50 Fun Facts About Halloween II (1981)

What family tie between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers does Halloween II (1981) reveal, reshaping the whole series?

She is his sister, a twist John Carpenter says he added only because he felt there was little story left to tell. He later called the idea silly.

Which future Wayne's World star appears in Halloween II (1981) as a silent TV news assistant in a blue baseball cap?

Dana Carvey originally had lines as well, but almost all of his scenes were cut. What survives is a brief glimpse of him taking instructions from a reporter.

Which sweet 1950s pop hit by The Chordettes is put to eerie use in the slasher sequel Halloween II (1981)?

Mr. Sandman suits a heroine who spends much of the film sedated in a hospital bed, and reviewers found its innocence turned threatening. A 1998 sequel opened with it again.

A boy in a pirate costume arrives at the hospital in Halloween II (1981) with what lodged in his mouth?

A razor blade in his mouth nods to the urban legend of strangers tampering with trick-or-treat sweets, a scare that was making headlines when the films came out.

When does the story of Halloween II (1981) pick up, relative to the cliffhanger ending of the 1978 original?

The same night: the sequel begins moments after Michael Myers is shot off a balcony and vanishes. Its director wanted the two films to feel like a two-parter.

The actor who plays Dr. Loomis promoted Halloween II (1981) by hosting which TV comedy show the day after it opened?

Saturday Night Live had him host its episode of October 31, 1981, with the punk band Fear as musical guests.

In the title sequence of Halloween II (1981), the jack-o'-lantern splits in half to reveal what inside?

A human skull emerges from the pumpkin, an escalation of the original's slow zoom into a glowing jack-o'-lantern. The same image sold the film on its poster.

How does Dr. Loomis seemingly kill both Michael Myers and himself in the operating-room climax of Halloween II (1981)?

A gas explosion engulfs both men once Loomis has ordered Laurie out of the room. John Carpenter declared the pair dead, yet later sequels revived them.

Where does Laurie Strode shoot Michael Myers with a gun handed to her by Dr. Loomis in Halloween II (1981)?

In both eyes, which blinds him and leaves him swinging wildly at the air. Fans can buy replica masks marked with red tears to match the scene.

Which rock musician turned director kept the family twist from Halloween II (1981) in his 2007 remake of Halloween?

Rob Zombie built his remake and its 2009 sequel around the idea, but the 2018 Halloween threw it out, with a character dismissing it as a made-up story.

Which English actor, once a James Bond villain, returned as Dr. Sam Loomis in Halloween II (1981)?

Donald Pleasence, who had played 007's nemesis Blofeld in 1967, earned a Saturn Award nomination for the sequel. He went on to play Loomis in three more films.

Which first-time feature director made Halloween II (1981) after John Carpenter refused to direct the sequel?

Rick Rosenthal won the job with a short film he had made as a student at the American Film Institute, after Carpenter's first choice turned it down.

Which veteran stuntman replaced Nick Castle behind the mask of Michael Myers for Halloween II (1981)?

Dick Warlock, a stunt double on Jaws, copied the slow sit-up and head tilt from the original because the sequel gave the killer far more screen time.

The stuntman behind Michael Myers in Halloween II (1981) spent over 25 years doubling for which John Carpenter star?

Kurt Russell relied on him as a personal stunt double for more than two decades. He also turns up in Halloween III, playing an android assassin.

Seeing Lance Guest as a paramedic in Halloween II (1981) led Nick Castle to cast him in which 1984 science-fiction film?

The Last Starfighter needed a hero with innocence, shyness and determination, and Castle, the original Michael Myers, put Guest's name first on his list.

Who co-wrote and co-produced Halloween II (1981) with John Carpenter, after co-writing and producing the 1978 original?

Debra Hill also thought about directing the sequel herself, but decided against it because she did not want to be seen as merely Carpenter's protégé.

Which sound designer from Star Trek: The Motion Picture joined John Carpenter to perform the Halloween II (1981) score?

Alan Howarth helped move the famous piano theme onto a synthesizer organ, giving it a more gothic feel. The pair went on to score Christine together.

Cinematographer Dean Cundey passed up which 1982 haunted-house hit out of loyalty to the makers of Halloween II (1981)?

Poltergeist went to another cameraman because Cundey felt he owed the team that had hired him for the 1978 original. He later shot Jurassic Park.

Which Hollywood studio, whose earlier hits included Jaws, bought the theatrical rights to Halloween II (1981)?

Universal opened it on 1,211 screens the day before Halloween, and it topped the US box office that weekend with $7.4 million.

Which Italian producer, famous for the 1976 remake of King Kong, helped finance Halloween II (1981)?

Dino De Laurentiis backed a sequel budgeted at $2.5 million, nearly eight times what the original had cost. His company later worked on Evil Dead II.

In which US state is Haddonfield, the fictional home town of Michael Myers in Halloween II (1981)?

Illinois is home to the fictional Haddonfield, which borrows its name from the New Jersey town where the original's co-writer grew up. Hospitals in Los Angeles and Pasadena stood in for it.

Which Haddonfield lawman quits the hunt for Michael Myers in Halloween II (1981) on learning his daughter Annie is dead?

Sheriff Brackett blames Dr. Loomis, then leaves to break the news to his wife and hands the search to his deputy. Charles Cyphers played him in both films.

Which teenager, Laurie Strode's crush in the original, is mistaken for Michael Myers and killed in Halloween II (1981)?

Ben Tramer, wearing a similar mask, is struck by a police car that slams into a van and bursts into flames. Laurie talks about taking him to a dance in the 1978 film.

Which sanitarium colleague of Dr. Loomis tells him the truth about Laurie Strode's birth family in Halloween II (1981)?

Marion Chambers, the nurse Michael attacks during his escape in the original, returns with a bigger role. Actress Nancy Stephens later married the sequel's director.

Which Celtic festival's name does Michael Myers scrawl on a school chalkboard in Halloween II (1981)?

Samhain is the occult clue that Dr. Loomis seizes on to explain why his patient seems indestructible. It is the sequel's first hint that he is more than a disturbed man.

Whom does Dr. Loomis force at gunpoint to turn the car around and drive back to Haddonfield in Halloween II (1981)?

A US marshal had been sent to take Loomis off the case, but the news about Laurie's parentage makes the doctor pull a gun on him. Michael later cuts the lawman's throat.

On whose orders is Dr. Loomis pulled off the manhunt and driven out of Haddonfield in Halloween II (1981)?

The governor wants Loomis back at the sanitarium once news of the murders gets out, so a nurse colleague arrives with an armed escort to collect him.

Which sanitarium, where Michael Myers was held for 15 years, is Dr. Loomis ordered back to in Halloween II (1981)?

Smith's Grove had held him since he was a boy of six, with Loomis as his psychiatrist throughout. The doctor defies the order and races to the hospital instead.

How does Michael Myers learn where Laurie Strode has been taken in Halloween II (1981), in a scene added during editing?

A radio broadcast about the murders plays from a boy's portable set as he bumps into Michael on the street. John Carpenter shot the scene late to close a hole in the plot.

What accident knocks paramedic Jimmy unconscious after he finds the head nurse dead in Halloween II (1981)?

He slips in her blood, hits his head and is left concussed, which is why he later passes out at the wheel. The television cut confirms that he survives.

Halloween II (1981) out-grossed which rival horror sequel that reached US cinemas earlier the same year?

Friday the 13th Part 2 took $21.7 million against the $25.5 million earned by Michael Myers's return. Only An American Werewolf in London did better among 1981 horror films.

The Dr. Loomis actor's Saturn Award nomination for Halloween II (1981) lost to which star of another 1981 release?

Harrison Ford won for Raiders of the Lost Ark. The sequel's other nomination, for Best Horror Film, went to An American Werewolf in London instead.

Which American film critic, a champion of the 1978 original, called Halloween II (1981) a fall from greatness?

Roger Ebert complained that the plot only works if every character behaves like an idiot at all times, and that the sequel was busy trying to outdo its own violent imitators.

John Carpenter said the rough cut of Halloween II (1981) was about as scary as which 1970s TV crime drama?

Quincy was his yardstick for tame television. He stepped in during post-production to bring the film up to the level of its rivals, to the director's dismay.

John Carpenter says he dreamed up the big family twist in Halloween II (1981) while in what condition?

Drunk, by his own account, and hunting for extra scenes to pad the original for its network television airing. He has since called the idea a bad one.

Which Oscar-winning writer-director dismisses Halloween II (1981) and every sequel that keeps its family twist?

Quentin Tarantino compares them to fruit from a poisoned tree, because for him Laurie and the killer were never related. The 2018 film agreed and dropped the idea.

After Halloween II (1981), John Carpenter hoped to turn the series into what, starting with the third film?

An anthology was the plan: a new, unrelated Halloween story every year, in the spirit of The Twilight Zone. The third film had no Michael Myers and was the series' weakest earner at the time.

Which hospital instrument replaces Michael Myers's stolen kitchen knife as his weapon late in Halloween II (1981)?

A scalpel kills a nurse and cuts a lawman's throat in the final act. The film had opened with him taking a knife from an elderly couple's kitchen.

In early plans for Halloween II (1981), set a few years on, where was Michael Myers to track down Laurie Strode?

A high-rise apartment was to be her new home, until script meetings moved the story to Haddonfield's hospital.

The makers of Halloween II (1981) looked into filming the sequel how, before rejecting the idea as too costly?

In 3-D was ruled out on cost, and because so much of the story unfolds in darkness, which the processes on offer handled badly.

Why did Jamie Lee Curtis need a wig to match Laurie Strode's long hair in Halloween II (1981)?

Hers was cut short by 1981, so a long wig recreated the look of three years earlier. She was 22 and playing a teenage babysitter once more.

What kept disrupting the hospital shoot of Halloween II (1981), as the film's director recalled?

Passing airplanes from a nearby airport kept ruining takes. The six-week shoot was split between two hospitals in the Los Angeles area.

What did John Carpenter add to Halloween II (1981) in reshoots, to the annoyance of the film's director?

Gorier death scenes were his answer to a horror market that had grown more violent since 1978. The director complained that they ruined his carefully paced film.

Under which name is the masked Michael Myers listed in the credits of Halloween II (1981), as in the original?

The Shape was still John Carpenter's name for the killer in 1982, when he told an interviewer the character was dead. Six years later a sequel proved otherwise.

Which mask did the new Michael Myers actor wear in Halloween II (1981), despite its different look on screen?

The previous film's mask had been kept under a producer's bed between shoots. Its new wearer put the change down to lighting and the different outline of his face.

Which John Carpenter ghost story with Jamie Lee Curtis was in development when Halloween II (1981) was first proposed?

The Fog also set off a lawsuit between two producers; the settlement left one of them with the guaranteed right to make the Halloween sequel.

How does Michael Myers kill Nurse Karen Bailey in Halloween II (1981), in the film's only nude scene?

He scalds her in a hot tub that was in fact freezing: actress Pamela Susan Shoop recalled cold, dirty water, chattering teeth and an ear infection.

Which executive producer's credit was cut from a 2011 Blu-ray of Halloween II (1981), provoking a fan boycott?

Moustapha Akkad's credit came back on corrected discs after his son called the swap a disgrace; buyers of the first pressing could send off for a replacement.

Which horror writer novelised Halloween II (1981) under the pen name Jack Martin, producing a paperback bestseller?

Dennis Etchison opened each chapter with captioned stills from the film, and his book adds a victim the screen version lacks: a reporter.

In a dream in Halloween II (1981), what does the sedated Laurie Strode remember learning about herself as a child?

She was adopted, a memory the film plants well before its big reveal about her past.