Halloween II (2009 film)

Halloween II
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rob Zombie
Written by	Rob Zombie
Based on	Characters by John Carpenter Debra Hill
Produced by	Malek Akkad Andy Gould Rob Zombie
Starring	Malcolm McDowell Tyler Mane Sheri Moon Zombie Brad Dourif Danielle Harris Scout Taylor-Compton
Cinematography	Brandon Trost
Edited by	Glenn Garland
Music by	Tyler Bates[a]
Production companies	Dimension Films Trancas International Films Spectacle Entertainment Group
Distributed by	The Weinstein Company (under Dimension Films)
Release date	August 28, 2009 (2009-08-28)
Running time	105 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million[2]
Box office	$39.4 million[3]

Halloween II (also known as simply H2) is a 2009 American slasher film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a sequel to Zombie's 2007 remake of 1978's Halloween and the tenth installment in the Halloween franchise. The story follows Laurie Strode as she deals with the aftermath of the previous film's events, Dr. Loomis who is trying to capitalize on those events with a new book, and Michael Myers as he seeks to reunite with his sister. The film sees the return of lead cast members from the 2007 film Malcolm McDowell as Loomis, Scout Taylor-Compton as Strode, and Tyler Mane as Myers, respectively. Sheri Moon Zombie, Brad Douriff, and Danielle Harris also return from its predecessor.

For Halloween II, Zombie decided to focus more on the connection between Strode and Myers, and the idea that they share similar psychological problems. He wanted the sequel to be more realistic and violent than its 2007 predecessor, and to portray how the events of the first film affected the characters. Zombie also wanted to provide a glimpse into each character's psyche. Filming primarily took place in Georgia, which provided Zombie with a tax incentive as well as the visual look he was going for. When it came time to provide a musical score, Zombie had trouble finding a place to include John Carpenter's original Halloween theme music, and it was only included in the final shot.

Halloween II was released on August 28, 2009, in North America, and was met with a negative reception from critics. On October 30, 2009, it was re-released in North America to coincide with the Halloween holiday weekend. The original opening of the film grossed less than the 2007 remake, with approximately $7 million. It would go on to underperform at the box office, only grossing $39.4 million worldwide against a $15 million budget.^[4][3] Rob Zombie declined to return to film another sequel,^[5] and the next installment, Halloween 3D, was cancelled in 2012.^[6][7] Halloween II is the final Halloween film to be produced by Dimension Films. It was followed by Halloween in 2018, a direct sequel to the original 1978 film produced by Blumhouse Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures.

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