The menace has been subdued, at least for now. note
Halloween returns one year later with new ghastly horrors and a whole lot of wholesome goofiness. Spooooky.
Episodes 32-33 of Film Reroll. The sequel to the first Halloween campaign.
Despite its name, it is not based on the sequel to the original movie, nor on the Rob Zombie movie, for that matter. Instead, it's an original story, only taking the first film and the earlier campaign into account.
One year has passed since the events of Halloween, and while most people have moved on, Dr. Loomis has not been able to let them go. Instead, he has spent the year looking into the affairs of the supposed charity organisation The Shepherds, whom he believes to have been behind the Michael Myers murders. When one of their members, Jacob Bridge — who is also the ex-husband of Danny Hodges' girlfriend Molly and the father of Laurie Strode's friend Clara — dies under mysterious circumstances, Loomis decides to reconnect with his old friends during Jacob's funeral in an attempt at solving the mystery once and for all. However, things take an even darker turn when our protagonists realise that Myers grave has been dug open, and that the body of their old enemy is nowhere to be found...
It is notable for being the first sequel campaign in the show. note
Starring Jocelyn "Joz" Vammer as Laurie Strode, Scott Aiello as Sam Loomis, Andy Hoover as Danny Hodges, and Paulo Quiros as the Dungeon Master.
Followed chronologically by Home Alone, and narratively by Halloween 3.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Villainy: The Gravekeeper — an innocent extra in the original film — is now a cult member and grave robber with a bit too much interest in a girl who is half his age and barely legal.
- Adaptation Name Change: The Gravekeeper was named Angus Taylor in the original film (and Chester Chesterfield in the remake.) Here, he's named Ralph. Being a minor character, the players simply forgot his real name.
- Laurie's mother Pamela is now named Angie. This may have been a deliberate choice by Paulo to differentiate the campaign from the original Halloween sequel.
- The Alcoholic:
- Laurie's father is emptying a bottle at the kitchen table the first time we see him.
- Possibly Dr. Loomis, who has several empty beer cans in his apartment. Though he claims that he has no idea where they came from, and that he doesn't even drink beer. But because of Scott choosing to do his first scene like he woke up with a hangover, it's really hard to tell what the situation is.
- Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad: The Shepherds apparently call Michael Myers "the Hero." Our protagonists don't really care whether or not they think of them as villains, for their part.
- Bittersweet Ending: Michael Myers is killed a second time, and the mayor was drowned in a river of blood in the Underworld... but Lynda is killed offscreen, and of the four people that went into the Underworld, only Danny and Jeff make it out alive. And the campaign ends with both men, severely unsettled by what they had witnessed, opting to hang out in the graveyard until they are okay enough to leave. Also, it is established that Meyers will need to die one last time.
- Busman's Holiday: Laurie goes to the guy who runs a hardware store hoping that he brought some of his goods to the funeral (he didn't.)
- Call-Back:
- At first, Paulo Quiros mistakenly claims that the story is set in 1969 (as opposed to 1979), leading to yet another "69" joke from Joz.
- The players once again mention their "theory" that Michael Myers might just be a swarm of bees disguised as a man.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Laurie's love of weed becomes useful when she invites Ralph over for a smoke, giving Loomis and Danny a chance to enter his hut. The lighter from her paraphenalia also plays a key role in the climax.
- The shovel Laurie originally picks up as a weapon is eventually used to remove the plaques covering the celtic symbols in the church.
- Conspicuous Trenchcoat: Kirk the detective apparently wear his all the time, even while bowling.
- Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: When discussing how the 1989 revival of Columbo paled in comparison to the original run, Joz concludes it was the result of the show recasting Columbo... only to learn that no, Peter Falk still played him.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Jeff, believe it or not. He may be a ditzy Manchild, but he's still an incredibly loyal By-the-Book Cop who is ready to do anything to save his friends. By the end of the campaign, Danny obviously respects him like an equal.
- Death by Adaptation:
- The Gravedigger is, by all appearances, shot dead by Laurie while trying to attack her and Clara.
- When Loomis and Danny pursue Myers into the Celtic underworld, Loomis fails a will roll and gets lured off the path into a lethal trap.
- Laurie drowns in the lake of mud after entering The Underworld.
- Dissimile: When the characters are trying to get Paulo to describe a dimly-glimpsed figure attacking out of the darkness, Andy asks, "Is it bigger than a breadbox? And by 'breadbox', I mean 'Michael Myers'."
- Deleted Scene: The second episode originally started with a scene where the Shepherds tried inviting our heroes to a feast, but it was lost due to technical difficulties. According to Paulo Quiros, it didn't add much to the story anyway.
- Dream Intro: Begins with Laurie having a frightening experience that turns out to be a nightmare and is hinted to maybe be a case of Dreaming of Things to Come.
- The dream comes true (sort of) in the second part, where it happens to Loomis, not Laurie. Either she was seeing his future and not her own, or Michael was trying the same trick on both of them.
- Expy: The private investigator, Kirk Longusgy, is (by the players' own admission) based on the protagonist of Columbo. This was done as a tribute to the late actor Peter Falk, who played him.Kirk: Yeah. Um... Alright, Doc... It's been a- Oh, uh, just one more thing.
- The Fair Folk: The site where Michael Myers was buried is the location of a portal to Tech Duinn, the Celtic otherworld that opens each year at Samhain. Michael Myers himself appears to be acting as an agent of the Fair Folk, and is referred to as "the dullahan,
" a Headless Horseman from Celtic Mythology who acted as a form of Psychopomp who — like this incarnation of Michael — could be held at bay with gold. - Fake-Out Opening: The campaign starts with Laurie seemingly being attacked by some monster, but this turns out to just be a nightmare. When she wakes up, she accidentally punches her friend Clara in the face, which she immediately apologizes for.
- Faux Shadowing: While having her nightmare, Laurie ominously says that "Clara Bridge will die." Considering that Anyone Can Die is in full effect, it's rather surprising that Clara actually lives through the campaign.
- Foreshadowing: The Dullahan is mentioned as early as the first scene. Given how the last Halloween campaign ended, listeners with a working knowledge of Celtic Mythology will have a pretty good idea of what's coming.
- Functional Addict: It's mentioned that Danny had become addicted to pain killers after the events of the previous film, but it doesn't get a chance to actually appear during gameplay.
- Genre Shift: While the first campaign was a Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Slasher Movie, this is a more overtly supernatural Surreal Horror story.
- Gone Horribly Right: Paulo Quiros tried to make Jon Luther David a bit of a Jerkass. This worked so well that the players decided to ignore him completely, missing the information he had to give them.
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: When the characters disturb a nest of spiders in the ruined church, Paulo specifies that they're mundane spiders, not supernaturally large or malevolent or anything, and Andy says that he used to play bass in a band called Mundane Spiders.
- Grave Robbing:
- Loomis and Danny discover that Ralph the grave digger has been cutting off the fingers of corpses to steal their rings, keeping both the rings and the fingers in a stash in his hut.
- Someone also seems to have dug up Michael Myers corpse, though it's later implied that he may have done so on his own...
- Headless Horseman: Michael Myers appears as one, following his decapitation at the end of the previous installment.
- Hijacked by Ganon: As soon as Michael Myers makes his presence known, he and his minions utterly steal the spot as the villains of the campaign from the so-called "Town Illuminati," mostly because that's when the latter decide to high-tail out of the graveyard. As a result, we never find out exactly what they have done or what their plan is.
- It Always Rains at Funerals: It rains at Jacob Bridge's funeral, prompting the players to go off on a tangent discussing the fact that when this happens you never see anyone with a brightly-colored umbrella.
- Killed Offscreen: Mayor Frank Simms and Lynda Van Der Klok are both last seen being kidnapped by Michael Myers, and later appear as zombies (though it's ambiguous ehether or not it's actually them.)
- Master of Illusion: Much like the Xenomorph in Alien, Michael Myers is portrayed as such, using his powers to manipulate our heroes. This makes Joz wonder if Paulo's combined him with Freddy Krueger.
- Mythology Gag:
- Upon stumbling across her father drinking by himself in the kitchen, she narrates to herself that she hates her step-father, only to remember Paulo didn't use that plot point in this campaign. It's brought up again when Loomis talks to him and assumes Laurie isn't actually his daughter, a belief that is quickly debunked.
- The Shepherds might be a reference to The Cult of Thorn from Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.
- Narration Echo: During Laurie's nightmare at the beginning:Paulo: There's something sitting on your chest... its claws are sharp, tearing—
Laurie: Ow! It's tearing at my chest! - Never Say "Die": Barely invoked in the closing minutes of the campaign: after Danny and Jeff return to the overworld, Danny remarks that, although he doesn't know much of anything anymore, he knows that he has three people: Jeff, Laurie, and Dr. Loomis.Jeff: (unsure; near tears) ...do we still have them? Do we still have... Laurie and Sam? Do we still have them, Danny?Danny: ...well, we have them in our hearts, man... And we'll see if we get the rest of them.
- Never Suicide: Kirk doesn't think that Jacob Bridge committed suicide, as his hanging was too intricate to be a spur-of-the-moment decision, and he had just bought tickets to the opera. Why would he do that if he wasn't planning on seeing it anyway?
- Not Too Dead to Save the Day: Loomis and Laurie are both killed in the course of the adventure, but due to the showdown taking place in Tech Duinn, the Celtic otherworld where newly-departed souls begin their journey to the afterlife, they still get to play decisive roles in it.
- Obfuscating Insanity: Laurie pretends to have a Freak Out after claiming that the hand which touched her friend Clara belonged to a ghost. Clara, who is not in on the plan, doesn't have to fake one.
- Off the Rails: Being a sequel, this is taken up to eleven even for this show. The changes to the plot in the first campaign means that the original sequel can no longer happen, making this the first Film Reroll campaign not based on any pre-existing film. Any sequel is bound to be even more different, given that the original protagonists are now dead.
- Original Character:
- The Bridge family, which includes the now deceased Jacob Bridge, his son Charlie Bridge, his divorced ex-wife — as well as Danny's current girlfriend — Moll Bridge, and finally Clara Bridge, Laurie's college buddy.
- Kirk (a private investigator hired by Loomis).
- Jon Luther David (a Jerk Jock Danny went to school with.)
- Steven Nickles, a guy who owns a hardware store, attends Jacob's funeral and might be a Shepherd. He is eventually killed by Michael Myers.
- Planning for the Future Before the End: Inverted (since this occurs after the end, so to speak): In the closing minutes of the campaign, not willing to admit to Jeff he thinks Laurie and Loomis are dead, Danny starts openly narrating what he's planning to do after tonight:Danny: I'm gonna go... and have sex with my hot Irish girlfriend. I'm gonna take a shower, first. And I'm gonna... cry for a while, in a corner. And then if Sam's around, I'm gonna get him a drink. And if Laurie's around, I'm gonna buy her a drink.Jeff: I don't think she's old enough to drink-Danny: And then I'm gonna sleep... for eight years, and hopefully the next time I talk to any people it's gonna be after a flashcard that says "Eight Years Later". 'Cause I will go to the wall with you. I will go to the wall with any of these people. We have been through a lot of nonsense...
- Rank Up: Police Officer Jeff is now Sheriff Jeff.
- Red Herring:
- Loomis initially believes Laurie's father to be the Big Bad. It turns out that while he is a member of the Shepherds, it is mostly for the economic benefits, and he wasn't involved in their atrocities.
- At one point, Joz thinks that Clara might have been behind everything. Paulo assures her that no, she wasn't.
- When Loomis appears sitting on the throne in The Underworld, it's easy to think that he's either been Evil All Along or that it's something else assuming his form. But no, it really is Loomis returning as a Spirit Advisor to aid the heroes.
- Related in the Adaptation: In the movie Halloween 2, Laurie was adopted by the Strode family. Here, she's their biological daughter, as the original movie gave no indication that this wasn't the case.
- Rescued from the Underworld: The gang goes down to Tech Duinn to save Lynda (and the Mayor.) However, it ends with Loomis and Laurie dying while Danny and Jeff barely make it out alive.
- Reverse Psychology: Dr. Loomis attempts this upon learning his private investigator, Kirk, is terminating his employment due to Loomis running out of money, but because Loomis just woke up (and may or may not be hung over), all it does is prove to Kirk that Loomis needs to get himself in order.
- Running Gag: Dr. Loomis being described as "disheveled."
- Sequel Hook: The characters enounter a prophecy that "He" (presumed to be Michael Myers) can only be stopped permanently by the "triple death". So far, we have only seen him die twice... Paulo confirms at the end of the episode that, yes, this means there's going to be a Halloween III in time for Halloween 2018. However, it was delayed until 2019 to fit in their Friday the 13th campaign, and then delayed again until at least 2021. The campaign — which wound up becoming an epic seven-parter — was finally finished and released in 2021-2022.
- Shout-Out:
- The first episode begins and ends with DM Paulo Quiros doing an impression of the Count from Sesame Street.
- Paulo accidentally messing up the establishing scene of the campaignnote gives him an excuse to bring up MST3K mocking the time skip in The Final Sacrifice.note
- A Headless Horseman seemingly dives down under the roots of a tree.
- When Loomis starts quoting some of the cult's writings, Danny says "winter is coming."
- When the gang interrogates a Shepherd, Laurie asks him if two plus two equals four.
- There are several references to Star Wars. Paulo Quiros compares the campaign to The Empire Strikes Back (in that they're both Darker and Edgier middle installments of a trilogy), and Loomis's almost Mind Control-level psychology is compared to a Jedi Mind Trick. When Paulo announces that they've entered the Celtic otherworld of Tech Duinn, one of the players hears it as "Tatooine" and asks how many moons there are. Later, they compare their Not Too Dead to Save the Day moment to appearing as Force ghosts.
- At the end of the episode, one of the players remarks, "This is a strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
- Small Role, Big Impact: Michael Myers only appears for two scenes, but he completely changes the plot of the campaign just by showing up, and his actions lead — directly or indirectly — to the deaths of six people.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Lynda Van der Klok. While she is Killed Off for Real when Michael Myers takes her to The Underworld, she still lives longer than her movie counterpart, who died back in the first film.
- Take That!: After it's acknowledged that Loomis' private investigator, Kirk Longusgy was meant to be Columbo, it prompts everyone to go into a brief discussion on the franchise. As such, brief mention is given to the 1989 revival:Andy: The first's about a magician. (stage whisper) It's not as good as the original.
- Throw It In!:
- Joz comes up with the idea of giving Molly an Irish accent. Paulo liked it and decided to make it canon. (As it happens, it works well with the story's Celtic themes.)
- Andy / Danny jokingly claims to have gone to "the Jocelyn Vammer School of Broadsword fighting," only for the other players to decide that sure, there exists an In-Universe fencing instructor with that name.
- Time Skip:
- The campaign starts one year after the events of the previous Halloween.
- Funnily enough, Paulo accidentally creates a second one when he misspeaks, and establishes the setting as "Halloween, 1969". Andy suggests this implies the "movie" opens on that time card, then cuts to a brief shot of Haddonfield before immediately flashing "TEN YEARS LATER".Scott: Loomis, like lounging on a beach, in his prime. And then, ten years later...
- Took a Level in Badass: Laurie, Loomis and Danny have all spent their time since the previous campaign boosting their fighting skills, just in case something like what happened last year would happen again.
- Tuckerization: Jon Luther David is named after a big fan/backer of the show.
- Wacky Cravings: Caused by weed smoking in this case, not by a pregnancy. When Clara tries her first cigarette she immediately gets the urge to touch Laurie's hair and make spaghetti.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Everyone, including Joz herself, is mortified upon learning that Laurie mistakenly punched Clara in the face upon waking up from her nightmare.
