Halloween II is a 1981 horror film directed by Rick Rosenthal, and written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. It is the second installment in the Halloween series and is a direct sequel to Halloween, immediately picking up where it had left off, set on the same night of October 31, 1978 as the seemingly unkillable Michael Myers continues to follow Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) to a nearby hospital while Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is still in pursuit of his patient.
Stylistically, Halloween II reproduces certain key elements that made the original Halloween a success, such as first-person camera perspectives and unexceptional settings. The sequel was a box office success, grossing over $25.5 million in the United States.
Originally, Halloween II was intended to be the last chapter of the Halloween series to revolve around Michael Myers and Haddonfield, but after the lacklustre reaction to Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), the Michael Myers character was brought back seven years later in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988).