Cast

 

Donald Pleasence ... Sam Loomis

 

Ellie Cornell ... Rachel Carruthers

 

Danielle Harris ... Jamie Lloyd

 

George P. Wilbur ... Michael Myers

 

Michael Pataki ... Dr. Hoffman

 

Beau Starr ... Sheriff Ben Meeker

 

Kathleen Kinmont ... Kelly Meeker

 

Sasha Jenson ... Brady

 

Gene Ross ... Earl

 

Carmen Filpi ... Rev. Jackson P. Sayer

 

Raymond O'Connor ... Security Guard

 

Jeff Olson ... Richard Carruthers

 

Karen Alston ... Darlene Carruthers

 

Nancy Borgenicht ... Woman Attendant

 

David Jensen ... Man Attendant

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexual content, and brief drug material

It is October 30, 1988, and Michael Myers has been in a coma at the Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium since that night a decade ago when his doctor set him on fire in Haddonfield, IL. An ambulance makes its away along the road to Ridgemont in a thunderstorm, and Myers is soon on his way to another hospital in Smith's Grove, IL. During the ride, he overhears the crew mention his young niece in Haddonfield, and he comes to life, savagely killing the crew trapped inside. Dr. Loomis & Dr. Hoffman, head of Ridgemont, are alerted by the state troopers after the ambulance is found upside-down in a river with blood everywhere. Meanwhile, Myers has already started to make his way toward Haddonfield, where he acquires his traditional coveralls & nasty-looking knife, confronts his niece in a pharmacy, and then kills the town's phone & power lines, leaving his niece & her adopted sister trapped in their home...and he's coming to pay young Jamie a visit.

 

That's right ladies and gentlemen...Michael Myers has returned. And this was to the delight of all the Halloween fans around the world. But is his return what we all had hoped for. To many of horror fans around the world, that is a resounding yes...but to this particular horror fan, the return was bittersweet. This isn't the Halloween movie I was looking for...in fact, in just the 10 standard films in the franchise, this one is in the bottom five...and that astounds most people when I tell them that.

 

That being said, don't get me wrong...I really, really enjoy this movie...but it was so far off the original formula, that it feels like it is pandering to the times. For instance, this was the perfect opportunity to completely drop the “Michael kills his Family” storyline. It is really unnecessary. I think him being a deranged killer is a lot more terrifying, than him wanting to be the family “cleaner” if you will. (Granted, my opinions will vary a bit when I talk about Halloween: Resurrection, but you'll understand why then). So the need to kill Laurie Strode off, and throw a new niece into the mix, wasn't really necessary.

 

Sure, I love the fact that they cast Danielle Harris in this role, because not only was she a very fine actress for her age, she has become a major staple in the horror industry, and is a scream queen in many fans' eyes. She was 10 or 11 years old when they shot this film, and she gives one of the best performances in this entire film. And that is a hard thing to do at that age.

 

No return of a classic villain is complete without the return of his counterpart. Donald Pleasence returns to reprise his role as Dr. Samuel Loomis. He is burnt on the face, with some of the worst prosthetics makeup I've ever seen, and wears a glove that covers his burnt hand. And by this time in the Michael Myers lore, he is completely obsessed with Michael, and wants only to destroy the evil that is his being. This is where we really get to see that these stories and truly about these two characters; Michaela and Loomis. Everyone else is just the window dressing.

 

This was the first Halloween film in which John Carpenter and Debra Hill had no part in. They contacted them to be a part of it, and to even direct it. But an agreement couldn't be made, and John Carpenter separated himself from the franchise completely. And it is a sad loss, but I understand why he did it. But the groundwork that he set will forever be engraved in each film; the good, and the bad.

 

And that leads me to my biggest complaint with this film...and that is the gore. I understand they were trying to compete with the fact that this film was coming out in the late 80's, and most films were very violent. And don't get me wrong, I am a gore-hound...I love the shit...the more blood the better...but that isn't what this franchise was about. But that out of the way, it is my complaint....but the kills are very effective in this movie. From Michael putting his thumb through the doctor's head in the ambulance, to him ripping a redneck's head apart while driving a car. They look amazing, and are just fun to see. The most convenient kill in the movie, is the power plant worker. Michael apparently has a full proof plan in motion with this film. He is going to linger around the power plant until some unsuspecting worker notices him. Then he will calmly walk up to the man, and proceed to throw him onto the power lines, or some such shit, and thus causing all the power to Haddonfield to go out. How very diabolical of him. I never thought of Michael as much of a thinker. But hey...who knew?

 

Halloween 4 was one of the most successful films in the Halloween franchise...at it's time. And for good reason. With people pissed off by the lack of Michael Myers in the third film, this was nothing more than fan-service, to give them what it was they wanted. And the audiences ate it up. Never mind that the mask looked ridiculous as hell, and would continue to do so for years. And let us not forget that Jamie Lloyd is now apart of a new family, and maybe Michael will seek vengeance on them later down the line. But the ending of this film is what sold it to audiences. Jamie attacking her foster mother was shocking. It made the audience feel like maybe they were passing the torch from Michael on to Jamie...she did touch his hand mind you, a little earlier. That was the idea I think they should have ran with. But you will just have to wait for my review of Halloween 5, to see which way they actually went.

 

Till Next Time Kiddies...

 

-RJ