Halloween 2 (1981) - The VIA VISION Blu-ray review
The sequel to one of my favourite horror flicks of all time gets a beautiful bluray limited release
In the interests of being honest, a few things!
a copy of the movie was sent to me by ViaVision for this review.
the review will cover the package and contents of the limited edition, not the movie itself. There are plenty of reviews of this movie, thus I would prefer to tell you about this Blu-ray release instead
all screenshots used are captured from the copy of the discs provided to me
If you prefer to watch this review, please check out the video below!
Wanna buy this limited edition? Head over to Via Vision’s website to get your own copy today (not an affiliate link and I don’t get any money for your purchase)
How exciting this is! The sequel to *easily* one of the best slasher movies ever made gets yet another Blu-ray release, this time the drawcard is an upscaled to HD version of the so-called popular TV cut of the film.
I say so-called because I’ve never seen it or lived the hype around it. It’s always been the theatrical version for me, so it’s a first to experience this cut of the film.
Before we begin, I should detail what this review will feature:
Discussion of the packaging
Discussion of the presentation of the HD version of Halloween 2
Discussion of the special features and extras on Disc 1
Discussion of the TV cut featured on Disc 2
What this review won’t cover is:
A critique of the film - that’s been done to death and to be honest, I like this film but don’t love it.
In depth technical details such as the quality of the sound formats and the video bitrate.
The Package
Wrapped tightly in shrink-wrap, the thicker than normal package features the standard Blu-ray disc in a hard cardboard case, with enough room for the envelop with the glossy photo cards in them. A really nice little trinket. The front of the box features a cool lenticular image of the skull and pumpkin that is reminiscent of the opening credits of the film.
There is a little slip card that’s stuck over the box which has all the usual back cover data - like the features list and audio formats. But the box itself has a still image from the film of two of the nurses from the hospital.
Interestingly, the cover of the Blu-ray disc is the same as the cover of the DVD I bought more than 20 years ago. Inside are the two discs, with the first disc placed on a floating tray that connects to the spine rather than being a two-disc case. Not a big deal, but a potential to break if you’re a rough person.
The six photo cards are a really nice touch. Printed on very glossy paper, they look like old-school photos taken on a film camera that look slightly softer than a normal photo. Disappointingly, there are no cards of Michael in the set.
In fact, there is no artwork of Michael anywhere in the package - not on the discs, the inside of the slip or the back cover. It gives off the vibe that the movie is about everyone else other than him.
Disc 1 - The HD Presentation of Halloween 2
This is not the first time that Halloween 2 has been presented in High Definition, as is evident by the fact that the contents of the disc is identical to the 2014 Shout Factory release. In fact it’s not totally identical - Via Vision’s 2024’s release has included English subtitles, which were strangely absent from the 2012 and 2014 Shout Factory version but were in the 2011 Universal release. Unlike that release, this version omits the BD-Live features.
Thus, when it comes to this first disc, if you have any previous release, then there is nothing really new here for the movie itself. Essentially this is the 2014 Shout Factory version, just with English subtitles.
The picture itself is very sharp, at least to my untrained eye. I watched it via a Playstation 5 on a 4K Samsung panel, and the only issues I could see are the usual ghosting and other post-processing crap that the PS5 adds to movie playback. That’s not fault of the disc. The sound quality was also beautiful.
Disc 1 - Special Features and Extras
As mentioned in the previous section, the first disc is almost identical to the 2014 Shout Factory release. This means the special features and extras are almost identical as well.
These include:
The Making of Halloween 2 documentary
The Locations of Halloween 2 featurette
Alternative Ending and Deleted Scenes
Trailers and Radio Clips
Photo Gallery
Commentary with Dick Warlock and another commentary with Rick Rosenthal and Leo Rossi
However, there is one new addition here, and that’s a third commentary with Dustin McNeill, an author of a Halloween book.
When I watched the film, I tried to watch it with one of the commentaries but found the accents and mixing of the speakers too hard to understand (Dick Warlock commentary) and without having a complimentary subtitle track, I gave up pretty quickly and just stuck to the DTS-MA 5.1 track.
Speaking of subtitles, they are the annoying type that float around the screen attempting to line up to where the speaker is in the frame. I detest these style of subtitles as I would prefer just simple centered captions in the middle of the screen. Also, curious why Laurie was captioned as “WOMAN” in the opening sequence?
I watched the documentary and featurette and enjoyed both of them. The energy of the host of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds came through on the screen clearly, and he knew what he was talking about when giving us a tour of the shooting locations, including his humourous skit at the hospital.
The behind-the-scenes documentary had its moments too, and great to see how graceful most of the cast has aged, even though by now the documentary was 12 years old. With the exception of Debra Hill, Donald Pleasence and Moustapha Akkad, who were all deceased at the time the documentary was produced, the notable absence of John Carpenter was disappointing.
Otherwise all up, a pretty impressive selection of contents for disc one.
Disc 2 - The TV Cut
Disc 2, on the other hand, was a disappointment, but for my own personal reasons. The second disc that was originally featured in Shout Factory’s 2012 and 2014 release of Halloween 2 has been upgraded from a DVD disc to a Blu-ray disc, owing to the fact that, for the first time, the TV cut is now presented in High Definition.
Well, upscaled High Definition. Although if I am being honest, the upscale effort was pretty decent. I did not watch the Standard Definition version of the cut, which is also on the disc, as I don’t think I could have stood to watch the butchered version of this movie twice.
And it really is butchered. From death scenes heavily edited or even missing, new footage inserted to pad out the run time, scenes shown in a jumbled order, the covering up of the nudity, the aggressive cropping of the picture to fit a 4:3 TV frame (which has been kept on this disc) and the albeit required redubbing of the coarse language down to something more G-rated, the TV cut feels like a different movie.
Gone is the horror and tension, which admittedly wasn’t too strong in the theatrical version, and in comes an almost late-night thriller vibe to the film.
I had to chuckle when the word “shit” was replaced with the word “sugar”, yet the nurse still gets upset at Leo Rossi’s character for swearing. It would be comical if I didn’t hear it with my own ears!
My disappointment here is the lack of subtitles. As someone who watches every movie with subtitles on, owing to my awful tinnitus which has destroyed my ability to hear actors mumbling in movies, the lack of captions meant I had to pump the volume of the movie up higher than normal, disturbing those around me who shockingly didn’t want to hum the remixed Halloween tune along with me.
I don’t blame them. I’m not a fan of the remixed tune either.
To me, this disc is nothing more than a curiosity. A bygone era of TV cuts preserved for a future generation is always a nice touch. But considering how streaming services are constantly editing content and anything they deem ‘problematic’, my fear is this TV cut ends up replacing the theatrical version in a few decades time.
I joke. Probably going to happen in 5 years.
All up, is the Via Vision Halloween 2 Limited Edition Blu-ray worth buying?
The answer is as simple as this: are you a fan of Halloween 2 and haven’t bought one of the existing Blu-ray editions yet? Then it’s an obvious yes.
Are a fan of the TV cut and want to see it in High Definition, albeit upscaled? Then yes.
Do you already own a Blu-ray edition of this movie and are satisfied with it? Then it’s probably not wise to purchase this.
But, it is in limited supply. Each edition is numbered, so there is a collectable element to this, and the photo cards make a great additional gift if you appreciate this kind of thing.
For me, I am glad to have this in my collection alongside my almost 25 year old Force Video budget release DVD, a clear upgrade from the mono sound track and barely 576 standard definition picture quality.
halloween 2 II limited edition blu-ray lenticular hardcover and photo cards via vision release lionsgate jamie lee curtis blu-ray movie review universal pictures donald pleasence