re in the spooky season, and I got a few movies and shows I want to talk about. I know I got a post about monster dramas in me somewhere, but this isn’t the time! No, I got a hankering to revisit a few sequels to classic horror movies. It’s funny because I think I saw all of these before I saw their first movies. I know I can say that for Jaws, Predator, and Halloween. Those came much later in life. I’m not so sure about Hellraiser. I may have seen Hellbound before the first one, but I’m not sure.  I know I somehow ended up seeing bits of Hellraiser 3 when I was pretty young. I don’t know how the heck that happened!

Today’s picks are a bit random but still fit in that “scared crapless” genre. First, we got Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 from 1988. Next up, we broach the sci-fi genre with Predator 2 from 1990. If you thought running in the jungle was bad, try running in Los Angeles.  Next up, the animals decide to get involved with Jaw 2 from 1978. Finally, I gotta end it in a slashing good time with Halloween 2 from 1981. So, let’s see what other messed up stuff Clive Barker can bring to screen.

Hellbound: Hellraiser 2

Hellbound is the pretty direct sequel to Hellraiser. Kirsty (Ashley Laurence) ends up being put into a psychiatric hospital and is shellshocked from the events of the first movie. She tries to tell her story, but no one believes her. What she and most at the hospital don’t know is that Dr. Channard (Kenneth Graham), the head of the hospital, is deep into the occult. When he hears about Kirsty’s story, he’s somehow able to resurrect Julia (Claire Higgins) from the dead the same way her Uncle Frank was brought back. Since he wants access to the dimension where Julia and the Cenobites come from, he uses a mute, young girl to solve another puzzle box and open a portal to this hellish dimension. Kirsty also goes there since she believes her father to be trapped there. What happens is a lot of running, the return of Pinhead, the birth of a new Cenobite, and lots of blood.

This isn't the last time Kirsty and her evil stepmother Julia square off thankfully. Come on, Kirsty!

While I did enjoy this for the most part, it pales in comparison to the first movie. First off, The cast is good here. Ashley Laurence is cool as Kirsty. Even though she’s suffering through some PSTD, she’s able to hold herself together. Claire Higgins really gets to indulge in the villainy here as a resurrected Julia, and Graham's Channard is quite jacked up. Let’s just say that he was already messed up in the head before he’s transformed into a Cenobite. Yes, you read that right. With the return of Pinhead and the Cenobites, we learn a little bit about how they’re created here, and it is as grotesque as you can imagine. I also thought Imogen Boorman was fine as Tiffany, the young girl who is basically groomed into opening the portal. She gets to be our hero along with Kirsty. I think it's even gorier than the first one in some places.

Kids, if a creepy man walks up to you and asks you to solve a puzzle box... JUST SAY NO!

While we get a little bit of a retread in the first half (Julia basically takes Frank’s place in getting flesh), we get to see the Cenobite dimension and its “god”, Leviathan. It more or less turns into a twisted fantasy movie in the second half. While that may sound exciting, it kind of isn’t. I don’t know if the budget was there, but we basically get a dull labyrinth and many corridors. It’s also here where things get messy story-wise. Channard’s new look as a Cenobite is a bit much to take. Then again, I remember one of the later movies having a Camera Cenobite, so Channard’s look at least gets the unsettling down well. In the end, Hellbound was fine, but know that it may not be as good as the first one.

Predator 2

Predator 2 takes place a decade (1997) later in a war-torn Los Angeles. The LAPD is having a hard time dealing with a war between two gangs, and all this is happening during a heat wave. While all this madness is going on, Det. Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) and his team uncover that someone new is taking out these gangs in gruesome style. As they start to investigate more, one of them is killed by what we know to be a Predator. Also on the trail of the Predator is a federal team led by Peter Keyes (Gary Busey). As more and more bodies start to pile up, Harrigan and the Predator ultimately butt heads.

Huh... I didn't know that aliens would feel the power of the Quickening! Someone get MacLeod and Queen on the phone!

From off the bat, I could tell that this is a few steps below the first movie. Things kind of feel cheaper here even though the budget is higher. The B-movie vibe really hit here and not in the best way. The writing really feels off with the dialogue not being all that great. The cast tries their best here, but the script isn’t helping things. The world itself feels weird. I know they’re trying to go for a crime-ridden city, but it feels like the Predator has been put in a Robocop movie and not one of the good ones either. I’m also wondering why that comic crossover hasn’t happened yet!

If you thought Arnold had it bad, Danny gets it worse. He held it all together at least.

Even though things aren’t great here, I did have fun with the movie. Danny Glover does his best to be the main man of action here, and he carries the movie. I also thought Gary Busey and Bill Paxton were fine here. Paxton really got to go up against the Terminator, a Xenomorph, and a Predator, didn’t he? The action is pretty solid and bloody as usual. I also do like that we get to see how a Predator would operate in a more populated area. In fact, the Predator itself gets a good showing here with new weapons, a bit of an honor code (it only kills ones it deems as threats), and some culture. It’s also here where we got the first inkling of anything involving Predators facing Xenomorphs, so you can thank or blame this movie for that. Overall, it’s not that good, but it has its pros.

Jaws 2

Jaws 2 was released in 1978 and is not being directed by Steven Spielberg. Already we may be going down a wrong path. Four years has passed since the shark incident at Amity Island, and it looks like another great white has come. A few divers and beachgoers either go missing or die by mysterious circumstances. Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) believes there to be a shark but without any concrete proof, no one believes him. Things end up getting bad for the island when a group of teenagers leave the island and get attacked by the shark. Realizing that his sons are also part of this group, Brody sets out on his own to save the teens and put an end to this new shark.

And here, we have Roy Scheider trying his best to make this film less dull.

Wow, if there was any sequel that fell off, it was this one. I won’t say that it’s horrible, but it is far from good. Me and Liz had actually watched the first Jaws months ago for her nieces, and we had fun with that. Liz tapped out of this one somewhere in the second act. It basically tries to redo the first movie but with less quality. We get another shark, people die, the townspeople and politicians don’t treat Chief Brody well, and we get people being stranded at sea terrorized by the shark. The movie just feels dull with a lot of slow moving scenes and not much substance.

Now, this scene was pretty nuts... and we get to see how "good" that shark looks.

Even though the movie has problems, it has a few pros. Roy Scheider does his best to carry the movie and the rest of the cast tries as well. I also recognized another actor from my childhood here, Joseph Mascolo as Len Peterson. I know him by another name: Stefano DiMira from Days of Our Lives. You can blame my grandmother for that. I did also think that the shark action was pretty good. Things really don’t get good with the film until the last half where the teenagers were being threatened by the Shark. It's also cool that this shark gets taken out in a different way. Even with those pluses, Jaws 2 was really underwhelming.

Halloween 2

Finally, we have Halloween 2. This literally takes place right after the end of the first movie where Michael Myers disappears when he’s shot off a balcony by Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence). Lauri Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is taken to the hospital after the attack. Dr. Loomis continues to search for Michael and has a few setbacks. Meanwhile, Michael continues to cause havoc across Haddonfield and take lives. Eventually, he makes his way to the hospital and takes out the staff one-by-one. Laurie does her best to evade Michael. Eventually, Loomis makes it to the hospital and a bit of a final showdown commences.

This was probably the of the most unintentionally funny moments of the film.

I haven’t seen the first one in years, but I did feel this was a nice follow-up. Even though John Carpenter isn’t behind the director’s chair, his presence is still felt in the writing and music. I can say that this has to be the worst night for anyone in Haddonfield, IL. Even though he’s gone through a lot of bodily harm, Michael Myers continues to do his thing in pretty gruesome fashion. Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis is awesome. He’s as driven as Michael is at some points. Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie’s okay here since she really doesn’t get much to do except for run and hide from Michael.

I think this is where Donald Pleasence realized that he may be doing this for a few more movies.

Even though it’s a direct sequel, it does feel like things get a bit repetitive here. Then again, Halloween was the start of the slasher genre, so getting movies that tend to retread things is a given now. We get a reveal about Michael’s and Laurie’s past and it’s one that most fans are mixed about. Even John Carpenter regretted making the two siblings. As for me, it’s an okay reveal that doesn’t add or take away anything from the threat of Michael. In fact, it kinda makes him more monstrous to me. There are also moments where it gets a bit dull, but it’s not many. Overall, this was nice, but it was also the start of the ever-continuing sequel to a slasher movie.

How Michael brushed this off, I have no clue.

……………………………………………

Overall, these aren’t the best sequels, but they try their best. Hellbound, Predator 2, and Halloween 2 did at least try to do more with their respective stories than just tell it again with style. I can’t say that about Jaws 2, but at least it had some teens losing their wits on the open sea. Well, that’s all I got for now. Next time is going to mix in some sci-fi goodness and horror… or at least, it’s gonna try to. You’ll see what I mean. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there. You might go up against an alien shark from the depths of Hell that’s related to your 3^rd cousin.

 Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna see if there really is a Robocop/Predator crossover out there.