The usual claim is that he didn't like the script, but he wasn't in a position to turn down an opportunity like this. In some older podcast interview, he said that around the time of pre-production, John Carpenter made some sort of remark about Wallace being a flunky. My theory is that the main reason why Wallace turned down Halloween II was to show Carpenter that he was his own man.
shareVery interesting. I’d never heard the story before about Carpenter making that comment.
I really like John Carpenter, and respect his filmmaking prowess, but I’ve often wondered if he WANTED Halloween II to fail. He’s been so dismissive of the idea of a sequel, and very negative about writing it. Add to that his interference with Rosenthal’s cut of the movie. (Carpenter claims it wasn’t scary, but that’s no reason to add in all the gore.) Maybe he felt a good sequel might take some shine from his original? As it stands, I love Halloween II, and consider it the best sequel by far.
I could see him not liking the script. I'm surprised Jamie Lee Curtis came back because they turned her character into basically a mentally retarded person. I haven't seen it in years, but I remember her acting like a helpless baby and that ridiculous ambulance driver falling in love with her.
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