Halloween II is a 2009 American slasher film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a sequel to Zombie’s 2007 remake of 1978’s Halloween and the tenth installment in the Halloween franchise. Picking up where the 2007 film ended and then jumping ahead two years, Halloween II follows Laurie Strode as she deals with the aftermath of the previous film’s events, Dr. Loomis who is trying to capitalize on those events by publishing a new book that chronicles everything that happened, and Michael Myers as he continues his search for Laurie so that he can reunite with his sister. The film sees the return of lead cast members from the 2007 film Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton, and Tyler Mane, who portray Dr. Loomis, Laurie Strode, and Michael Myers, respectively.

For Halloween II, Zombie decided to focus more on the connection between Strode and Myers, and the idea that they share similar psychological problems. Zombie wanted the sequel to be more realistic and violent than its 2007 predecessor. He wanted to portray how the events of the first film affected the characters. Zombie also wanted to provide a glimpse into each character’s psyche. Filming primarily took place in Georgia, which provided Zombie with a tax incentive as well as the visual look the director was going for with the film. When it came time to provide a musical score, Zombie had trouble finding a place to include John Carpenter‘s original Halloween theme music. Although Carpenter’s theme was used throughout Zombie’s remake, the theme was only included in the final shot of this film.

Halloween II was officially released on August 28, 2009 in North America, and was met with a negative reception from critics. On October 30, 2009 it was re-released in North America to coincide with the Halloween holiday weekend. The original opening of the film grossed less than the 2007 remake, with approximately $7 million. The film would go on to earn $33.4 million in North America, and $6 million in foreign countries giving the film a worldwide total of $39.4 million. Rob Zombie declined to return to film another sequel. A sequel, Halloween 3D, was cancelled in 2012. Halloween II is the final Halloween film to be distributed by Dimension Films. It was followed by Halloween in 2018, a direct sequel to the original 1978 film produced by Blumhouse Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures.