You can’t help but feel sorry Rosenthal on Halloween II since his influence as a new director was clearly limited. Whereas Carpenter enjoyed full creative control on the first Halloween, Rosenthal had to contend with multiple power players on the sequel, each with their own sometimes conflicting vision of what the project should be. The director had originally planned to favor suspense over gore as on the original. He was overruled by Carpenter of all people, who strongly felt that audiences would expect more graphic violence in the wake of Halloween imitators like Friday the 13th. As a result, the film was made so bloody that many consider it part of the splatter sub-genre of slasher films.
“In the end, the cut of Halloween II that was released was certainly not mine,” Rosenthal further told Fangoria. “I was never a friend of John Carpenter’s. I was just somebody he hired, so I had very little say once they decided to change my cut of the film. I haven’t seen or talked to John in years, but it’s not like I’m pissed off at him.” The filmmaker further addressed his sequel’s woes at the H40 Convention: “There were a lot of cooks on this film. You had John and Debra, then Moustapha Akkad, then Dino de Laurentiis, and finally Universal. Dino came to the cutting room early on and said, ‘Oh Rick, it’s sooooo slow. Take out the scene with the apple and the razor blade,” and I said, ‘Dino, I’m not sure who has final cut here, but I can tell you John and Debra love that scene.’ And so in the end, that scene stayed in. That was a good example of the politics that were in play on Halloween II.”
“I think Halloween II is an abomination and a horrible movie.” - John Carpenter, Cinema Showcase
“I was really disappointed by Halloween II,” Carpenter said on Cinema Showcase in 1984.. “The director has gone on and done some other films and I think his career is launched now. But I don’t think he had a feel for the material. I think that’s the problem, he didn’t have a feeling for what was going on.”
A cursory read of the screenplay reveals that Halloween II wasn’t scripted nearly as tightly as the original film was. The sequel tries to cram far too much into its brisk ninety-two-minute runtime. As a result, many smaller character-establishing moments were shot but ultimately left out of the final film, some against the director’s wishes. Nearly every single role in the script lost footage en route to the theatrical version. Halloween II’s cutting room floor wasn’t just dirty with excess celluloid – it was filthy with it. Some of these scenes wound up in the film’s infamous broadcast version while others have yet to surface. Further deleted scenes appeared in the sequel’s official novelization, which was based on an earlier draft of the screenplay.
DELETED SCENES
While most of Halloween II’s deleted material encompassed smaller moments, there was one sizable sub-plot cut from the film that ran throughout the second act. These deleted scenes contained an additional kill and offered an alternate explanation as to how Michael arrived at Haddonfield Memorial. While the removal of these scenes streamlined the film’s middle section, they also left several plot holes behind in their wake.
This subplot began with the WWAR news team first seen reporting outside the Doyle house. With the exception of reporter Robert Mundy, the WWAR crew barely features into Halloween II’s theatrical cut. We’re only shown a brief moment where the station producer coaches her assistant (Dana Carvey in his first screen role) on how to get statements from kids. But look closely during the chat between Loomis and Hunt outside the Doyle house and you’ll see the station producer eavesdropping on their conversation. She overhears that police may have killed Michael Myers, which she assumes to be fact and recklessly announces on air. In both the theatrical and broadcast versions of the film, this is the last we see of her character. But not in the script.
As originally written and filmed, the producer instructs the news crew to meet her at Haddonfield Memorial so that they can get a reaction statement from Laurie Strode. (The producer is named Debra in what was surely a nod to co-writer/producer Debra Hill.) She opts to drive there alone rather than ride in the news van, which allows the Shape to set a trap. Deflating one of her tires, he climbs into the trunk and hides. The producer eventually pulls over to change the flat and encounters a sleazy redneck (played by none other than Rosenthal himself) who offers assistance. She declines his help and he drives off. When she returns to the trunk, the Shape jumps out to slit her throat. Leaving her dying by the roadside, he drives to Haddonfield Memorial. Per Rosenthal, this scene was at least partly filmed.
The WWAR news team arrive at Haddonfield Memorial a short while later to find their producer’s car in the parking lot. Assuming she is already inside, they enter the hospital in search of Laurie’s room. Their presence soon draws the ire of Mrs. Alves, who angrily kicks them out. Jimmy overhears one of the crewmembers mention Michael’s supposed death by police and rushes to share the news with Laurie. This doesn’t go as well as he might have hoped. Laurie refuses to believe him, insisting that Michael is still out there and still coming to get her. Becoming hysterical, she attempts to leave, forcing Jimmy to restrain her. Dr. Mixter rushes in and administers a sedative despite her pleas otherwise. “No! Don’t put me to sleep. He’ll find me!” No sooner do they medicate her then the power goes out. The emergency generator kicks on a moment later, which only runs half the overhead lights to save power.
The removal of these scenes resulted in three plot holes emerging in the narrative. The first stems from Michael cutting power to the hospital during Laurie’s panic attack. The script notes that interior lighting should change to reflect this development and indeed it does. Despite the scene’s removal, the hospital remains dimly lit for the remainder of the film with no explanation as to why. Without this information, the audience is left to wonder why everyone seems so content to be running around in the dark.
The second plot hole involved Laurie’s condition in the latter part of the film. Theatrically, we see her sedated just once before surgery to stitch up her arm. She fully wakes after the procedure with complete lucidity. Later on, Jimmy finds her unresponsive in her hospital bed with no explanation as to why. She half-wakes a short while later to wander the hospital in a drugged stupor. In actuality, we can attribute Laurie’s condition to the additional dose of diazepam administered during her theatrically deleted panic attack. The script further clarified that Dr. Mixter had already given her a double dose of the tranquilizing muscle-relaxant prior to surgery, meaning she is seriously overmedicated when found unresponsive by Jimmy. The filmmakers also deleted several blurry point-of-view shots that would have visually communicated her incapacitation.
The third plot hole dealt with how Michael traveled to Haddonfield Memorial. As originally filmed, he hitched a ride with the news producer. With this scene’s deletion, the filmmakers needed a way to communicate his journey to the clinic. Carpenter patched this plot hole himself by capturing an additional scene in post-production that showed Michael stalking through the town square en route to the hospital. He bumps into a youth holding a boombox (Shape actor Dick Warlock’s son), which is broadcasting a news report about Laurie being taken to the local clinic. As the scene ends, we see Michael passing by a directional sign for the hospital. This new scene also introduced Nurse Karen earlier than in the original script.
Laurie’s panic attack was further referenced in a deleted chat between Janet and Karen in the children’s ward. Janet expresses her unease at how the night is going. She vents about someone having stolen hypodermic needles from the storage room, which Karen jokingly attributes to Budd. Janet further laments how creepy it is that the power is out and that she can’t find Mr. Garrett or Mrs. Alves. Karen replies that she is becoming needlessly worked up and should relax. “Easy for you to say. You didn’t hear Laurie Strode screaming about how Michael Myers is still out there -- how he’s coming to get her!”
One deleted scene improvised by Halloween II’s director involved Pamela Susan Shoop’s Karen hearing a strange noise in the children’s ward. The Shape accidentally sets o
ff a cymbal-playing monkey toy, which draws Karen’s attention. We witness the scene play out from the Shape’s point-of-view as he hides in a nearby closet. “It’s incredibly tense,” Rosenthal said in Halloween: 25 Years of Terror.“She goes to turn the toy off and all of a sudden it stops. You’re just waiting for him to leap out. And then she walks out of the room and you breathe a sigh of relief. I liked it because it made the horror aspect asymmetric. It meant every time you saw the killer, you didn’t end up with a body. I liked that.”
Another cut scene from this part of the film depicted further conversation between Hunt and Loomis as they leave the coroner’s office. Loomis thanks Hunt for sending his officers back out to search for Michael. “I knew Annie Brackett. The other kids too. And now there may be another boy lying on that slab in there who died because of him. So don’t thank me, Doctor. Just help me find him. And stop him.” Loomis theorizes that a wounded Michael might try to go home, which sets up their visit to the Myers house. (Dialogue discrepancy: As filmed, Hunt blames Michael for Ben Tramer’s death. As originally written, he blames Loomis.)
Per the theatrical cut, Halloween II ends with Laurie being loaded into an ambulance and taken to another hospital. Yet the filmmakers had originally planned on including one final scare here. As the ambulance pulls away, we see a sheeted figure rise up behind her. Laurie turns to face it and gasps in terror, though it’s only Jimmy. His head is bandaged, presumably from the concussion he received after slipping on Mrs. Alves’ blood. Laurie begins to sob, ‘We made it!’ and they hold hands. Cue “Mr. Sandman” and roll credits. Rosenthal has cited this as his preferred ending to the film.
ALTERNATE CUTS: LAURIE’S DREAM
One of the most intriguing moments in Halloween II depicts a flashback to Laurie’s childhood. This long-repressed memory returns during a dream she has while under sedation. Narratively, the dream’s function is to inform (or remind) Laurie that she and Michael are siblings. Without this dream, she might have survived the night still wondering, “Why me?” It’s not as though Loomis ran into the hospital eager to divulge his newfound discovery. Can you imagine that? “I’m sorry I left you. We must get out of here. By the way, Michael’s your bro. Long story, talk later.”
It would seem the filmmakers were initially unsure how to depict this important sequence. The theatrical version, television cut, shooting script, and novelization all handle it a little differently. Theatrically, we first see young Laurie standing outside on a sunny day with her mother. The girl asks, “Why won’t you ever tell me anything?” to which the mother replies, “I told you I’m not your mother.” It’s unclear whether this is Mrs. Myers or Mrs. Strode. The end credits bill her simply as “Laurie’s Mother.” The dream then cuts to Smith’s Grove where young Laurie approaches a boy, who turns to face her. Though they never speak, we understand that this is young Michael Myers. They lock eyes. Laurie wakes.
Halloween II’s television cut features the same asylum encounter but without Laurie’s mother appearing before it to deny being her mother. Another difference is that young Laurie now has lines dubbed overtop her performance: “Michael, please don’t be angry with me. I’m your sister. Please don’t be angry with me. Please don’t hurt me.” Clearly, this version isn’t much for subtlety. The broadcast cut also reshuffles Laurie’s dream to appear after Loomis learns the Myers family secret rather than before it per the theatrical.
The original script builds more toward the big reveal with an additional flashback earlier in the night. In it, young Laurie sits clutching a doll in the backseat of the family car. Her parents sit in the front seat. Eerily, their eyes are without pupils and blood trickles down their faces. Laurie’s father is upset: “I told you we shouldn’t have brought her. He saw her. He saw her.” Confused, Laurie asks, “Who was it, Mom? Why won’t you tell me? Why won’t you tell me anything?” Here again we get the puzzling line, “I told you I’m not your mother.” Blood then starts to trickle from the mouth of Laurie’s doll. With this, she startles awake in her hospital bed. Was this sequence ever filmed? Likely so as Halloween II’s end credits list Dennis Holahan as Laurie’s father despite him never appearing onscreen. The script then depicts the asylum encounter between Laurie and Michael much the same, but with one added detail: present-day Laurie is standing behind her younger self watching the whole scene play out!
The novelization is similar to the shooting script but with an additional moment in the earlier flashback. In the novel, we learn that Laurie’s doll is named “Mikey.” Saddened after her mother disowns her, she comforts her doll: “It’s okay, Mikey. Don’t cry.”
HALLOWEEN II: THE TV CUT
Much like John Carpenter’s original film, Halloween II required extensive editing in order to be shown on broadcast television. This was again due to language, violence, and nudity. Predictably, the removal of these moments left the sequel short of an acceptable runtime. Fortunately, Halloween II had numerous deleted scenes that could be reinstated for durational purposes. This resulted in a version of the sequel now officially known as the “TV Cut.” Bizarrely, this Halloween II does more than simply replace objectionable scenes with deleted ones – it re-edits and re-orders existing scenes, altering the film’s timeline in the process. Some have suggested this broadcast version represents Rick Rosenthal’s original cut of the film, but this is patently untrue. While some of the restored scenes do hail from Rosenthal’s original cut, others do not such as those shot by Carpenter in post-production. This version is a patchwork of visions.
Halloween II’s broadcast cut fixes several of the aforementioned plot holes by restoring deleted material. We now have an acknowledgement that Haddonfield Memorial loses power and that the emergency generator kicks on in response. We also now see Dr. Mixter administer the diazepam dose to Laurie that leaves her unresponsive. Additionally, the filmmakers restore several blurry point-of-view shots that demonstrate her groggy perspective. Despite these fixes, the TV cut also manages to create several plot holes of its own. By removing the deaths of Janet, Mrs. Alves, and Dr. Mixter, we are to assume these characters live. Why then do they go inexplicably missing for the entire last half of the film? Another character spared in the broadcast cut is teenage Alice, who hears Mrs. Elrod scream and then returns to her phone conversation. The scene cuts away abruptly before Michael stealthy enters her home.
The TV cut also changes the details of Jimmy’s head injury. By removing the scene in which he discovers Mrs. Alves’ blood-drained body, this cut also removes Jimmy slipping in her blood. Yet the film’s original ending is restored wherein Jimmy appears inside the ambulance with a bandaged-head. How did he injure himself if not by slipping in blood? This cut manages a clever solution. Shots of Jimmy wandering the dark hospital are intercut with the operating room finale. As Loomis ignites the gas, we briefly cut away to Jimmy slipping and falling. The suggestion here is that the blast caused his fall rather than the blood-soaked floor. This solution creates another problem, however. If Jimmy doesn’t fall until the very end, then he can’t stumble through the parking lot with a concussion as Laurie hides in one of the cars. This scene then had to be altered to remove a head-injured Jimmy in order to maintain some sense of continuity.
WRITTEN BUT NOT FILMED
Carpenter and Hill’s original draft of Halloween II contained several additional moments that never made it before camera. This included an entirely different opening than seen in the eventual film. Theatrically, the sequel starts with a flashback to its predecessor’s ending. Per the first draft script, the sequel was to open on a pair of neighborhood kids, Dave and Bobby, as they go trick-or-treating. Just before 10 PM, they knock on the door of old Mrs. McNally, who complains about people screaming in the neighborhood. The boys next visit the Doyle home, which appears dark and empty. Noticing the front door ajar, they wander inside and hear sounds of a scuffle happening upstairs. A moment later, six gunshots ring out and the Shape falls onto the front lawn behind them. Having just witnessed Halloween
’s ending firsthand, the boys are paralyzed with fear. Loomis comes rushing down the stairs a moment later to find his patient missing. A neighbor comes out to investigate, believing this to be part of a prank “We’ve been trick-or-treated to death tonight.” Loomis responds, “You don’t know what death is!”
The Shape’s arrival at the hospital was also envisioned differently as first written. A half-conscious Laurie was to witness her brother’s approach while gazing out from her hospital room window. Jimmy would have also noticed the masked trespasser wandering the premises. He mentions this to Budd, who teases that Jimmy is now seeing things and needs to smoke a joint to relax. Upon entering the building, the Shape hides out in the newborn wing. In a callback to Halloween’s opening, he would have found a child’s clown mask abandoned on the floor. He reaches down to pick it up, but blood trickles from his fingertips onto the mask. The Shape angrily crumples the blood-splattered mask before throwing it aside.
The script contains several more differences near the ending. Theatrically, it’s Nurse Marion Chambers whom the governor sends to retrieve Loomis from Haddonfield. Per the original script, it was going to be Dr. Susan Chambers, an entirely different character. The US Marshal also suffers an alternate death in this first draft. Rather than slitting his throat, the Shape throws him onto the broken doorway, impaling him on a giant shard of glass. Laurie has even less of a role to play in this ending as Loomis never hands her the gun. It’s therefore Loomis who shoots out Michael’s eyes. He’s then stabbed in the gut for his efforts. Bleeding out on the floor, Loomis wonders aloud: “Why won’t you die?”
Taking Shape Page 5
