Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Tagline: Ten years ago he changed the face of Halloween. Tonight he’s back!
Released: 1988
Starring Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris, and Beau Starr
Directed by Dwight H. Little
Written by Alan B. McElroy
Format: DVD
Distributed by Starz/Anchor Bay
DVD Release Date: October 9, 2001
Features:
Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1)
Halloween 4 “Final Cut” – An all-new 17 minute documentary Produced and Directed by Mark Cerulli
Theatrical Trailer
Premise: It is a decade after the original Halloween massacre in Haddonfield, and Michael Myers lays comatose in a maximum security prison hospital. But when he learns of the existence of his young niece Jamie (Danielle Harris), he escapes to return home and fulfill his destiny of destruction. Can Michael’s relentless killing spree be stopped by Dr. Loomis (the legendary Donald Pleasence) or will this inhuman evil again survive the most frightening night of the year? Halloween 4 marked the triumphant rebirth of the series and is considered by many fans and critics to be the best of all the sequels. This is the Return of Michael Myers like you’ve never seen or heard it before, now loaded with extras and better than ever!
Plot Breakdown (spoilers): Michael Myers has been in a coma since the events of Halloween II, when his massacre was stopped by Dr. Sam Loomis. At the beginning of this film, Myers is being transferred from Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium back to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. He awakens when he hears that Laurie Strode, his sister, is deceased, but her daughter is alive and well in Haddonfield. He kills the ambulance crew and escapes. Dr. Loomis, disfigured from the events of Halloween II, races to Haddonfield in an attempt to bring Myers’s killing spree to an end once and for all.
In Haddonfield, his niece Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) has been adopted by the Carruthers family. She has frequent nightmares about Michael, though she does not know who he is. On Halloween night, Jamie goes out trick-or-treating dressed as a clown (a costume that is very similar to the one worn by young Michael Myers at the beginning of the original Halloween) with her teenage foster sister Rachel Carruthers (Ellie Cornell). Her uncle, Michael, follows them.
Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield after an exhausting journey, and contacts the police department to inform them of Myers’s escape. He and Haddonfield’s new Sheriff Ben Meeker (Beau Starr) begin to search the town for Michael and Jamie. They find that Myers has singlehandedly annihilated the entire police force and taken out the town’s power. After Loomis manages to locate the two girls, they are taken to the sheriff’s house for protection. While the sheriff attends to the chaos ensuing due to the lack of police coverage, Loomis returns to the Carruthers’ home, thinking Michael will go there looking for Jamie. Soon after, Michael finds Rachel and Jamie at the sheriff’s house, though they manage to elude him and leave Haddonfield. Unbeknownst to them however, Myers managed to hide in the back of the pick-up truck they used to escape. Michael soon emerges and tries to kill Rachel while she frantically tries to drive the vehicle. Eventually, Michael is thrown from truck and Rachel hits him head on, throwing him off the road and knocking him out. After Rachel stops the vehicle, Jamie gets out, goes over to Michael and holds his hand. When Michael rises, the Illinois state troopers catch up to them and shoot Michael relentlessly. He falls into an abandoned mine shaft which collapses on him when the troopers throw dynamite down the shaft.
Back at the Carruthers house, Jamie puts on her clown mask and stabs her foster mother. Dr. Loomis attempts to shoot her, but Sheriff Meeker prevents it. The film ends with a shot of Jamie, wearing the clown mask and the holding bloody scissors, reminiscent of young Michael Myers after killing his older sister Judith.
The Good: Halloween 4 is an excellent return to the Michael Myers story. Little’s direction is solid and atmosphere is abundant, harkening back to the original Halloween. McElroy’s script serves the series well, providing superb scares and homage moments. Horror fans will enjoy Michael’s increased body count in this film, and the suspense is back in Michael’s roof, school, and truck scenes. Danielle Harris provides a great performance, given her age, and Ellie Cornell provides an excellent bounce back for her character. Donald Pleasence again performs exceptionally as Dr. Loomis, giving the character an even more sense of obligation than before. Overall, Halloween 4 is an exciting comeback to one horror’s beloved series.
Halloween 4 “Final Cut” is a short, but informative documentary about the film’s production and subsequent release. Recent interviews from Akkad, Cornell, Harris, Little, McElroy, and more, shed interesting light on Michael’s comeback film. I am an ardent fan of smaller featurette’s like this one, as they are long enough to get their point across, without bogging down the viewer with unneeded history.
The Bad: Not much. Some slight editing issues, and consistency concerning Michael’s mask are noticeable, but in no way detracts from the film.
Final Comments: Halloween 4 has a great combination of scares and familiarity that horror fans and general audiences alike will enjoy. Anchor Bay’s DVD release provides a decent film transfer and an informative documentary, giving well earned credit to the fourth entry in the Halloween saga.
Grade: A- (film) | B (DVD release)
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