Production-Related Trivia
- Early on in the film’s production, there was discussion of the film being done in 3D. It was ultimately decided that it was too expensive and wouldn’t be worth it since the film almost entirely takes place at night.
- Neither John Carpenter nor Debra Hill wanted to write a sequel, as they both saw the original film as a stand-alone story. It was only after being offered more money to helm the film that they agreed; Carpenter later said he wrote the film with the help of a six-pack of Budweiser a day and has come to see the film as an abomination compared to the original.He particularly hated the retconning that made Michael and Laurie related, as he felt it humanized Michael too much.
- Though commonly believed to be a different mask, the mask that Dick Warlock wears for his portrayal of Michael Myers is the same mask Nick Castle and others wore in the first film.
- In addition to the mask fitting Dick Warlock differently than it did with Nick Castle, Debra Hill had kept the mask underneath her bed and was a heavy smoker in the years between.
- John Carpenter wasn’t a fan of the initial edit of the film that Rick Rosenthal had turned in. After a substantial re-edit occurred, John Carpenter went back and shot more scenes of gore as well as adding in more deaths (such as Alice’s). Rick Rosenthal wasn’t pleased, as he had wanted the film to closely emulate the original’s more suspenseful approach and lack of violence – something John Carpenter originally intended as well. John Carpenter later stated that Rick Rosenthal had no idea what he was doing with the film.
Cast-Related Trivia
- While the first film saw Donald Pleasance receive top billing with less screen time than Jamie Lee Curtis, the sequel has the opposite – Jamie Lee Curtis is only in the film for 25 minutes of screen time, but receives top billing.
- Additionally, Charles Cyphers received top billing after her and Donald Pleasance, and is only in the film for roughly ten minutes of the first twenty minutes before his character is written out of the film.
- The voice of Alice’s friend on the phone is none other than that of Nancy Loomis, who plays Alice in the first film and reappeared to portray her dead body in this film.
- Jamie Lee Curtis wore a wig for the duration of the film’s production, as her hair was significantly shorter in 1981 than it was in 1978.
- Leo Rossi and Pamela Susan Shoop have talked about just how freeing cold the water in the hot tub actually was over the years. Pamela Susan Shoop also states that she initially refused to do it when it came to be, until Rick Rosenthal had offered to have the entire crew naked for the filming of the scene to make her feel more comfortable. The day of, however, nobody was naked.
- This would ultimately prove to be the final Halloween film that Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance worked on together.
- Though Jamie Lee Curtis performed a voice cameo in Season of the Witch, she would be absent from the three remaining films – Return, Revenge and Curse – that Donald Pleasance took part in before his death.
- Dick Warlock is the shortest actor to portray Michael Myers across all of the films. He had to wear lifts under his jumpsuit so Michael would appear taller.
- Dick Warlock was a professional stunt coordinator, which helped tremendously when it came to filming some of the death scenes in the film. He also portrayed the patrolman who crashes the car, as he was trained in stunts for car crashes as well.
- Pamela Susan Shoop contracted an ear infection as the result of shooting her death scene.
General Trivia
- Halloween II is the only film in the entire franchise to show the “morning after” as the final scene shows Laurie being taken away.
- Halloween II is also the only film to have kills take place after Halloween, as every kill after Mr. Garrett’s takes place shortly after midnight on November 1.
- Several of the scenes and lines that are in this film can also be found in Curtis Richards’ novelization of the first film, which was published in 1979.
- While most of the slasher films released in 1981 were required to undergo several cuts by the MPAA (with Friday the 13th, Part II and My Bloody Valentine being two of the most well-known cases), Halloween II received an R-rating by the MPAA on its first submission and no cuts were required.
- While most of the film’s deleted scenes were used for the television cut, there was a scene where Robert Mundy shows up at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital alongside his production crew. Mrs. Alves steps in and forces them out. The scene was shot, but has never been released.
- When the film was first released on DVD in Australia, it opened up with the Paramount logo despite Paramount never owning the rights to this film or any film in the franchise.
- The full name of some of the hospital staff are Virginia Alves, Karen Bailey, Jill Franco, Janet Newhall and Roger Mixer.
- The three numbers that Mrs. Alves dials in Laurie’s room before she realizes the phone lines are down are 666.
- Karen drives a 1965 Ford Mustang; the Marshall drives a 1976 Dodge Coronet; Deputy Gary Hunt drives a 1977 Dodge Monaco; Sheriff Brackett drives a 1974 Dodge Monaco; and the car Jimmy and Laurie hide out in later in the film is a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.
- The end of the film was intended to have Michael die, as was treated as such. Coincidentally, the end of Rob Zombie’s Halloween II also had Michael dying, and they’re the only two films in the franchise to treat Michael as such.
- Though beheaded at the end of Halloween H20, it was revealed that the ending was always planned around it not being Michael, and was treated as such.
- Though he steals the kitchen knife from the Elrod house, Alice is the only one who is actually killed with it. Once he arrives at the hospital, he begins to use a scalpel to kill everyone.
- Alice’s death was a late addition to the film, only being filmed as part of John Carpenter’s reshoots. As such, in the original cut for the film, Michael Myers steals the kitchen knife and doesn’t use it.