Twenty years ago, film maker John Carpenter released an independent horror film that would change the face of the genre forever. That film was Halloween and with a blend of spine tingling terror and a wonderfully eerie score, it became a huge hit, spawned several sequels, and remains one of the best thrillers of recent memory.

Twenty years later, Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the role that gave the scream queen her start with the help of Scream writer Kevin Williamson. H20 was directed by Steve Miner who got his start directing two of the Friday the 13th films.

I have to tell you! I was mighty disappointed in H20 which, for a while, looked like it had a pretty good chance at being decent. I didn't find it particularly scary and it left many key elements unexplained. Being a fan of this genre, I know films of this type aren't always supposed to make sense, but some things need to be cleared up! Where the heck was Michael Myers for the last twenty years? This is one of many plot points that H20 never answers.

Thankfully, what H20 does have is Curtis and she's quite good playing the tormented Laurie Strode who, every Halloween, has terrible nightmares due to the horrible things that occurred in the first two films. She has now changed her name and teaches at a private school in California. SheÕs safe until a certain masked man returns to make her life a living hell again!

H20 pushes Halloween 3-6 aside and links itself only to the first two films. The title serves as double meaning. Halloween twenty years later, and blood is thicker than water. Pretty witty, huh! It's too bad that this film never rises above the standard slasher fare. Aside from Curtis and a wonderful cameo by Curtis' real life mom and Psycho star, Janet Leigh, this movie just doesn't, if you'll pardon the pun, cut it! Unlike Carpenter, there is nothing special about Miner's direction. He was obviously rushed through this production.

Also, this is not the Michael Myers I remember. The Myers of yesteryear was slow and ominous. He lurked in the dark and had the look of death in his eyes. He was, in fact, the bogeyman in every sense of the word. This Myers, by comparison, seems like a composite of every killer you've seen in countless Halloween rip-offs, making H20 seem un-original.

Let this be a lesson to those considering doing a sequel to a classic horror film. Let all great homicidal maniacs stay where they belong. Running rampant within our imaginations. Don't tarnish the memory of a great film by making an unworthy sequel!