Directed by: Steve Miner
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Josh Hartnett, LL Cool J, Michelle Williams
MPAA Rating: R
Distributed: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Running Time: 85 minutes
Film: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 0 out of 5 stars
“Halloween H20” was never really my favorite installment in the “Halloween” franchise. I felt like it was a bit too much Hollywood and lost its edge. Nonetheless it is still a “Halloween” film. Laurie Strode is also one of the best strong female horror icons, so it is always great to see Jamie Lee Curtis take on the role. Echo Bridge did not put a lot into this release though and fans of this franchise will not be happy overall with this. It is barely a step up from a DVD release.
The film picks up with Laurie Strode (Curtis), who is now a headmistress of a private school and still struggling with her 20-year-old memories of Michael Myers. Of course guess who suddenly reappears looking to continue to stalk his sister. Michael also sets his sights on the school’s students and staff including Laurie’s son (Josh Hartnett), his girlfriend (Michelle Williams) and the school security guard (LL Cool J). It is up to Laurie to conquer her greatest fears and go up against her brother, Michael, once and for all…or at least until “Halloween: Resurrection”.
This Blu-ray presentation is extremely disappointing with a weak 1080p transfer, which looks bland and lacking sharpness. The film is presented in 1.78.1 but was shot in 2.35.1, so you can expecting cropping. The audio track is also a bit disappointing with its DTS-HD MA 2.0 and no surround track. What is even more disappointing is that the DVD release at least offered a 5.1 track. If you are looking for special features you will be disappointed again. This film is baron, there is no extras, trailers or even subtitles. Sorry Echo Bridge, very weak release.
I must recommend the Region A Canadian Blu-Ray with Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Halloween H20 and Halloween Resurrection on it. H20 is the weakest looking, being a bit of a dirty print of a film that was never especially colourful (a comparison with Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers on the same disc will show this) but still is a good HD presentation. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers looks much better, being I believe identical to the United States BD release visually, and Resurrection also looks very good. Curse and H20 are in 1080i, Resurrection is in 1080p. All three have 5.1 DTS HD tracks, unlike the US discs. You can find it on amazon.ca under the name Halloween Triple Feature. No extras but the presentation is excellent.
Thanks for the recommendation Andrew!!!