Halloween 5 - Die Rache des Michael Myers

Halloween 5 was a step down compared to others. A better director probally would have done better with the script, which wasn't that bad.

Donald Pleasence again trys to put away Michael Myers, but this time takes a swat team into the Myers house with him. Well of course they are no match for Myers, but Loomis does manage to capture Myers in chains and beat him to a pulp.

Good performances, but badly filmed. It looks like a made for cable movie.

**/****

When the original Halloween was made it was scary because of its gritty realism and believable characters. Part 2 was also an edge-of-seater. But by the time you reach this, Part 5, the tension has gone from the series and Michael Myers has descended from a believable shadow-stalking figure into an unkillable Jason 'Friday the 13th' Voorhees clone.

For what its worth, the plot of this film involves Myers coming after Jamie, who is now in a childrens' psychiatric hospital after attacking her stepmother. The concept of Jamie having a psychic bond with her deranged uncle is interesting, but it's all completely ruined by the constant unfunny attempts at humour, the tedious padding and the lack of likeable would-be victims. Instead of genuine characters all we have here are Porky-style sex-mad teenagers with nothing approaching an IQ between them. There's even a scene set in a barn similar to the one in some of the Friday the 13th films. And Rachel from Part 4 seems to have been reduced to a stereotype blonde airhead whose only purpose in the film is to run around half-naked before being slaughtered. And why does Myers' mask look nothing like the one he wore in the previous films?

One good point in this film is Donald Pleasence, who is at his best as an overwhelming Dr Loomis who dominates his every scene and makes the film worth viewing. There is also an enigmatic Man in the Black Fedora-type figure who leads the film into the far superior Part 6.

Halloween 5 is a disappointing movie for Halloween fans and horror movie fans. It lacks in plot, scares and suspense.

It's one year later after the events of Halloween 4. Michael survives the shootings and on October 31st he returns to Haddonfield. Jamie (the heroine of H4) is in Haddonfield's Children's Hospital after attacking her step-mother the previous year. She is being treated by Dr. Loomis with the aid of her step-sister Rachel and Rachel's friend Tina. Lurking and stalking, Michael forms a plan to lure Jamie out of the children's hospital where events lead up to a confrontation at Michael's childhood house.

OK, I like Donald Pleasence even though his performance went down a little and is a little cheesy. Danielle Harris does the best spending half the movie being mute. It's a great performance. Ellie Cornell is back as Rachael. She is a great character but gets killed off in the first ten minutes. The rest of the movie is filled with terribly acted, stupid teenagers. Even some of the characters from the Friday the 13th movies are better. The characters are all hateful and the script doesn't make much sense.

It's a typical slasher movie, which I don't like that much. Halloween 5 spends too much time on teenagers with silly teen lust combined with slasher stuff. There's even a part with 2 bumbling cops with three stooges like music playing in the background. It's just stupid. The story feels like it doesn't know what to do next. But it does excel when it cuts to the real story of Meyers chasing the girl and the doctor's relentless pursuit.

But the climax wasn't that bad, even though Michael's "demise" was absolutely ridicules with Loomis beating Michael with a piece of wood. Michael's childhood home looks completely different than how it looked in the first. The chase scenes with Jamie and Michael were pretty good. And a scene with Jamie hiding in a vent and Michael stabbing at it was pretty suspenseful. And it was different while being believable. That was the best part in the whole movie. Also the atmosphere is pretty good and very creepy. I would have given this 1 star if it wasn't for that.

So besides the climax Halloween 5 is pretty bad. You can tell it was rushed because of the success of Halloween 4.

2 stars (out of 4)

After the success of HALLOWEEN 4, it was predictable that the studio would go on with another sequel. The only good thing about this one is that it picks up the story exactly where the last film left off, giving an explanation for the fact that little DANIELLE HARRIS is behind bars in a clinic for disturbed children. But within the first half-hour of the story, it's obvious that this is no HALLOWEEN 4.

As someone else pointed out, DONALD PLEASANCE is just about as psychotic as Michael Meyers in his quest to find the serial killer who seems to be eradicating all the citizens of Haddonfield every time it's Halloween. ELLIE CORNELL as Rachel is killed off early in the story and, unfortunately, there are no other likable members among the youthful cast to root for. It's as if they were scripted, all of them, to deserve their fate.

Without a good plot structure and much too much repetition, this one begins to sink before the midway point. All of the fright sequences are done competently enough but just don't have the same tension or creepiness of the better ones in this series.

Summing up: Not helped by Donald Pleasance's decision to ham it up unmercifully to draw attention--but it doesn't work. They should have quit after HALLOWEEN 4.

There are some cool scenes in this movie. And there are some neat ideas. But it falls flat because of large number of plot holes and it's too fast for it's own good. I feel the movie would have been better if it focused more on the children. Scenes where the kids are in danger are one of the best in the movie. Danielle Harris is perfect in her role as little Jamie and Donald Pleasence gives his best, but it's not enough to save this movie from being a little more than a regular slasher, which is a shame given the greatness of character and setting. It's not the worst thing you will watch, it's just OK. Sadly, though I still haven't watched the rest, I feel that story elements introduced in this movie will take things too far. But I digress. 6/10 from me. If you are horror movie fan, watch it for fun :)