Halloween II

It plays better than it reviews — the watch lands harder than the write-ups suggest.

• “There's some variety to the crimes, as there is to the characters, and an audience is likely to do more screaming at suspenseful moments than at scary ones. The gore, while very explicit and gruesome, won't make you feel as if you're watching major surgery. The direction and camera work are quite competent, and the actors don't look like amateurs.”

  Janet Maslin, The New York Times · 70

• “Could be the work of any journeyman, give or take a few hundred gratuitous pop-culture references. Let no one accuse Zombie of stinting on the gore, however.”

  Cliff Doerksen, Chicago Reader · 50

• “As slasher movies go, Halloween II is far from the bottom of the barrel, but, given its pedigree, one has a right to expect a higher degree of quality that what is delivered.”

  James Berardinelli, ReelViews · 50

• “When it's good, it's because it's imitating its predecessor (but it suffers from tired spilled blood) and when it's bad, it's because it's imitating its own imitators. [31 Oct 1981]”

  Jay Scott, The Globe and Mail (Toronto) · 50

• “For the most part, Halloween II is a retread of “Halloween” without that movie's craft, exquisite timing, and thorough understanding of horror.”

  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times · 50