An old nagging question about 'HALLOWEEN II'. (1 Viewer)

[Inspector Hammer!]

I just watched the movie again, and while I love it and think it's a more than worthy sequel to the original, i've always wondered why and the hell did they use the song 'Mr Sandman' in it? It has nothing to do with the movie or the plot!?

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Haha! Good question, John! Perhaps the 'Mr. Sandman' could be meant to imply someone spooky (i.e. Michael Myers), or maybe it's just an endearing-yet-kinda-odd little song to play at the end of a horror flick.
I did wonder about this on more than one occasion back when I was a kid! It's weird, but it works.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

If they had just used it during the closing credits, I probably wouldn't have even asked, but they use right in the fade in at the beginning of the movie. I never got that.

 

[AJ Johnson]

The original meaning of the song is about a girl wishing for Mr. Sandman to bring her a dream in the form of a perfect man. Halloween twists the songs' positive meaning into being a nightmare which is Michael Myers...he represents the exact opposite of a perfect man. In Halloween Mr. Sandman doesn't mean to bring good dreams while sleeping. Its meaning is to bring eternal sleep in death at the hand of Michael Myers. To me Laurie's dream of a perfect man is forever tarnished by Michael Myers. At least this is the sense that I get at then end of Halloween II when she's riding in the ambulance and images of Michael's burning mask is in her head while Mr. Sandman is playing. It's sick and twisted but a great use of the song

 

[Chuck L]

I agree AJ.

 

[dave_brogli]

After some looking (you guys got me wondering) I found this on a John carpenter website

The original meaning of the song deals with a girl wishing to "Mr. Sandman" that he bring her a "dream" in the form of a perfect man. Carpenter twists the song's happy and upbeat intent into a sinister "nightmare" in the form of Michael Myers, who is far from the perfect man. Mr. Sandman, in Carpenter's world, is the Boogie Man represented by Michael Myers, bringing not dreams in slumber, but eternal sleep in death.

Carpenter's gift for understanding the important connection between music and film, shines through in scenes like these, because it is especially here where he distances himself from other filmmakers and composers. Too many filmmakers and composers would take a song like "Mr. Sandman" and place it into a scene to reinforce feelings of happiness and innocence, and leave it at that. Carpenter however, challenges the very notion of what music can do for a scene and how the viewer can interpret its meaning.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Was Carpenter that directly involved in Halloween II? Don't forget, it was directed by...
...uh...
Shamefully, I cannot remember the name of the director of Halloween II. :frowning:

 

[Damin J Toell]

Shamefully, I cannot remember the name of the director of Halloween II.

Rick Rosenthal, who also directed the forthcoming part 8.

DJ