Halloween II (2009 film)

Background

Despite its title it is not a remake of the 1981 sequel. Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Sheri Moon Zombie, Brad Dourif, Danielle Harris and Scout Taylor-Compton star, and the story follows Laurie Strode coping with the aftermath of the Haddonfield murders and her worsening relationship with fellow survivor Annie Brackett, Dr. Loomis trying to cash in on the events with a new book, and Michael Myers seeking to reunite with his sister on Halloween.

A year after the killings, Laurie lives with the Bracketts and deals with her trauma in therapy, while Michael, missing and presumed dead, lives as a drifter and has visions of his mother's ghost telling him to reunite with Laurie. When Loomis's book comes out, Laurie learns that she is really Angel Myers, Michael's long-lost baby sister, and Michael returns to Haddonfield, where he fatally wounds Annie at the Brackett home.

Zombie wanted the sequel to be more realistic and more violent than the previous film, and to focus on the connection between Laurie and Michael and the psychological problems they share. Principal photography took place in Covington, Georgia, and John Carpenter's original Halloween theme music is heard only in the final shot.

It was the last film in the series made by Dimension Films before they lost the rights to the franchise in 2015. Released to negative reviews, it grossed $40 million against its $15 million budget, and Zombie declined to make a further sequel, Halloween 3D, which was cancelled in 2012.