The Ending Of Halloween II Explained

"Halloween II" tries to say something about the different ways that people deal with trauma. Everyone in Haddonfield, even Dr. Loomis, is scarred by what happened in the first "Halloween," but no one goes about healing in the same way. Sheriff Brackett tries to throw himself into caring for Annie and Laurie. Annie just wants to push what happened out of her mind as much as possible and carry on with her life. Dr. Loomis tries to hide from his trauma by making a profit and living large.

Not everyone is dealing with their emotions in a healthy way, but Laurie is the only one who seems to have made no progress with her healing in the past year. In fact, the more time goes on, the worse Laurie seems to feel. It doesn't help that she discovers she's related to the very man who traumatized her, and that familial relationship actually ends up confusing the film's larger point about trauma.

Laurie and Michael share more than blood in this movie. They also experience the same hallucinations, and Laurie's seem even more potent than Michael's. At the climax, Laurie's hallucinations are so strong they prevent her from moving. The ending seems to imply that Michael's murderous nature has truly infected Laurie's own personality. It seems to say that, because they're related, they were always destined to lose their minds and become killers.