MIDDLE-AGED MATINEE! #27 - 'Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers' (1988)

4/5 Stars!

My brother Jason introduced me to 1978’s “Halloween” when I was young and it instantly became and is, to this day, my favorite horror film of all time. The success of “Halloween” generated a film series that has continued to this day.

Today, my favorite sequels are the trilogy of films made by director David Gordon Green that act as direct sequels to the original film. Yes, that also includes the widely divisive and subversive “Halloween Ends”.

Before that trilogy of films, though, my favorite sequel was 1988’s “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers”. In 1982, Universal Pictures released “Halloween III: Season of the Witch”. The movie intended to take the series into a new direction where the film series would be an anthology film series with each entry containing its own individual story.

Unfortunately, when the movie was released, it had everyone asking, “Where the fuck is Michael Myers?” The third movie did not meet fan expectations and afterwards, producers John Carpenter and Debra Hill sold off their rights to the series and producer Moustapha Akkad took over producing future entries.

After the rights issues were settled, Akkad knew what the fans wanted and set out to bring back Michael Myers.

Only Dr. Loomis knows the truth behind Michael Myers' escape in 'Halloween 4'!

In the fourth film, he quickly put it out with the title itself: “The Return of Michael Myers”. He hired Alan B. McElroy to pen the script and then they were off to the races with director Dwight H. Little helming the film. Original star Jamie Lee Curtis was asked to return as Laurie Strode, but she quickly declined as she had moved away from the horror genre in order to broaden her filmography.

Therefore, the movie follows Laurie’s orphaned daughter, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris). She has been adopted by the Carruthers family. Jamie now has a stepsister Rachel (Ellie Cornell) and Jamie  is not fully aware of her sinister connection to Michael Myers though she is beginning to have visions of the infamous serial killer.

The only real criticism I have for this movie is how bad Michael's mask looks.

For the past ten years since the violent explosion took him out in “Halloween II”, though, Michael Myers has been in a comatose state at the Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium. Now, he is being transferred back to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. On the way, one of the doctors mentions Michael’s niece which causes him to wake up, escape, and head back to Haddonfield.

Surprisingly, his psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) also survived the deadly explosion at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital. When he learns of Michael’s escape, he heads to Haddonfield in order to find Jamie and maybe find a way to take out Michael once and for all.

The first thing I like about this movie is its “return to basics” approach to the story. The movie quickly sets up the story and gets the ball rolling right out of the gate. Michael has a niece, he finds out, and then he begins his deadly quest to get to her.

Jamie Lloyd is the new target of Michael Myers in 'Halloween 4'!

The story not only flows, but the kills are pretty good as well. Rachel’s friends and family in addition to several people in Haddonfield are set up to feel Michael’s wrath. He takes out an electrical engineer in order to take out the power in the small town and he also shows how powerful he is when he takes out almost the entire police force.

This leads to a posse being formed by some of the townsfolk due to their memories of the original killing spree from ‘78. Again, more potential victims for Michael’s chopping block.

The performances in the movie are also great as well. Harris is fantastic as the young child Jamie. She is able to show a wide range of emotions in spite of her age and she even puts some of the adult performers to shame.

Cornell is also a good final girl as Rachel. She is strong and resourceful in spite of the fear and she is able to fight like hell in order to protect her adopted sister.

Finally, there is Pleasence as Dr. Loomis. While it is admittedly absurd that he survived the massive explosion in “Halloween II”, you accept it because you’re just glad that he’s back to chase down Michael yet again. This Loomis is more cynical and seems to be the only one who truly knows how evil Michael is and Pleasence plays it perfectly.

The movie successfully brought Michael Myers back to the screen and allowed the series to continue to this day, for better or worse. Today, I have other sequels that I enjoy more than this movie, but this movie still works on its own as a prime example of a 1980s slasher flick.