Picks up at the exact moment the first movie stopped and follow the aftermath of Michael Myers murderous rampage through the eyes of heroine Laurie Strode. - skip ad -   Genres: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Suspense/Horror, Sequel and Teen Running Time: 1 hr. 41 min. Release Date: August 28th, 2009 (wide) MPAA Rating: R for strong brutal bloody violence throughout, terror, disturbing graphic images, language, and some crude sexual content and nudity. Distributor: The Weinstein Company Cast And Credits Starring: Tyler Mane, Brad Dourif, Chris Hardwick, Mark Christopher-Lawrence, Jeffrey Daniel Phillips Directed by: Rob Zombie Produced by: Malek Akkad, Rob Zombie, Andy Gould

When Rob Zombie remade John Carpenter’s 1978 slasher classic, “Halloween,” he added a back story for the masked psycho killer Michael Myers that took up his film’s first half-hour. In his new “Halloween II” — a remake of the 1981 sequel, and a sequel to his own remake — he reverses the process. The film’s first half-hour cleverly encapsulates the plot of the 1981 original, leaving Mr. Zombie free to do what he will with the remaining hour-plus.

If only he had more on his mind than his love of 1970s Italian horror films, his meticulous color schemes and his body count. “Halloween II” is full of in jokes and references but nearly devoid of wit. (One nice touch: the young paramedic hero of the original has been replaced by an aging necrophiliac.)

Scout Taylor-Compton returns as Laurie Strode, Myers’s primary target; she’s still not making anyone forget Jamie Lee Curtis. Malcolm McDowell and Brad Dourif reprise their roles as psychiatrist and sheriff, and Mr. Zombie’s wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, again plays Myers’s mother, this time as a shimmering, Mario Bava-style ghost. Mr. McDowell gets to proclaim, “Bad taste is the petrol that drives the American dream,” which is supposed to be funny but seems merely true.