Halloween II is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal, in his directorial debut, written and produced by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence, who reprise their respective roles as Laurie Strode and Dr. Sam Loomis.

The story picks up immediately after the cliffhanger ending of the first film, with Michael Myers following survivor Laurie Strode to the local hospital, while his psychiatrist Dr. Loomis continues his pursuit of him.

Meanwhile, Laurie Strode, who narrowly avoided being killed that night, is taken to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital while Loomis continues his pursuit of Michael, accompanied by Sheriff Leigh Brackett.

Upon learning his daughter has been killed by Michael, Sheriff Brackett blames Loomis and abandons the search, leaving Deputy Gary Hunt to take his place.

Jimmy and nurse Jill Franco grow increasingly concerned when they discover that more and more staff have gone missing throughout the night and search the hospital for Laurie, who is trying to evade Michael.

Jimmy regains consciousness and soon arrives and tries to start and drive the car to safety, but passes out again due to the concussion sustained from the slip and fall causing the horn to blare, attracting Michael's attention.

[6] According to Yablans, he had planned to produce The Fog, but that Robert Rehme intervened and acquired production rights with his company, Embassy Pictures as part of a two-picture deal with Hill and Carpenter.

[4] Wallace, who went on to direct Halloween III, stated, "It is our intention to create an anthology out of the series, sort of along the lines of Night Gallery, or The Twilight Zone, only on a much larger scale, of course.

"[19] He points specifically to the scene in the film when a young boy in a pirate costume arrives at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital with a razor blade lodged in his mouth, a reference to the urban legend of tainted Halloween candy.

[21] Charles Cyphers reprised the role of Sheriff Leigh Brackett, though his character disappears from the film when the corpse of his daughter Annie (Nancy Loomis) is discovered.

[23] Stunt performer Dick Warlock played Michael Myers (as in Halloween, listed as "The Shape" in the credits), replacing Castle who was beginning a career as a director.

The Last Starfighter director Nick Castle stated in an interview, "When I was assigned to the film, Lance Guest was the first name I wrote down on my list for Alex after seeing him in Halloween II."

"[29] Future Saturday Night Live and Wayne's World star Dana Carvey also appears briefly in a non-speaking role, wearing a blue baseball cap and receiving instructions from the TV reporter.

[30] Halloween executive producers Irwin Yablans and Moustapha Akkad invested heavily in the sequel, boasting a much larger budget than its predecessor: $2.5 million (compared to only $320,000 for the original).

It's hard to do that in 3-D."[25] Dean Cundey, the director of photography on the first film, reprised his role as cinematographer, opting out of shooting Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist (1982) as he felt a loyalty to Carpenter and Hill.

"[38] After Wallace declined, Carpenter chose Rosenthal, a relatively unknown and inexperienced director whose previous credits included episodes of the television series Secrets of Midland Heights (1980–1981).

[41] The first scene of the film is presented through a first-person camera format in which a voyeuristic Michael Myers enters an elderly couple's home and steals a knife from the kitchen.

Rosenthal also stated that he attempted to replicate the visual elements of the previous film "until we [the audience] get to the hospital ...  Once we're in there, I got a certain freedom: long corridors, moody dark lighting, all of that.

The film's score was a variation of Carpenter compositions from Halloween, particularly the main theme's familiar piano melody played in a compound 5/4 time rhythm.

The song worked well to "mimic Laurie's situation (sleeping a lot), [making] the once innocent sounding lyrics seem threatening in a horror film.

Jimmy's discovery of Mrs. Alves dead and his subsequent slipping in the pool of blood has been significantly shortened (or removed altogether in some prints) and moved just prior to the explosion which kills Myers and Loomis.

[68] On November 28, Universal began sending out emails announcing that the revised Blu-ray was now available and for owners of the previous disc to provide the studio with their "address and daytime phone number" to receive replacements.

Factory, re-released the film in a 2-disc Collector's Edition Blu-ray on September 18, 2012, with new special features, including two audio commentaries, two "behind-the-scenes" featurettes, deleted scenes, an alternate ending, the theatrical trailer, TV and radio spots, and a still gallery.

The site's critical consensus reads: "Halloween II picks up where its predecessor left off – and quickly wanders into a dead end that the franchise would spend decades struggling to find its way out of.

"[81] Roman Cooney of the Calgary Herald noted that while the film is "not the bloodbath other movies of its ilk have been, several of the murder scenes are so painfully gruesome as to be tasteless and more than merely distressing," and added that the plot is "convenient rather than complex, relying on a cast of characterless individuals like so many dominoes waiting to be toppled.

"[82] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times echoed similar sentiments, writing that Halloween II represented "a fall from greatness" that "doesn't even attempt to do justice to the original."

"[17] The Arizona Republic's Michael Maza assessed the film as continuing part of the prominent slasher trend, noting that Carpenter and Hill appear to be "picking up a few tricks from their imitators (most notably Friday the 13th).

"[84] David Pirie's review in Time Out gave Halloween II positive marks, stating: "Rosenthal is no Carpenter, but he makes a fair job of emulating the latter's visual style in this sequel."

According to the trial transcript, Boyer's defense was that he suffered from hallucinations in the Harbitz residence brought on by "the movie Halloween II, which defendant had seen under the influence of PCP, marijuana, and alcohol."

The incident became known as the "Halloween II Murders" and was featured in a short segment on TNT's MonsterVision, hosted by film critic Joe Bob Briggs.