10 Things You Learn Rewatching Halloween II (1981)

Regardless of the film's ups-and-downs, its finale is pretty much sheer brilliance.

Carpenter and Hill have mentioned in several interviews since that really the only thing they knew from the get-go about Halloween II was that they wanted to kill Michael Myers off once and for all, so that they could proceed in a different route with the franchise. And so, one of the first things planned out was the film's finale. Which shows, because the final few minutes of this film are absolute perfection.

With Loomis, Laurie, and Michael all finally together in the same location, Loomis and Laurie are chased into the major surgery room by Michael. Once there, Laurie shoots both of Michael's eyes out, blinding him. This leaves Michael to swing blindly around, attempting to find Laurie and Loomis. To distract him, the two of them begin opening valves on various gas canisters all around the room.

With each new sound, Michael turns towards them and just as he starts to get close, the other one will open a new one to distract him. Loomis tells Laurie to run from the room and then lights his lighter, igniting all of the gas in the room, and engulfing both he and Michael in a gargantuan explosion. Laurie narrowly escapes, as Michael comes stumbling out, taking a few last steps before falling over.

It is an incredibly tense sequence and it is honestly just such a joy to see Laurie and Loomis working together to overcome Michael, for what would ultimately be the only time in the entire franchise.