10 Horror Movies Critics Were Way Too Harsh On

Really, what's not to love about 1981's Halloween II?

You've got a movie that picks up immediately after the finale of John Carpenter's iconic Halloween. Michael Myers is continuing his laser-focussed Laurie Strode hunt. Donald Pleasence is on erratically brilliant form as the shrieking, desperate Sam Loomis. Pamela Susan Shoop's Karen Bailey has one of the absolute best deaths in the entire franchise. And we had a fiery, explosive finale that ends with The Chordettes' Mr. Sandman playing over the closing credits.

The problem Halloween II had, of course, is that, much like Jaws, the deck was stacked against it.

After John Carpenter opted against directing this follow-up, it was Rick Rosenthal in the director's chair. That was an obvious strike against the movie for many critics - and fans - but the major thing going against Halloween II is that it had to live up to one of the most influential films in the entire history of horror.

It had the same villain, the same protagonists, the same musical beats and was set in the same town as Carpenter's 1978 picture, yet the critical response to Halloween II was far from kind.