History Film / HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater

* CanonDiscontinuity: Played with. The Jamie Lloyd portions of the franchise aren't mentioned (though they would have been in the original treatment), but it's half hinted that they did happen and half hinted that they didn't. The photo montage at the start shows a bloody pair of scissors, as a nod to the fourth film. Laurie faking her death is playing off of her character's death as mentioned in the fifth film. However, it's also mentioned that Michael hasn't been heard of whatsoever since the events of the first and second films, which implies the events of 4 through 6 didn't happen.

* SoundtrackDissonance: The cheerful and upbeat "Mr. Sandman" opens the film, in an obvious reference to the second one, which started the same way. The credits feature "What's This Life For?" by Creed, a song featuring a section of lyrics repeating over and over that we all live under the Christian god ("We all live under the reign / Of one King")...''very'' out of place in a slasher film. The song also features diegetically in the film while John and Molly listen to it on a boom box, but that actually makes sense since a lot of teens at the time listened to Creed. As a credits song to close out the film, however...not so much.

* SoundtrackDissonance: The credits feature "What's This Life For?" by Creed, a song featuring a section of lyrics repeating over and over that we all live under the Christian god ("We all live under the reign / Of one King")...''very'' out of place in a slasher film. The song also features diegetically in the film while John and Molly listen to it on a boom box, but that actually makes sense since a lot of teens at the time listened to Creed. As a credits song to close out the film, however...not so much.

* MamaBear: In the original movie, Laurie had no qualms attacking Michael in self defense. In ''H20'', she really lets him have it when he attacks her son.
* NonchalantDodge: Michael's response to Laurie's knife throwing act.

* {{Recut}}: There's a TV Cut that trims the violence and cuss words, but also has some alternate scenes. One added scene gives the counselor played by Adam Arkin some development by revealing that his mother cheated on his traveling salesman father, and he got blamed for knowing, but doing nothing, about it.

* SeriesFauxnale: Was written and intended to be the final chapter in Michael and Laurie's story, and the ultimate end to the ''Halloween'' saga. [[invoked]]ExecutiveMeddling and the later sequel had different ideas.
* SexSignalsDeath: [[spoiler: Downplayed. Charlie and Sarah joke about having sex more than Molly and John and the former pair is killed while the latter pair survives. Will is also more keen to do it with Laurie than she is, and he gets killed]].

* SoundtrackDissonance: The credits feature "What's This Life For?" by Creed, a song featuring a section of lyrics repeating over and over that we all live under the Christian god ("We all live under the reign / Of one King")...''very'' out of place in a slasher film. The song also features diagetically in the film while John and Molly listen to it on a boom box, but that actually makes sense since a lot of teens at the time listened to Creed. As a credits song to close out the film, however...not so much.

* CutPhonelines: At Laurie's school when Michael finds her.
* DangerousKeyFumble: Molly does this as Michael closes in.

* DeathBySex: [[spoiler: Downplayed. Charlie and Sarah joke about having sex more than Molly and John and the former pair is killed while the latter pair survives. Will is also more keen to do it with Laurie than she is, and he gets killed]].

* CharacterDevelopment: Laurie Strode, who goes from a DamselInDistress to a badass ActionGirl in this movie. She even provides the page image.

* BuxomIsBetter: Ronnie is narrating a story to his wife, and we hear him talking about a woman with "round, melon breasts."

* BittersweetSeventeen: Laurie has a EurekaMoment when she realises that Michael killed Judith at seventeen, tried to kill her at that age and likely is coming after John now that he's turned seventeen.

* ActorAllusion: Norma, the character played by Creator/JanetLeigh, gets in a car that is similar to one she drove in ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', with a piece of the film's score playing in the background. She also tells Laurie that the shower is clogged - a reference to her character's famous death in the film. The character was originally intended as an Actor Allusion to PJ Soles - as she was named after Soles's character from ''Film/{{Carrie 1976}}'', but was played by Leigh after Soles failed to give them an answer, meaning that her name being similar to ''Psycho''[='s=] antagonist Norma'''n''' Bates was a coincidence. Likewise, Norma's motherly attitude towards Laurie was intended as this, to serve as a nod to the fact that mother and daughter were starring alongside each other. And in another sense, Nurse Marion returning from the first two films; the character was named after Janet's from ''Psycho''.

** This film creates a new timeline where the events of 4 through Curse never happen, writing them out of the story entirely.

* SoundtrackDissonance: The credits feature "What's This Life For?" by Creed, a song featuring an entire section of lyrics repeating over and over that we all live under the Christian god ("We all live under the reign / Of one King")...''very'' out of place in a slasher film. The song also features diagetically in the film while John and Molly listen to it on a boom box, but that actually makes sense since a lot of teens at the time listened to Creed. As a credits song to close out the film, however...not so much.

* VillainDecay: Unfortunately, Michael's iconic and creepy breathing is missing entirely in this film.

* ActorAllusion: Norma, the character played by Creator/JanetLeigh, gets in a car that is similar to one she drove in ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', with a piece of the film's score playing in the background. She also tells Laurie that the shower is clogged - a reference to her character's famous death in the film. The character was originally intended as an Actor Allusion to PJ Soles - as she was named after Soles's character from ''Film/{{Carrie 1976}}'', but was played by Leigh after Soles failed to give them an answer, meaning that her name being similar to ''Psycho''[='s=] antagonist Norma'''n''' Bates was a coincidence. Likewise, Norma's motherly attitude towards Laurie was intended as this, to serve as a nod to the fact that mother and daughter were starring alongside each other.

* AndStarring: There is an "introducing Josh Hartnett." He has done quite well for himself ever since.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Michael drives from Haddonfield, Illinois to Northern California within 1-2 days. Even if he'd driven nonstop--which he didn't, he had to stop because his car broke down and he needs to steal another--that's impossible.
** Impossible? Not entirely, there's about a 30-hour drive between Chicago and San Francisco. Myers starts his journey from Langdon on October 29th, around 7 p.m., so without stopping, he could arrive in California on the 31st, around 2 or 3 a.m, just in time to "celebrate" Halloween. Gas would definitely remain an issue, though.

* AdaptedOut: Unfortunately, Michael's iconic and creepy breathing is missing entirely in this film.

* MutuallyFictional: One of the college students watches ''Film/{{Scream 2}}'', even though the first ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}'' showed ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'' being played.

* CelebrityParadox: One of the college students watches ''Film/{{Scream 2}}'', even though the first ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}'' showed ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'' being played.

* SoundtrackDissonance: The credits feature "What's This Life For?" by Creed, a song featuring an entire section of lyrics repeating over and over that we all live under the Christian god ("We all live under the reign / Of one King")...''very'' out of place in a slasher film.

* SoundtrackDissonance: The credits feature "What's This Life For?" by Creed, a song featuring an entire section of lyrics about how we all live under the Christian god ("We all live under the reign / Of one King")...''very'' out of place in a slasher film.

** Even though the film purports to take place twenty years after ''Halloween'' and ''Halloween II," Michael shows zero signs of any of the severe injuries he sustained in those films. Both his eyes are perfectly intact despite his left being pierced by a hangar in the original film and both eyes being ''shot out with a revolver'' in the second. He also shows absolutely no signs of being a burn victim despite nearly burning to death in the second film.

* RefusalOfTheCall: A minor example, but Jimmy's neig
* SassyBlackWoman: Ronnie's wife manages to be this trope, despite never appearing on screen and only featuring on the phone.

* SeriesContinuityError: Michael has no burn scars, which he would have incurred from the second film (which is on this movie's continuity).[[note]]Could be an [[invoked]]OrphanedReference to the plot point that it was just a CopycatKiller before ''Resurrection'' retconned it.[[/note]]
* SeriesFauxnale: Was written and intended to be the final chapter in Michael and Laurie's story and the ultimate end to the ''Halloween'' saga. [[invoked]]ExecutiveMeddling and the later sequel had different ideas.

** One of the teens who Nurse Loomis encounters is wearing [[Franchise/FridayThe13th a hockey mask]].
** Laurie says "drive down to the Beckers", referencing Casey Becker from ''{{Film/Scream 1996}}'' - whose parents referenced Laurie's line from ''Halloween'' "drive down to the [=McKenzies=]."
* SlashersPreferBlondes: [[spoiler: Inverted. The lone blonde in the group is one of the few survivors]].
* StalkerShrine: It is revealed that Dr. Loomis' office is a shrine to Michael Myers, with three decades worth of newspaper clippings about Myers taped all over the office walls. To add to the creepiness, he also has high school photos of Laurie (Michael's sister) stuck to the wall too.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[invoked]][[spoiler:Marion Whittington and Doctor Loomis. Actor Creator/DonaldPleasence [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim passed away]] in 1995 just while finishing ''Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers''. At least Loomis' death was [[KilledOffScreen off-screen]] unlike Marion unfortunately.]]

* TriumphantReprise: A more triumphant sounding version of the theme plays as Laurie decides to track Michael down.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Detective Fitzsimmons is quick to pick up on the likelihood of Michael's return (even noting how they NeverFoundTheBody) and how he could go on a Halloween rampage while examining a crime scene, quickly alerting Haddonfield, expecting Michael to return to the scene of his past murders yet again. Too bad that this time, Michael is avoiding Haddonfield in favor of going on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Laurie, in a different town.

* OhCrap: From the audience's view. Michael tries to stab John and Molly through a closed gate with no success. Then he notices the keys on the ground, he picks them up and tries to normally open the gate. This shows that Michael may be a psychotic murderer but he's far from being brainless.
* PrecisionFStrike: After Laurie catches John off campus, she says "what the ''fuck'' do you think you're doing?" - which even he is uncomfortable with.

* {{Recut}}: There's a TV Cut that trims the violence and cuss words, but also has some alternate scenes. One added scene gives the counselor played by Adam Arkin some development by revealing that his mother cheated on his traveling salesman father, and he got blamed for knowing, but doing nothing.
* RefusalOfTheCall: A minor example, but Jimmy's neighbor Tony is very keen on staying outside and waiting for the police when Jimmy goes in to investigate.

* BloodyHandprint: Laurie leaves a bloody handprint on the door of a closet, tricking Michael Myers into thinking she was hiding inside.
* BrickJoke: A minor gag early in the film is Ronnie reading cheesy romance stories he's written to his wife over the phone. [[spoiler: In the climax, when he's survived, he can be seen on the phone to her excitedly saying he's going to write a thriller]].
* BuxomIsBetter: Ronnie is narrating a story to his wife, and we hear him talking about a woman with "round, melon breasts".

** Molly spotting Michael lurking across the street from her classroom, precisely as Laurie did in the first film--and both during an English class, no less.
** The numerous StealthHiBye Michael pulls are also straight out of the first film.
** The song "Mister Sandman" is played over the film's opening, like it was over the beginning and end of the second film.
** Laurie gets stabbed through her sleeve in the same way she did in the original.
** Molly has trouble with her keys while being chased, just as Laurie was in the first film.

* CampingACrapper: Averted. A woman and her daughter go to a public bathroom and Michael Myers follows them in. After a tense scene in which the audience assumes he is going to kill them, he ends up stealing the woman's car keys instead.
* CanonDiscontinuity: Played with. The Jamie Lloyd portions of the franchise aren't mentioned (though they would have been in the original treatment) but it's hinted that they did happen - the photo montage at the start shows a bloody pair of scissors, as a nod to the fourth film.
* CarFu: Laurie hijacks an ambulance van with Michael in it, and runs it off a cliff in order to kill Michael once and for all.

* DeathBySex: [[spoiler: Downplayed. Charlie and Sarah joke about having sex and get killed - more than Molly and John who survive. Will is also more keen to do it with Laurie than she is, and he gets killed]].

* DisappearedDad: John's estranged dad is an "abusive chain smoking methadone addict."
* DumbwaiterRide: Michael hides Charlie's body in the dumbwaiter. When Sarah finds the body, she's forced to get inside it and try to ride it down with his body, but Myers tampers with the dumbwaiter's rope, further incapacitating her and then kills her.
* EvilOverlooker: The poster had Michael Myers' BlackEyesOfEvil looming over the frightened-looking protagonists.

** This foreshadows the final scenes in the movie where [[spoiler:Laurie finally decides to stop running from Michael Myers and confront her monster. After twenty years of living in fear and seeing her loved ones murdered, she had nothing more to lose. It was time to face her fears and end the nightmare]].

* TheHunterBecomesTheHunted: At the end Laurie turns the tables on Michael Myers and starts hunting him down with an axe.
* ImprobableInfantSurvival: [[spoiler: We're given a BaitAndSwitch thinking Michael will murder a mother and her young daughter, but he just steals their car keys. None of the film's victims are younger than teenagers]].
* {{Irony}}: Laurie initially refuses to let John go on the Yosemite camping trip but relents and gives him a permission slip at the last minute. He decides to stay at the school for a party - and gets attacked by Michael Myers.

* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:Laurie beheads Michael in the end. The next film [[DeathIsCheap changed this greatly]].]]
* OddballInTheSeries: Alternate continuity or not, this is the first--and only--film in the series to not take place in Haddonfield (the prologue notwithstanding). It also takes place over several days, whereas the other films took place over one.

* ActionSurvivor: [[spoiler: John, Molly and Ronnie who each try to fight off Michael and end up surviving]].
* AccidentalMurder: Will who is in a panic about Michael, shoots someone wearing a hoodie he presumes to be Michael when in fact it is Ronald. He is pretty shaken up about it.
* ActorAllusion: Norma, the character played by Creator/JanetLeigh, gets in a car that is similar to one she drove in ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', with a piece of film's score playing in the background. She also tells Laurie that the shower is clogged - a reference to her character's famous death in the film. The character was originally intended as an Actor Allusion to PJ Soles - as she was named after Soles's character from ''Film/{{Carrie 1976}}'', but was played by Leigh after Soles failed to give them an answer, meaning that her name being similar to ''Psycho''[='s=] antagonist Norma'''n''' Bates was a coincidence. Likewise, Norma's motherly attitude towards Laurie was intended as this, to serve as a nod to the fact that mother and daughter were starring alongside each other.
* AdvertisedExtra: Creator/JosephGordonLevitt, [[spoiler:whose character died in the opening scene]].
* TheAlcoholic: Laurie has become this, though she's still functional. It's underlined by the lunch scene where she orders another wine while there's a full glass on the table already.
* AndStarring: There is "introducing Josh Hartnett". He has done quite well for himself ever since.
* ArcNumber: This film reveals the number seventeen to be this to the series. Michael murdered Judith and tried to kill Laurie when they were both seventeen, and John is now seventeen.
* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Michael drives from Haddonfield, Illinois to Northern California within 1-2 days. Even if he'd driven nonstop--which he didn't, he had to stop because his car broke down and steal another--that's impossible.
** Impossible ? Not really : there's about a 30-hour drive between Chicago and San Francisco. Myers starts his journey from Langdon on October 29th, around 7 p.m., so without stopping, he could arrive in California on the 31st, around 2 or 3 a.m, just in time to "celebrate" Halloween. Gas would definitely remain an issue, though.

* DumbwaiterRide: Michael hides Charlie's body in the dumbwaiter. When Sarah finds the body, she's forced to get inside it and try to ride it down with his body, but Myers tampers with the dumbwaiter's rope, further incapacitating her. She makes it out of the dumbwaiter but Michael rides it down too, and kills her.

* CaughtInASnare: Laurie has a snare trap set for Michael.

* AccidentalMurder: Will who is in a panic about Michael, shoots someone wearing a hoody he presumes to be Micahel when in fact it is Ronald. He is pretty shaken up about it.
* ActorAllusion: The character played by Creator/JanetLeigh gets in a car that is similar to one she drove in ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', with a piece of film's score playing in the background. She also tells Laurie that the shower is clogged - a reference to her character's famous death in the film. The character was originally intended as an Actor Allusion to PJ Soles - as it was named after her character from ''Film/{{Carrie 1976}}'', but it was played by Leigh after Soles failed to give them an answer, meaning that its name being similar to ''Psycho''[='s=] antagonist Norma'''n''' Bates was a coincidence. Likewise, Norma's motherly attitude towards Laurie was intended as this, to serve as a nod to the fact that mother and daughter were starring alongside each other.

** Impossible ? Not really : there's about a 30-hour drive between Chicago and San Francisco. Myers starts his journey from Langdon on October 29th, around 7 p.m., so without stopping, he could arrive in California on the 31th, around 2 or 3 a.m, just in time to "celebrate" Halloween. Gas would definitely remain an issue, though.

* CelebrityParadox: One of the college students watches ''Film/{{Scream 2}}''. Even though the first ''Film/{{Scream|1996}}'' showed ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'' being played.
* CharacterDevelopment: Laurie Strode, who goes from a DamselInDistress to a badass ActionGirl in this movie! She even provides the page image!

* ImprobableInfantSurvival: [[spoiler: We're given a BaitAndSwitch thinking Michael will murder a mother and her young daughter, but he just steals their car keys. No victims are younger than a teenager]].

* KleptomaniacHero: Nurse Chambers neighbor Jimmy does bravely venture into her house with a hockey stick when they think someone dangerous is there, but he also pauses to steal a little beer in the process.

* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: No, the movie is not named after the chemical formula for water (H20 = Halloween 20 Years Later). Although, water has a PH of 7.0. And this is the seventh movie in the ''Halloween'' franchise.

* SassyBlackWoman: Ronnie's wife. She manages to be this trope, despite never appearing on screen; only featuring on the phone.

* SeriesContinuityError: Michael has no burn scars, which he would have incurred from the second film (which is on this movie's continuity).[[note]]Could be an OrphanedReference to the plot point that it was just a copycat killer before ''Resurrection'' retconned it.[[/note]]
* SeriesFauxnale: Was written and intended to be the final chapter in Michael and Laurie's story and the ultimate end to the ''Halloween'' saga. ExecutiveMeddling and the later sequel had different ideas.

* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Marion Whittington and Doctor Loomis. Actor Creator/DonaldPleasence [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim passed away]] in 1995. At least his death was [[KilledOffScreen off-screen]] unlike Marion unfortunately.]]