Halloween H20: 20 Years Later

"This summer, terror won't be taking a vacation."

1998 1h 26m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 1,874

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Two decades after surviving a massacre on October 31, 1978, former baby sitter Laurie Strode finds herself hunted by persistent knife-wielder Michael Myers. Laurie now lives in Northern California under an assumed name, where she works as the headmistress of a private school. But it's not far enough to escape Myers, who soon discovers her whereabouts. As Halloween descends upon Laurie's peaceful community, a feeling of dread weighs upon her -- with good reason.

“This summer, terror won't be taking a vacation.”

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Cast

Jamie Lee Curtis
Laurie Strode / Keri Tate
Josh Hartnett
John
Adam Arkin
Will Brennan
Michelle Williams
Molly
Adam Hann-Byrd
Charlie
Jodi Lyn O'Keefe
Sarah
Janet Leigh
Norma
LL Cool J
Ronny

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Steve Miner
Writers: Matt Greenberg, Robert Zappia, Robert Zappia
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.4× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Halloween Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Steve Miner, shot by Daryn Okada. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Ottman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Patrick Lussier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jamie Lee Curtis and Josh Hartnett and Adam Arkin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Steve Miner directs. Daryn Okada behind the camera. John Ottman scores. Patrick Lussier cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Made its money back 4.4× over at the box office.
328 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Halloween Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Steve Miner, shot by Daryn Okada. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by John Ottman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Patrick Lussier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Jamie Lee Curtis and Josh Hartnett and Adam Arkin carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "This summer, terror won't be taking a vacation.".
10IMDB entry: tt0120694 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 18 themes, including "california", "boarding school", "brother", "new identity".
12Released under 25 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Daryn Okada
Original score: John Ottman
Editing: Patrick Lussier
Production design: John Willett
Costume design: Deborah Everton
Makeup / hair: Tania McComas
VFX supervisor: Brian Jennings
Sound: Steve Boeddeker
Stunt coordinator: Donna Keegan
Runtime: 86 min · 1h 26m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $17,000,000
Box office: $75,041,738
Return: 441% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

Part of

Halloween Collection

Halloween is a horror film series that consists of slasher films focused on the fictional character of Michael Myers. Michael's killings occur on the holiday of Halloween, on which all of the films primarily take place. Originally intended to be an anthology franchise, the only film that doesn't feature Michael or any of the characters from previous films is Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982). However, audiences were unhappy with Michael's disappearance, and he was eventually brought back for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988).

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Steve Miner

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What people are saying

John Chard2015-11-02
★ 7/10
Brotherly love just went down another notch. It's 20 years since Michael Myers Haddonfield, and in particular Laurie Srode, his sister. Laurie faked her death and is now a divorced mom with a teenage son. Michael is on his way to finish the job he couldn't finish two decades ago. A true and honest Halloween/Michael Myers film this one, there's the distinct feeling that the people behind the series wanted to show that they remember what made the series popular in the first place. It's still the stalk and slash formula of course, but Jamie Lee Curtis returns and her character is nicely written. She's obviously still haunted by events passed and needs a stiff few drinks from time to time to keep the edge off. Yet she's in charge of a private school and is a stern but adoring mother to her son (Josh Hartnett). And she has a boyfriend (Adam Arkin) who cares for her. The first half of film sets up Laurie's new world, while we jump back and forth observing Michael on his journey to final destination. Once the second half revs up, it's the scare time as Laurie's son and his friends come under great peril, which we know will lead to a final confrontation with Laurie. The kills strike hard, the suspense is ramped up, and then it's a frenetic action based finale capped off by a coup de grace of some distinction. All in all it's just a very good and proper Halloween/Myers movie. It didn't reinvent anything, it just turned the wheel full circle and arrived at a fitting closure. 7/10
Gimly2017-11-08
★ 5/10
Of course we all know now that H20 went on to have a sequel, a reboot, a sequel to the reboot, and another Halloween film coming out next year, but props to Twenty Years Later for at least trying to end the franchise. It's nice sometimes to watch a horror go out on something other than a final-scare/cliff-hanger. Also notable for being the first Michael Myers movie that's any fun. Not a great movie, but credit where credit's due. Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.
Wuchak2018-11-08
★ 7/10
Jamie Lee Curtis returns and the franchise redeems itself from the crappy part 6 Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is living in Northern California under an assumed name as a dean of a remote private school. It’s Halloween season and her son (Josh Hartnett) is turning 17. Will her evil brother show-up to wreak terror once again? Of course he will. Adam Arkin, LL Cool J and Janet Leigh have side roles. “Halloween 4” (1988) was great and IMHO even better than the original 1978 slasher while “Halloween 5” (1989) was good, although it added a little campy humor. The next film, “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers” (1995), was surprisingly a mess with weak characters, lousy story development and stale & pedestrian jump scares. So I didn’t know what to expect with 1998’s “Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later.” The movie starts in Illinois with a glimmer of humor and the final scene of the character played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt made me bust out laughing. From there, the tone turns dramatic as events switch to the posh boarding school in California. The characters are confidently established and we feel we know them as Michael Myers stages his assault. I’m glad the creators decided to finally switch the setting from Haddonfield, Illinois, to a wholly different locale across the country. Haddonfield was getting tired. The plot is similar to “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer,” which was released a few months later. “H2O” is arguably the second best sequel in the series after 4 and is at least on par with 5. It’s great to have Jamie Lee as the ‘final girl’ again. Michelle Williams also appears on the female front. She was only 17 during shooting and cute as can be. The attractive Jodi Lyn O'Keefe is also on hand. The film runs 1 hour, 26 minutes and was shot in Southern Cal (La Puente, Silver City, Chatsworth, Calabasas, Universal City and Los Angeles). GRADE: B/B-