10 Things You Learn Rewatching Halloween II (1981)

While the first film was an almost entirely bloodless affair which got its scares off of good old-fashioned suspense, Halloween II cranks things up a bit. There's a higher body count, more blood, more gruesome kills, and more explicit nudity to boot.

However, this was not the original intent. Director Rick Rosnethal was, as mentioned, intent on channeling Carpenter's work as much as possible, and this was not very interested in delivering lots of gore. But upon seeing initial cuts of the film, Carpenter himself demanded that they do additional photography to step up the blood and gore, which he returned to direct himself.

In the wake of the success of the original film, several imitators had already sprung up, including the likes of Prom Night and Friday the 13th. These slashers were bloodier and gorier, and Carpenter was afraid that Halloween II would look positively quaint by comparison. And so, sequences like Michael's first two kills in the film were added to up the body count and gore, while already-filmed murders were extended and re-edited for a greater impact.

The original film is often credited for giving birth to the slasher genre, but Halloween II really marked the first time that the franchise embodies the tropes of the subgenre. Michael had to keep up with the competition, for better or for worse.