Line #0 YMMV/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater


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2	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Right before [[spoiler: Laurie decapitates Michael]] there's a moment where he starts to feel the mask on his head, and looks confused. This has led to many interpretations and it's never been confirmed - though it did allow ''Resurrection'' to use it [[spoiler: to pull off Michael switching places with a paramedic]].
3	* BrokenBase: Ignoring the continuity of the last three films. Some find it disrespectful to the franchise, while others are happy that the inferior films aren't considered canonical. A third camp feels that this doesn't contradict anything that happened in the last three - as Laurie is mentioned to have faked her death - so the Jamie Lloyd films can still be considered canonical even if the film doesn't acknowledge them (although this doesn't work since it's stated that Michael hasn't been heard from in twenty years, meaning none of the events of 4 through Curse happened). Regardless, this film does have many {{Shout Out}}s to the fourth and fifth films, still honoring their legacy in some way.
4	* CharacterRerailment: After ''Halloween II'' turned Laurie into a borderline DamselScrappy - spending most of the film confined to a hospital bed - this film reaffirms her ActionSurvivor status how she will confront Michael to protect others. The 2018 reboot would indeed follow this cue by making her a full-on ActionMom, or more accurately, Action Grandma.
5	* CompleteMonster: Michael Myers. See [[Monster/{{Halloween}} here]].
6	* ContestedSequel: The film itself is somewhat polarizing. It was very well received by fans at the time of its release, and critics mostly agreed that, at the very least, it was the best ''Halloween'' sequel up to that point. It was praised for its simple and classy approach, its self-aware nods to the original film, the return of Laurie Strode, the excellent performances, and the unique focus on Laurie's struggle with trauma and alcoholism. Years later, some fans accused the film as being far too derivative of ''[[Film/Scream1996 Scream]]'', like almost every other slasher film of the late '90s. Also, some fans don't find Michael Myers remotely threatening or menacing because of the harsh beating he faced at the hands of Laurie Strode, and accuse this film as taking the edge off the character, which wasn't undone even with Rob Zombie's reboot. Still, there are some fans that swear by this film as their favorite sequel, even with the better-received [[Film/{{Halloween2018}} 2018 sequel]] taking a similar approach. And in light of the poorly received sequels to that, the debate has flared up again over whether which was a worthy successor.
7	* FandomRivalry: What with the [[{{Film/Halloween2018}} 2018 film]] ignoring the continuity of the sequels and bringing Jamie Lee Curtis back, the fanbase is split over which entry is superior. Fans also debate over which entry's characterization of Laurie is better.
8	* {{Fanon}}: Some fans theorize that Jimmy from ''Halloween II'' might be John's father, mainly because his death isn't confirmed[[note]]He's last seen passing out from a concussion in the car[[/note]] and he's outright confirmed to be alive in the TV ReCut of II. What's more is that Jamie in the previous three films has the [[OneSteveLimit same last name]] as him and her first name is so similar to his. This has led to some WildMassGuessing that Jimmy and Laurie got together, eventually faked their deaths out of paranoia, and eventually split up.
9	* FanonDiscontinuity:
10	** Most fans generally like to pretend the franchise ends with this film, despite the WordOfGod that this Michael Myers was intended as a copycat killer - and ''Resurrection'' retconning the ending.
11	** The film itself has become subject to this for many fans over the years who dislike the heavy ''[[Film/Scream1996 Scream]]'' influence that dominated the late 90’s, and felt it was all style but no substance. The release of [[Film/Halloween2018 the 2018 film]] effectively making this film [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canonical]] hasn’t helped, either.
12	* FanPreferredCutContent: Many fans are captivated by a scripted scene where Laurie hears about [[spoiler:Jamie's death]] in a shocking way from an InnocentlyInsensitive student, causing her to vomit and cry. Not only does the scene sound particularly intense and moving, but it would have avoided putting the last three films in CanonDiscontinuity territory, which not everyone approves of.
13	* FranchiseOriginalSin: Like ''Film/HalloweenResurrection'', the movie has a rapper in a prominent role. The difference is that Music/LLCoolJ has a fairly minor part played seriously, something hardly noticeable compared to Music/BustaRhymes in an [[HamAndCheese over-the-top]] role with much more screentime.
14	* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments:
15	** John's SnarkToSnarkCombat with Laurie, where she mentions how his father is "an abusive, chain-smoking, methadone addict."
16	--->'''John:''' Now who would attract someone like that?\
17	'''Laurie:''' Ouch.\
18	'''John:''' And just think, ''he'' left ''you''.
19	** Laurie lets him have that one, conceding he gets his smart mouth from her side of the family.
20	** Sarah tries to come up with different words to describe how bad Yosemite is to camp in. Lame doesn't cut it, so she tries 'wretched', 'loathsome' and 'repugnant'.
21	* HarsherInHindsight: Creator/MichelleWilliams survives a serial killer trying to murder his own sister and nephew. Fast forward to ''Film/ShutterIsland'' where she herself is the victim of a serial killer. [[spoiler: But it turns out she herself was the killer - and drowned her three children]].
22	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments:
23	** Laurie giving John a permission slip for the trip to Yosemite, cutely joking that he should call her a few times just to make sure she knows he's safe.
24	---> "And if you think you've called too many times, call once more."
25	** Norma's reassuring speech to Laurie about focusing on today and not worrying too much about what lies ahead.
26	** John and Molly do seem to be a nice couple who really love each other, complete with him setting up a romantic scene of her finding a bouquet downstairs.
27	** Sarah expresses her desire to one day get very "big and dumpy" because she loves food - in the 'heroin chic' 90s. Charlie reassures her he would find that "very sexy".
28	* HilariousInHindsight:
29	** Sarah's desire to become a BigBeautifulWoman and her decidedly [[TheLadette un-ladylike]] behavior is amusing if one is familiar with Jodi Lyn O'Keefe's other famous role - as the AlphaBitch Taylor Vaughn in ''Film/ShesAllThat''.
30	** Creator/JamieLeeCurtis is the principal of a boarding school where serial killings happen. She moves on up to [[Series/ScreamQueens2015 dean of a college]] and things get even ''worse''.
31	** This film chooses to ignore the continuity of the last three, focusing on the Laurie Strode part of the story. The next time Jamie Lee Curtis would return to the franchise - with ''[[{{Film/Halloween 2018}} Halloween]]'' 2018 - it would go a step further with every film after the first being ignored.
32	** Creator/TomKane [[TheOtherDarrin voices]] Dr. Loomis, a psychologist who once supervised an infamously AxCrazy individual, in a [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim posthumous recording]] by the character. Over a decade later, he would voice [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum the director of an insane asylum full of people as nasty as Michael]].
33	** Creator/TomKane also voiced Darwin in ''WesternAnimation/TheWildThornberrys'', in which Creator/DanielleHarris (Jamie in the fourth and fifth films) voices Debbie Thornberry.
34	** Creator/JosephGordonLevitt starred in [[Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou another teen film]] the next year featuring an incompetent faculty member trying to write an erotic novel. One can only imagine a world where Ronnie collaborates with Ms. Perky.
35	* ItsShortSoItSucks: At only 86 minutes, some fans feel this is way too short a film, especially for what was intended as a conclusion to the franchise.
36	* JerkassWoobie: Laurie here is a smothering, overprotective parent who doesn't even allow her son to go on field trips out of paranoia. However, given that she's been dealing with the trauma of narrowly escaping a serial killer twice, and John's father is implied to have been abusive, you can't blame her for turning to the bottle.
37	* JustHereForGodzilla: Some praise the movie solely for Creator/JamieLeeCurtis' return to the franchise, and her performance, which is considered one of her best.
38	* {{Narm}}:
39	** The infamous "ice skate to the face" kill when you stop and think about it.
40	** Laurie's CatapultNightmare at the start is a bit too over-the-top. Her drawn out screaming can cause laughter rather than fear.
41	** Michael's reactions to being hit are nigh impossible not to laugh at. There's his eyes bugging out in response to Laurie's GroinAttack, and earlier than that, after John punches him and Molly strikes him over the head, one might be forgiven for thinking they switched out his regular mask for one that's scowling in anger.
42	** While "[=H20=]" part of the film's title represents "h-twenty," it’s meant to be read "H[[subscript:2]]O", the chemical formula of water, which caused some fans to joke about how it sounds more like the title of some kind of crossover between ''Halloween'' and ''Film/{{Jaws}}'', sometimes jokingly calling the film "Halloween Water."
43	** Michael's [[SpecialEffectsFailure CGI mask]] when he confronts Charlie is so distracting it can veer into this.
44	** The film features a lot of shots where Michael's mask is much too brightly lit, eliminating the dark shadows over his eyes from previous films and making him look incredibly goofy.
45	* NeverLiveItDown: This sequel is frequently attacked for the choice of mask that Michael wears, but the mask itself really isn't bad at all. The problem is that there are a lot of brightly lit shots of him with no overhead lighting to cast shadows over his eyes. All the shots in the film where the mask is in darkness look fantastic, proving it's not the mask that's at fault, but the lighting and cinematography.
46	* NightmareRetardant: The scene where Michael stalks Charlie is a genuinely decent horror scene with good tension and atmosphere...that is quickly ruined by the appearance of Michael's [[SpecialEffectsFailure brightly-lit CGI mask]].
47	* OneSceneWonder:
48	** Creator/JanetLeigh! It marks the only real time she and her daughter have starred together - they had both been in ''Film/TheFog1980'' but barely interacted, and they worked hard to make the scene feel important.
49	** Nancy Stephens returning as Marion from the first two films, managing to put up an extremely good fight against Michael and adopting a fun DeadpanSnarker persona.
50	* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: While the usual complaints about the lack of John Carpenter's involvement abound, a certain portion of fans also object to this being the first film without Dr. Loomis in it due to [[Creator/DonaldPleasence Donald Pleasence's]] death in 1995. Some believed the films lost a certain gravitas without Dr. Loomis to ground them in something close to reality (for a horror movie anyway) and that it was disrespectful to continue the series without his character.
51	* RetroactiveRecognition:
52	** This was Creator/JoshHartnett's first film role. The HollywoodHypeMachine would get behind him in the 2000s.
53	** Although Creator/JosephGordonLevitt was known for ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'', he would enter even greater prominence in TheNewTens.
54	** Emmalee Thompson, who plays Casey, would be more recognizable to ''{{Series/Charmed 1998}}'' fans as playing the young version of Prue Halliwell.
55	** Creator/JodiLynOKeefe would later be well known for stints on Series/PrisonBreak and Series/TheVampireDiaries (also by Kevin Williamson)
56	* SpecialEffectFailure: Michael's brightly-lit CGI mask in the scene where he confronts Charlie.
57	* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: After several installments containing {{Sequelitis}} after the second movie, ''Twenty Years Later'' is often considered to be a better film, made even better by the fact that it utilizes CanonDiscontinuity for everything after ''Halloween II''.
58	* TearJerker:
59	** There was a deleted scene where Laurie learns from one of her students about the death of Jamie Lloyd, the daughter she abandoned to go into hiding for the duration of parts ''4'' through ''6''. Laurie excuses herself from the class, goes into a bathroom, and promptly vomits. This scene was in an earlier draft, but never filmed.
60	** It's said that Dr. Loomis simply died of old age mundanely between the second film and this one. He didn't take down Michael Myers or go with a fight - and it's said his sanity deteriorated as the years went by. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Realistic, yes]], but quite an upsetting way to go for such a strong character. It's even worse if you take the ''Sam'' mini-story as canon, in which Michael himself plays a significant part in his death.
61	** Will's death, especially Laurie's reaction to it.
62	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: John's friends don't get nearly enough screen time, despite some gifted actors playing them. While they do get some development, a lot more could have been done with them. Molly in particular never gets any scenes with Laurie except for Laurie telling them to go get help - and we never see Laurie's overprotective attitude explored when it comes to who her son is dating.
63	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Due to choosing to ignore or at least not acknowledge the fourth, fifth and sixth films in the franchise, we never get to explore John finding out he has a sister who was targeted by Michael too, or Laurie's feelings about abandoning a daughter who ended up dying anyway.
64	* WTHCostumingDepartment: The instance under SpecialEffectFailure was done to evidently cover up a rather embarrassing looking mask - but it ends up veering into this territory instead due to really bad lighting. There are no less than 5 different masks used throughout the movie, including the Halloween 6 mask and a CGI mask that was bad even for the time. Due to reshoots, the mask often changed multiple times in any given scene with Michael.

Context YMMV / HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater