10 Things You Learn Rewatching Halloween II (1981)

Jamie Lee Curtis burst onto the scene with the original Halloween, giving one of the greatest debut performances of all time and cementing herself as an absolute legend. In the intervening years between the first film and this one, Curtis had become a full-blown scream queen, lending her talents to other horror films such as The Fog, Prom Night, and Terror Train.

So seeing her return to the franchise that launched it all for her should have been a shining moment of glory and allowed her to deliver another tour de force performance. Which is exactly why the reality of Halloween II's use of the Laurie Strode character is so soul-crushing and hard to watch.

Laurie is only in about twenty-five minutes of the film, spending a huge chunk of the runtime being comatose in a hospital bed. The film opts to instead spend all of its time in the hospital focusing on the new cast of characters who work there rather than spending any time developing Laurie as a character, which is a shame. They pretty literally put her on ice, just saving her for the finale, which robs her of all agency and makes her the most passive alleged protagonist imaginable.

And then there's the sister twist. Carpenter himself has hinted it was the result of a "six pack of beer a night" and perhaps enjoying Empire Strikes Back iconic 'father' twist from one year earlier a bit too much. But by far the most disappointing part is that Laurie herself, the character who it actually matters to, never even finds out on-screen.