Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


​

Movie
3 short years after the abysmal failure that was The Curse of Michael Myers the powers that be decided to scrap the idea of going forward with Michael being controlled by the Thorn cult, and instead decided to dig up the past. Talking Jamie Lee Curtis into reprising her role as Laurie Strode who has faked her own death, they tried to pull the old nostalgia bait (much like the new trilogy with Laurie is doing ever since the 2018 “sequel/reboot” films) in bringing the original back to play with Michael. In many ways it worked. The film is nothing like the last couple of films, but instead modernizes the concept of Michael Myers and uses a futuristic jump of 20 years to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of the first movie kicking off.

H20 starts out with Laurie Strode living incognito in Southern California as the head of a posh prep school. She’s grown up, gotten married (and divorced) and had a son named John (a baby faced Josh Hartnett) who is rebelling against his mother in every way he can. Laurie is not about to let go of the past, as she still suffers from memories of her brother Michael trying to kill her (many of the sequels alluded to the fact that Laurie was Michael’s younger sister, even though the original film never even hinted at it). However, despite her neurotic fears, she allows John to go out on a camping trip with his classmates and decides to have a romantic evening with her coworker Will (Adam Arkin).

Unbeknownst to her, John and his girlfriend (a baby faced Michelle Williams) and their friends have decided to play hooky from the camping trip and are getting ready to have their own Halloween party as teens. Well, Michael Myers decides it’s high time he introduces himself to the party, turning John and Laurie’s plans for a simple Halloween into a blood soaked nightmare.

H20 has a lot going for it. It’s simple, got some wicked kills, and has Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role for the first time in about 18 years. It is most definitely a 90s slasher film though, as it has the standard teenage sub plot with John and Molly, as well as L.L. Cool J. making an obligatory cameo roll as the school’s security guard making wise cracks. Luckily it’s a short film, clocking in at 86 minutes INCLUDING credits, so there’s not a whole lot of fat on the corpse and keeps the adventure short and sweet. I guess this is one of the reasons why I have such a nostalgic pull for H20. It’s short, sweet, and has the kills you want without giving you any extraneous relationships or sub plots.




Rating:

Rated R for strong horror violence, and some sexuality





4K Video: Video:

According to Scream Factory the film has also been remastered with a new 4K scan from the negative, and it looks rather good. Kind of like The Curse of Michael Myers it has a very 1990s look to it, with a slight red and orange push, some boosted contrast levels, and that sort of flat look many 1990s horror films had. Colors tend to be well saturated, with strong emphasis on dark reeds and deep blacks. There’s no major crush or artifacting, but I did notice that the entire film feels just a little soft. Not horribly so, but enough that backgrounds tend to look noticeably soft if you look at them long enough. Facial details and skin tones are nice and naturally looking (though the red push sometimes gives a pink tinge to the skin tones), and overall this is a very mellow and nice looking 4K UHD disc.









Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is more than impressive too. It’s got a nice heft to it when the creepy score accentuates Michael’s rampage, and the surrounds are used quite actively throughout. Crunching glass, creaking doors, and the music flow effortlessly from front to back and create a well immersed horror flick I didn’t notice as much bass as I would have liked, but Michael crashing the dumb waiter, or the slamming of the van as it crushes Michael underneath it are more than weighty enough. The whole experience is rather atmospheric, and while not being a tippy top tier horror track, it’s well done from beginning to end.












Extras:

• Commentary with director Steve Miner and actress Jamie Lee Curtis.
• John Ottman's Score
• Vintage EPK
• Still Gallery
• TV Spot
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Halloween: H20 was almost a one off sequel to the 2nd movie before the 2018 reboots did their thing. It bypassed basically every other Halloween film out there, got rid of the horrible occult plot points of the previous two, and actually made a 90s style slasher keeping true to the spirit of the original. It’s by no means some fantastic horror movie that transcends time and space, but out of the post 4th movie sequels it is probably the most polished and best done of them all. The 4K UHD is fantastic too. It’s got that 90s flair to it, but with good audio and good video, and a ton of extras, it’s well worth checking out.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Josh Hartnett, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Adam Arkin, L.L. Cool J,. Michelle Williams
Directed by: Steve Miner
Written by: Robert Zappie
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Scream Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 86 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: October 4th, 2022

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. This Franchise does have long legs..

• Halloween (1978)
• Halloween II (1981)
• Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
• Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
• Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
• Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
• Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
• Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
• Halloween (2007)
• Halloween II (2009)
• Halloween (2018)
• Halloween Kills (2021)
• Halloween Ends (2022)