FILM · 1981 · USA
Halloween II
37 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (37)
- #001
The mask worn by Michael is exactly the same mask used in the original Halloween (1978) — a repainted and modified Captain Kirk mask. It looks different in the sequel because the paint had faded for several reasons: first, Nick Castle, the original Michael, kept it in his back pocket during filming. Debra Hill also kept the mask under her bed for several years until filming on Halloween II began, and because Hill smoked heavily, the mask collected dust and turned yellow. The mask also looks wider because Dick Warlock was shorter and stockier than Nick Castle, so it sat differently on his head. Because the producers believed this would be the final sequel in the series, they allowed the mask, scalpel, boots, coveralls and knife used in filming to remain with Warlock. When they decided to bring Michael back for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), the producers realized they had made a mistake and never again gave props to cast and crew, which is why later sequels used different masks that look quite different.
- #002
Dick Warlock explained that he landed the role of Michael Myers by walking past a room and noticing the Michael Myers mask lying on a table. He put the mask on, walked into Rick Rosenthal's office and stood there. When Rosenthal kept asking him who he was and he did not answer, he took the mask off and asked whether he could play Michael Myers.
- #003
(At around the 11th minute) The voice of Alice's friend heard on the phone is that of Nancy Loomis, who played Annie in Halloween (1978) and appears as Annie's corpse in Halloween II.
- #004
Jimmy's fate is left ambiguous in the theatrical cut, as he slips in a pool of blood and collapses in his car from a concussion. The alternate ending, however, reveals that he survived with bandages around his head and shared an ambulance with Laurie to be transferred to another hospital.
- #005
In addition to playing The Shape (Michael Myers), Dick Warlock also appears as the police officer who accidentally hits Ben Tramer with his patrol car, slamming him into a van and causing a large explosion. Warlock not only drove the car himself at the accident scene, he also performed all of his own stunts as Michael Myers.
- #006
The film was scored with the song "Mr. Sandman," performed by The Chordettes. The melody would later be used in the later Halloween films Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) and Halloween (2007), though the latter featured a cover version by Nan Vernon.
- #007
The film takes place immediately after the first Halloween (1978). Because Jamie Lee Curtis had begun wearing a much shorter hairstyle in the 1980s, she had to wear a wig matching her original hairstyle in the film.
- #008
(At around 1 hour 10 minutes) When Michael tries to attack Laurie as she climbs through the window, the scalpel in his hand was actually just an eraser on a stick.
- #009
Although the sequel was not as successful at the box office as the original Halloween (1978), it grossed more than other 1981 horror films such as The Howling (1981), Friday the 13th: Part 2 (1981) and The Final Conflict (1981).
- #010
One common criticism is that the hospital is conveniently dead enough even for a night shift to allow Michael to wander unnoticed and kill the staff one by one. Rick Rosenthal said he based this on a personal experience with his wife: they once went to a hospital late at night and found it completely deserted apart from a few doctors, nurses and patients.
- #011
Jamie Lee Curtis played Laurie Strode in films released across six different decades, from the 1970s to the 2020s: Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), Halloween: Resurrection (2002), Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022).
- #012
While filming the death scenes, Dick Warlock made sure everyone was safe. In the death scene where Leo Rossi is strangled from behind, for example, he told him to bend his back and arms more during the four tugs, to limp after the fourth tug, and that he would soften the fall.
- #013
(At around 1 hour 6 minutes) Lance Guest performed his own stunt when he slipped on the blood and fell to the floor, and the scene was shot in a single take.
- #014
John Carpenter initially turned down the offer to direct because he had no desire to be involved in the project. However, several of his associates convinced him to stay on in a role such as executive producer, so that he could at least make some money from it. He also liked the fact that, as with the first film for him, he could help give a new director a chance to make a film. He produced and wrote the screenplay and later became involved in the editing and reshoots as well. NBC later asked him to shoot additional footage for the TV version of Halloween (1978), because the original version was too short for the network, so he also supervised the filming of those scenes while Halloween II was being shot.
- #015
Halloween II was originally written to take place in a high-rise apartment building. However, during later script meetings the setting was changed to Haddonfield Hospital.
- #016
(At around the 57th minute) During the filming of her death scene, Ana Alicia hit the table and cut one of her eyes open. Director Rick Rosenthal wanted her to continue filming, but she called "Cut" so she could go to the emergency room and get 12 stitches. The cafeteria scene with Janet, Bud and Jimmy was shot later, so they had to use alternate camera angles and heavy makeup to hide her stitches.
- #017
Michael Myers is shot a total of fourteen times in the film: seven before he escapes from Doyle's house (an inconsistent continuation of the first film), five after he encounters Dr. Loomis, Laurie and Nurse Marion Chambers at the clinic's front doors, and two by Laurie in the operating room.
- #018
The recently closed and since demolished Morningside Hospital was filmed at 8711 South Harvard, Los Angeles. It has since been replaced by the Harvard Yard Senior Apartments.
- #019
(At around 22 minutes) Dana Carvey made his film debut in this film playing an assistant. He can be seen outside Wallace's house taking instructions from a blonde reporter. Carvey can be seen again at the end of the film (at around 1 hour 27 minutes) when the film crew follows Laurie to the waiting ambulance.
- #020
In the Blu-ray release, which also includes a documentary about the film, many of the cast recall the filming of the final scene. The operating room scene was shot on a sound stage replicating the corridor and operating room in order to carry out the explosion that kills Myers. The actors were off set and recall being able to feel the sound stage shaking from outside, and it was acknowledged that the intended explosion was more than the stunt team had expected and much bigger; this is why Jamie Lee Curtis actually fell during the explosion — she did not fall on purpose.
- #021
According to Leo Rossi in his DVD commentary for the film, the water in the hot tub was freezing cold.
- #022
The hospital scene in which a mother and her son (dressed as a pirate) have bleeding mouths after the boy bit into a razor blade was intended as an early glimpse of the anthology idea Carpenter and Hill later developed for a series after this film.
- #023
Although Jamie Lee Curtis is the most prominently billed actor, she appears on screen for only about 25 minutes and 21 seconds. This applies only to the theatrical version; she has several extra scenes in the TV version.
- #024
The first of four films in the series to begin with the ending of the previous film: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) continued from where Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) left off; Halloween II (2009) continued from where the series reboot Halloween (2007) ended; and Halloween Kills (2021) continues directly from Halloween (2018) (and even briefly from Halloween (1978)).
- #025
According to Dick Warlock, a bulb of fake blood was placed on the mask's forehead to achieve the bloody tear scene, and the blood was released when Dick Warlock stumbled backwards and put his hand on the mask.
- #026
The original script included a scene depicting the death of the blonde reporter: her car breaks down while a man who hit her helps her at the roadside, the woman reacts with disgust, the truck driver then abandons her, and after the tire is changed she opens the trunk to Myers, who kills her and takes the car, a nod to what he did in the first film.
- #027
(At about 26 minutes) The scene in which Boom Box Boy, played by Lance Warlock, encounters Michael in the Haddonfield town square was shot during one of the three nights of reshoots done by John Carpenter, director of the original Halloween (1978).
- #028
Nick Castle could not reprise the role of "The Shape" in this film because he was busy starting his directing career. He was replaced by Dick Warlock, who, along with Castle, developed a strong following among fans. During the shooting of the first film, Castle kept the mask in his back pocket, so the spray paint wore off fairly quickly. This, along with dust and Debra Hill's cigarette smoke, contributed to the mask fading over time, which is why people think a different mask was used in this sequel.
- #029
Dick Warlock is the shortest Michael Myers in the entire series. He actually wore lifts to appear taller.
- #030
Body count: 10 — nine people were killed by Michael and one died in a traffic accident.
- #031
Leo Rossi (Bud) introduced Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie) to her future husband Christopher Guest through a celebrity softball league.
- #032
(At about 14 minutes) As the mother and son leave the hospital, the mother mentions that the child bit into a razor blade. This is based on the popular urban legend of children biting into blades in apples handed out at Halloween. However, if you read the Snopes article on needles and pins in Halloween candy, you will see that most cases were hoaxes perpetrated by children and/or parents. In reality, the children who died were specifically targeted (by parents), not victims of a single madman handing out tainted candy to random people as the legend states. Tragically, in 1982, only a year after the film's release, the urban legend intensified when a man laced Tylenol with cyanide and killed seven people. Nevertheless, numerous investigations to date have found little or no evidence that homemade or purchased Halloween candy has genuinely been tampered with.
- #033
Pamela Susan Shoop (Karen) developed an ear infection during the filming of her death scene because the water in the hot tub was apparently "none too clean."
- #034
According to the documentary on the film's Blu-ray releases, Leo Rossi and Pamela Susan Shoop were not keen on the hot tub scene, and an uneasy Shoop refused to do it. Rossi was initially reluctant as well, but after director Rick Rosenthal spoke with him, Rossi put Shoop at ease about doing the scene, since Rossi felt he genuinely owed it to Rosenthal, who had fought to get him the role of Bud.
- #035
The film's novelization was published in 1981. The film was written by horror science fiction author Dennis Etchison under the pseudonym Jack Martin and made the bestseller list. Each chapter in the book opened with black-and-white captioned photos from the film.
- #036
One of a group of thriller/horror films made in the late 1970s and early 1980s starring Jamie Lee Curtis, known as a "Scream Queen." The films include Halloween (1978), Prom Night (1980), The Fog (1980), Roadgames (1981) and Terror Train (1980).
- #037
(At about 11 minutes) Alice's friend Sally (the girl on the phone at the start of the film) tells her about the murders committed on Orange Grove. This is the real name of the street where this film and Halloween (1978) were shot. The houses depicting the Wallace and Doyle homes are located on Orange Grove, just north of Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
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