Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later / YMMV

Alternative Character Interpretation: Right before Laurie decapitates Michael there's a moment where he starts to feel the mask on his head, and looks confused. This has led to many interpretations and it's never been confirmed - though it did allow Resurrection to use it to pull off Michael switching places with a paramedic.
Broken Base: Ignoring the continuity of the last three films. Some find it disrespectful to the franchise, while others are happy that the inferior films aren't considered canonical. A third camp feels that this doesn't contradict anything that happened in the last three - as Laurie is mentioned to have faked her death - so the Jamie Lloyd films can still be considered canonical even if the film doesn't acknowledge them (although this doesn't work since it's stated that Michael hasn't been heard from in twenty years, meaning none of the events of 4 through Curse happened). Regardless, this film does have many Shout Outs to the fourth and fifth films, still honoring their legacy in some way.
Character Rerailment: After Halloween II turned Laurie into a borderline Damsel Scrappy - spending most of the film confined to a hospital bed - this film reaffirms her Action Survivor status how she will confront Michael to protect others. The 2018 reboot would indeed follow this cue by making her a full-on Action Mom, or more accurately, Action Grandma.
Complete Monster: Michael Myers. See here.
Contested Sequel: The film itself is somewhat polarizing. It was very well received by fans at the time of its release, and critics mostly agreed that, at the very least, it was the best Halloween sequel up to that point. It was praised for its simple and classy approach, its self-aware nods to the original film, the return of Laurie Strode, the excellent performances, and the unique focus on Laurie's struggle with trauma and alcoholism. Years later, some fans accused the film as being far too derivative of Scream, like almost every other slasher film of the late '90s. Also, some fans don't find Michael Myers remotely threatening or menacing because of the harsh beating he faced at the hands of Laurie Strode, and accuse this film as taking the edge off the character, which wasn't undone even with Rob Zombie's reboot. Still, there are some fans that swear by this film as their favorite sequel, even with the better-received 2018 sequel taking a similar approach. And in light of the poorly received sequels to that, the debate has flared up again over whether which was a worthy successor.
Fandom Rivalry: What with the 2018 film ignoring the continuity of the sequels and bringing Jamie Lee Curtis back, the fanbase is split over which entry is superior. Fans also debate over which entry's characterization of Laurie is better.
Fanon: Some fans theorize that Jimmy from Halloween II might be John's father, mainly because his death isn't confirmed^note and he's outright confirmed to be alive in the TV Re-Cut of II. What's more is that Jamie in the previous three films has the same last name as him and her first name is so similar to his. This has led to some Wild Mass Guessing that Jimmy and Laurie got together, eventually faked their deaths out of paranoia, and eventually split up.
Fanon Discontinuity:
- Most fans generally like to pretend the franchise ends with this film, despite the Word of God that this Michael Myers was intended as a copycat killer - and Resurrection retconning the ending.
- The film itself has become subject to this for many fans over the years who dislike the heavy Scream influence that dominated the late 90’s, and felt it was all style but no substance. The release of the 2018 film effectively making this film non-canonical hasn’t helped, either.
Fan-Preferred Cut Content: Many fans are captivated by a scripted scene where Laurie hears about Jamie's death in a shocking way from an Innocently Insensitive student, causing her to vomit and cry. Not only does the scene sound particularly intense and moving, but it would have avoided putting the last three films in Canon Discontinuity territory, which not everyone approves of.
Franchise Original Sin: Like Halloween: Resurrection, the movie has a rapper in a prominent role. The difference is that LL Cool J has a fairly minor part played seriously, something hardly noticeable compared to Busta Rhymes in an over-the-top role with much more screentime.
Funny Moments:
- John's Snark-to-Snark Combat with Laurie, where she mentions how his father is "an abusive, chain-smoking, methadone addict."
  John: Now who would attract someone like that?
  Laurie: Ouch.
  John: And just think, he left you.
- Laurie lets him have that one, conceding he gets his smart mouth from her side of the family.
- Sarah tries to come up with different words to describe how bad Yosemite is to camp in. Lame doesn't cut it, so she tries 'wretched', 'loathsome' and 'repugnant'.
Harsher in Hindsight: Michelle Williams survives a serial killer trying to murder his own sister and nephew. Fast forward to Shutter Island where she herself is the victim of a serial killer. But it turns out she herself was the killer - and drowned her three children.
Heartwarming Moments:
- Laurie giving John a permission slip for the trip to Yosemite, cutely joking that he should call her a few times just to make sure she knows he's safe.
  "And if you think you've called too many times, call once more."
- Norma's reassuring speech to Laurie about focusing on today and not worrying too much about what lies ahead.
- John and Molly do seem to be a nice couple who really love each other, complete with him setting up a romantic scene of her finding a bouquet downstairs.
- Sarah expresses her desire to one day get very "big and dumpy" because she loves food - in the 'heroin chic' 90s. Charlie reassures her he would find that "very sexy".
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- Sarah's desire to become a Big Beautiful Woman and her decidedly un-ladylike behavior is amusing if one is familiar with Jodi Lyn O'Keefe's other famous role - as the Alpha Bitch Taylor Vaughn in She's All That.
- Jamie Lee Curtis is the principal of a boarding school where serial killings happen. She moves on up to dean of a college and things get even worse.
- This film chooses to ignore the continuity of the last three, focusing on the Laurie Strode part of the story. The next time Jamie Lee Curtis would return to the franchise - with Halloween 2018 - it would go a step further with every film after the first being ignored.
- Tom Kane voices Dr. Loomis, a psychologist who once supervised an infamously Ax-Crazy individual, in a posthumous recording by the character. Over a decade later, he would voice the director of an insane asylum full of people as nasty as Michael.
- Tom Kane also voiced Darwin in The Wild Thornberrys, in which Danielle Harris (Jamie in the fourth and fifth films) voices Debbie Thornberry.
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt starred in another teen film the next year featuring an incompetent faculty member trying to write an erotic novel. One can only imagine a world where Ronnie collaborates with Ms. Perky.
It's Short, So It Sucks!: At only 86 minutes, some fans feel this is way too short a film, especially for what was intended as a conclusion to the franchise.
Jerkass Woobie: Laurie here is a smothering, overprotective parent who doesn't even allow her son to go on field trips out of paranoia. However, given that she's been dealing with the trauma of narrowly escaping a serial killer twice, and John's father is implied to have been abusive, you can't blame her for turning to the bottle.
Just Here for Godzilla: Some praise the movie solely for Jamie Lee Curtis' return to the franchise, and her performance, which is considered one of her best.
Narm:
- The infamous "ice skate to the face" kill when you stop and think about it.
- Laurie's Catapult Nightmare at the start is a bit too over-the-top. Her drawn out screaming can cause laughter rather than fear.
- Michael's reactions to being hit are nigh impossible not to laugh at. There's his eyes bugging out in response to Laurie's Groin Attack, and earlier than that, after John punches him and Molly strikes him over the head, one might be forgiven for thinking they switched out his regular mask for one that's scowling in anger.
- While "H20" part of the film's title represents "h-twenty," it’s meant to be read "H₂O", the chemical formula of water, which caused some fans to joke about how it sounds more like the title of some kind of crossover between Halloween and Jaws, sometimes jokingly calling the film "Halloween Water."
- Michael's CGI mask when he confronts Charlie is so distracting it can veer into this.
- The film features a lot of shots where Michael's mask is much too brightly lit, eliminating the dark shadows over his eyes from previous films and making him look incredibly goofy.
Never Live It Down: This sequel is frequently attacked for the choice of mask that Michael wears, but the mask itself really isn't bad at all. The problem is that there are a lot of brightly lit shots of him with no overhead lighting to cast shadows over his eyes. All the shots in the film where the mask is in darkness look fantastic, proving it's not the mask that's at fault, but the lighting and cinematography.
Nightmare Retardant: The scene where Michael stalks Charlie is a genuinely decent horror scene with good tension and atmosphere...that is quickly ruined by the appearance of Michael's brightly-lit CGI mask.
One-Scene Wonder:
- Janet Leigh! It marks the only real time she and her daughter have starred together - they had both been in The Fog (1980) but barely interacted, and they worked hard to make the scene feel important.
- Nancy Stephens returning as Marion from the first two films, managing to put up an extremely good fight against Michael and adopting a fun Deadpan Snarker persona.
Only the Creator Does It Right: While the usual complaints about the lack of John Carpenter's involvement abound, a certain portion of fans also object to this being the first film without Dr. Loomis in it due to Donald Pleasence's death in 1995. Some believed the films lost a certain gravitas without Dr. Loomis to ground them in something close to reality (for a horror movie anyway) and that it was disrespectful to continue the series without his character.
Retroactive Recognition:
- This was Josh Hartnett's first film role. The Hollywood Hype Machine would get behind him in the 2000s.
- Although Joseph Gordon-Levitt was known for 3rd Rock from the Sun, he would enter even greater prominence in The New '10s.
- Emmalee Thompson, who plays Casey, would be more recognizable to Charmed (1998) fans as playing the young version of Prue Halliwell.
- Jodi Lyn O'Keefe would later be well known for stints on Prison Break and The Vampire Diaries (also by Kevin Williamson)
Special Effect Failure: Michael's brightly-lit CGI mask in the scene where he confronts Charlie.
Surprisingly Improved Sequel: After several installments containing Sequelitis after the second movie, Twenty Years Later is often considered to be a better film, made even better by the fact that it utilizes Canon Discontinuity for everything after Halloween II.
Tear Jerker:
- There was a deleted scene where Laurie learns from one of her students about the death of Jamie Lloyd, the daughter she abandoned to go into hiding for the duration of parts 4 through 6. Laurie excuses herself from the class, goes into a bathroom, and promptly vomits. This scene was in an earlier draft, but never filmed.
- It's said that Dr. Loomis simply died of old age mundanely between the second film and this one. He didn't take down Michael Myers or go with a fight - and it's said his sanity deteriorated as the years went by. Realistic, yes, but quite an upsetting way to go for such a strong character. It's even worse if you take the Sam mini-story as canon, in which Michael himself plays a significant part in his death.
- Will's death, especially Laurie's reaction to it.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: John's friends don't get nearly enough screen time, despite some gifted actors playing them. While they do get some development, a lot more could have been done with them. Molly in particular never gets any scenes with Laurie except for Laurie telling them to go get help - and we never see Laurie's overprotective attitude explored when it comes to who her son is dating.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Due to choosing to ignore or at least not acknowledge the fourth, fifth and sixth films in the franchise, we never get to explore John finding out he has a sister who was targeted by Michael too, or Laurie's feelings about abandoning a daughter who ended up dying anyway.
WTH, Costuming Department?: The instance under Special Effect Failure was done to evidently cover up a rather embarrassing looking mask - but it ends up veering into this territory instead due to really bad lighting. There are no less than 5 different masks used throughout the movie, including the Halloween 6 mask and a CGI mask that was bad even for the time. Due to reshoots, the mask often changed multiple times in any given scene with Michael.

YMMV / Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later

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