Tools:
Recommend review to a friend »
John Carpenter´s original "Halloween" is the perennial slasher film masterpiece. With the exception of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," no other film can come close. It was serious, and it was scary. Michael Myers, aka The Shape, is one of the scariest villains to ever wield a knife and chase Jamie Lee Curtis or any other curvy young leading lady. The only problem with "Halloween" is the stream of sub-par sequels that producer Moustapha Akkad continues to release in an attempt to cash in on the success of the original. Most of these sequels are rehashes of the original story, very thin plotted attempts at having The Shape murder cute young women, or completely unrelated tales ("Halloween III"). "Halloween II" had some merit and after that film, perhaps "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" is the best sequel.
"Halloween 4" finds Michael Myers (stuntman George P. Wilbur) returning to Haddonfield to murder his young niece Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris). On his trail is the always-wonderful Donald Pleasance reprising his role as Dr. Sam Loomis. Caught in the middle of the conflict is Jamie´s babysitter and ´big sister´ figure, Rachael (Ellie Cornell-Gottwald) and Sheriff Ben Meeker (Beau Starr). As was the case with the first films, everybody is searching for the unstoppable and aloof Michael Myers. Eventually, they all learn where he is going to haunt and whom he is going to kill. It just takes the proper time to stage the climax and wrap things up. I won´t spoil the ending, but it just screams forced similarity to the original and was used as a cheap way to bring about yet another sequel (the aptly titled "Halloween 5").
The redeeming quality of "Halloween 4" is the actors and their performances. The idea of having a stuntman perform the physical role of Myers was certainly the correct decision and Wilbur is convincing as a powerful and unstoppable force. Young actresses Jamie Lloyd and Ellie Cornell showed great talent in front of the camera at a young age. Jamie Lloyd especially deserves praise as Michael Myers´ niece. Donald Pleasance was a very talented actor, but in "Halloween 4" he is only merely good. At times, he appears to be going through the motions as Dr. Loomis. The passion he had brought to the role in the first film is gone and though he put forth a good performance, this is not a role to remember him by.
Technically speaking, a lot of hard work was put into this film and you can tell. The infamous roof scene has an interesting story to it. Ellie Cornell was injured during filming and had a nail tear her stomach and chest area. She went to the hospital for stitches and bandages and returned to finish the scene. The direction, lighting and atmosphere created by Dwight Little are nicely done. This was the first film that saw no involvement from the original creator, John Carpenter. The film lacks the style that Carpenter brought to the series, but Little does his best to keep in spirit with the original and not try to be just another cheap knockoff.
This film does fit into the continuing storyline of Michael Myers that still sees production today. No matter how many times you try to kill him, you know that he is going to be back for yet another sequel. The movies have become more and more routine and stale with each new sequel. "Halloween 4" is not a bad film, but it is mediocre. The downward spiral started with the very first sequel, and with every new film, it just gets worse. I have heard rumors that the latest sequel is in reshoot Hell and is just barely dodging the direct-video market. If these rumors are correcti, hopefully they will discontinue releasing films that further tarnish the name of the horror classic they follow.
Average user rating (1-5):
Not yet rated.
Not yet rated.
[release]2486[/release]