SlashersNo. 8315 · The 2026 edition
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Twenty years after her terrifying encounter, Laurie Strode faces her brother Michael again in a showdown that proves blood is thicker than water—and just as deadly.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at en.wikipedia.org.
In Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Laurie Strode now lives under an assumed identity as the headmistress of a private school, having faked her death to escape her past. But when Michael Myers discovers her whereabouts, he returns on Halloween night to finish what he started. Armed and prepared this time, Laurie must protect her son and school staff from her relentless brother, leading to a tense and violent confrontation.
About this
This Wikipedia article covers the 1998 slasher film Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, the seventh entry in the Halloween franchise and a direct sequel to the 1978 original and 1981's Halloween II. It provides a full plot synopsis, cast list, production history, alternate TV version, box office and critical reception, accolades, and an extensive home media release history. The film follows a traumatized Laurie Strode, who has faked her death to hide from her brother Michael Myers and now runs a California boarding school.
Facts from the original
- Halloween H20 is the seventh installment in the Halloween franchise and a sequel to Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981), ignoring the Thorn Trilogy arc of the previous three films.
- The film was released in the United States on August 5, 1998.
- A sequel, Halloween: Resurrection, was released in 2002.
- The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis and features Josh Hartnett in his film debut.
- It grossed $75 million worldwide against a $17 million budget, making it the fifth highest-grossing film in the franchise.
- Filming ran from February 18, 1998 to April 20, 1998.
- Until the release of Halloween (2018), it was the highest-grossing film in the franchise.
- It features an in memoriam tribute to Donald Pleasence in the closing credits, misspelling his surname as 'Pleasance.'
- Chris Durand portrayed Michael Myers in the film.
From the original
Twenty years have passed since Michael Myers escaped Smith's Grove and returned to Haddonfield to kill his sister, Laurie Strode, and since Dr. Sam Loomis caused an explosion at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital after which Michael's body vanished and was presumed dead. On October 29, 1998, Marion Wittington (née Chambers), Loomis's former colleague who cared for him until his death, comes home to their shared house in Langdon, Illinois, to find it broken into and the Laurie Strode file missing. Michael kills her teenage neighbor Jimmy and his friend Tony, slashes Marion's throat, and drives off in Jimmy's car as police arrive. In Summer Glen, California, Laurie has faked her death and lives as 'Keri Tate,' headmistress of the private Hillcrest Academy, raising her son John with the help of secretary Norma Watson and her boyfriend, guidance counselor Will Brennan. Haunted by nightmares and turning to alcohol, she fears Michael will find her. As faculty and students prepare for a trip to Yosemite, Laurie forbids John to go. Michael, stranded by a flat tire, steals a car from a woman and her daughter at a rest stop. John and his friend Charlie sneak off campus, prompting an argument with his mother; because John's girlfriend Molly Cartwell also cannot attend, Charlie and his girlfriend Sarah stay behind for an on-campus Halloween party. Laurie changes her mind about the trip, but John quietly chooses to stay with Molly, Charlie, and Sarah. After most people leave, security guard Ronny Jones investigates Michael's stolen truck at the gate, inadvertently letting Michael onto campus. Laurie reveals her identity to Will and realizes the phones are down and John never left. While she, Will, and Ronny search, Michael kills Charlie and Sarah; Molly and John barely reach Laurie, who faces her brother for the first time in twenty years. Will accidentally shoots Ronny, mistaking his shadow for Michael, and then Michael kills Will. Laurie, John, and Molly flee toward her truck, but Laurie decides to face Michael, arming herself with an axe. Stalking each other across the campus, she stabs Michael repeatedly and shoves him off a balcony through a table in the cafeteria below, only for the surviving Ronny to stop her before she can finish him. Authorities arrive and the school becomes a crime scene; Michael's body is loaded into a coroner's van, but Laurie suspects he lives. She hijacks the van with her axe; when Michael breaks out of the body bag, she slams the brakes, sending him through the windshield and down an embankment, then rams the van into him, pinning him against a downed tree, and decapitates him with the axe as sirens approach.
