Lol, with the exception of his mom (which we really can't comment on since there was absolutely no character for his mom in the original) the second part of the new movie was very similar. I do agree that Donald Pleasance was a better Loomis, but the other chick in my opinion was way better than Jamie Lee Curtis (which brings up a question. how can you use an actress for the role of a teenager when her voice is as deep as most adult males, lol). As for the expanding of his childhood, I think it conveys even better that this guy is REALLY fucked up in the head. He went out after everyone who caused him pain and was in the way of his goal (re-uniting with his sister). The realism of it just made it better in my opinion.
By the way:
I didn't say the original was gay. Also, I loved the original, I just think the remake was an improvement.