10 Best Movie Sequels (Not Directed By The Original Filmmaker)
6. Halloween II
It was always going to be an impossible task to somehow match or even better what was delivered with John Carpenter's Halloween back in 1978. Along with Black Christmas, Halloween is viewed as the launching point for what would become the slasher subgenre - and similarly, Carpenter's Haddonfield-set picture is viewed as the apex of that section of the horror world.
Like so many other long-standing horror franchises, the Halloween series is one full of some major ups and downs. For every piece of genius such as Halloween, there's a slab of sh*t like Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers. And for every welcome return such as Halloween H20, there's a Halloween: Resurrection kung fu kick from Busta Rhymes.
Across this iconic franchise, though, one of the most impressive pictures is easily 1981's Halloween II. Picking things up directly after the events of its predecessor, this follow-up carries on through that exact same Halloween night, finding a distressed Laurie Strode rushed to hospital, with Michael Myers on her tail.
John Carpenter was against returning to direct Halloween II, though, and so the legendary Horror Master selected Rick Rosenthal as his replacement. Considering this was Rosenthal's directorial debut, his appointment was a truly inspired one from Carpenter.
Unfortunately, tainting his reputation amongst franchise fans a tad, it would be Rosenthal who was in the director's chair for the aforementioned Halloween: Resurrection 21 years later.