Twenty Years Ago, ‘Halloween H20’ Brought the Franchise Back
http://officialfan.proboards.com/thread/576479/years-halloween-brought-franchise-back
https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3511549/celebrating-20-years-halloween-h20/share
As we approach the 40th anniversary of John Carpenter’s seminal slasher, it’s important to remember that we have another anniversary to celebrate. Halloween H20 turns 20 years old this August, and though it is certainly not as powerful as Carpenter’s classic, it is a worthy entry into the Halloween franchise. H20 is a film that celebrates the legacy of Halloween by bringing the series back to its roots.
In H20, the great Jamie Lee Curtis rejoins the franchise for the first time since 1981. Laurie Strode had been absent from the films for 20 years, and H20 examines how the events of that fateful night have impacted her. This film mirrors many of the plot points and moments of the original Halloween – not as a cheap plot device, but with a purpose. It intentionally draws Laurie’s new life back to her past. Though she survived the events in Haddonfield, she has not thrived. She experiences PTSD and terror on a daily basis and hasn’t been able to leave the memory of that night and her brother behind her. H20 offers Laurie a chance to take back her life, once and for all.
This entry ignores the events of Halloween 4, 5 and 6, and instead brings the story back to Laurie. By this point, Jamie Lloyd’s (Danielle Harris) story had run its course, and screenwriters Robert Zappia and Matt Greenberg wisely choose to bring the narrative back to its source. As the opening credits roll over John Carpenter’s Halloween theme, we hear a voiceover from Donald Pleasence’s Doctor Loomis, describing the first time he met Michael Myers.
“I met this six-year-old boy with a blank, cold emotionless face and the blackest of eyes, the devil’s eyes.”
In its opening moments, the film reminds the audience that whatever has happened over the past twenty years, however many turns this tale has taken, its heart is Laurie and Michael. They are the principal players, and they will be the center of our story.