Halloween 4 : Le Retour de Michael Myers

After Halloween three, it was obvious that for this franchise to work on.any level, it needed The Boogeyman, it needed Michael Myers.

Ignore the plot, there isn't one, and there is no logic to any of the films, but this film, against all odds, is pretty good. I'd argue it's better than Halloween II, it's certainly less cliché ridden.

The question you'll be asking, what is Michael Myers now, he was shot, blown up, he's clearly not a man anymore. Anyway, he's back, and that's a good thing.

It's well paced, menacing, if features some nice references to the past, including the clown costume. They naturally increased the levels of violence, some scene ls are pretty nasty. The rocking chair scene is an outstanding moment of Horror, and the ending is really rather good.

Sometimes the sound is very tinny, hard to believe it was produced ten years after the first, which is so slick.

It's not perfect, but it is a very good horror film. 7/10

After serial killer Michael Myers wakes up during a routine transfer to a different hospital, he goes running back to Haddonfield and his former doctor, Dr. Loomis, tries to make it there before Michael can begin yet another bloodbath and murder his niece, Jamie.

Having a young child as the lead victim in a slasher movie is a brave choice. Some will find it tacky and offensive right from the start or, even worse, the child actor might not be seasoned enough to be effective in the role and could just come across as annoying, but young Danielle Harris is so wonderful and winning in the role that you really get invested in her character and want her to make it out alive. Most of the other characters aren't developed enough for you to give a hoot about them, but the filmmakers do handle the suspense sequences well.

After the failure that was the 3rd Halloween sequel, the writers knew that was mainly due to the absence of Michael Myers. So what did they do? They invited Michael back in for the 4th sequel and back into the story of Halloween. Even though I did enjoy the 3rd sequel, I do agree that I missed Michael. He's my favorite boogeyman, so it'd be cool to see him return and do what he does best, slice and dice and scare the heck out of me. Well is this really scary? Not too much, but still it's a fun sequel to get into and watch in the dark. I like the story and how they are continuing into the Myer's past and how far Michael will go to destroy this blood line. Although I was disappointed to not have Laurie Strode in this one, it was interesting to see how her legacy lives on with her daughter and now she will have the struggle with Michael Myers.

Michael Myers has been in a coma for ten years, when his massacre was stopped by Dr. Samuel J. Loomis and Laurie Strode. Myers is being transferred from Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium to Smith's Grove Sanitarium. He awakens when he hears that Laurie Strode, his sister, is deceased, but her daughter, Jamie Lloyd is alive and well in Haddonfield. He kills the ambulance crew and escapes. Dr. Loomis races to Haddonfield in an attempt to bring Myers' killing spree to an end once and for all. In Haddonfield, his niece Jamie Lloyd, 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 with her teenage foster sister Rachel. Her uncle, Michael, follows them. Meanwhile, Loomis arrives in Haddonfield after an exhausting journey, and contacts the police department to inform them of Myers' escape. He and Haddonfield's new Sheriff Ben Meeker begin to search the town for Michael and Jamie. Myers has also blacked out the town's electricity by throwing a technician onto a electrical box and singlehandedly annihilated the entire police force. The girls barricade themselves in the Sheriff's house, while awaiting the arrival of the state police where Michael follows them and you'll have to see the movie to see the exciting conclusion.

So over all Halloween 4 is a good sequel, it's not the strongest in the series, but it's one of the better stories of the franchise. I do like Jamie Lloyd, she was an interesting addition to the story and the writers are making these movies very interesting. I'm glad they brought Dr. Loomis back in, it brings us back into the original Halloween and he'll never give up until Michael Myers is gone for good, which we know is not going to happen since we still have 4 more sequels after this one. But the 4th installment into the Halloween franchise is a good one so I do recommend that you see it if you get the chance.

6/10

The Good: Maybe it's having just watched H20 and Resurrection, but H4 is a masterpiece in comparison. I almost forgot how scary Michael Myers could be until I re-watched this movie. He truly seems like a force of nature; a spookier Terminator who will kill anyone who gets in his way and you can only temporarily stop him. I think seeing him from the perspective of a little girl really helps; he's the boogeyman and you feel it. This movie expertly generates tension from a creepy atmosphere, in a return to form that must have been SO SATISFYING to audiences starved for Michael Myers back in 1988.

Danielle Harris' performance is truly amazing. She really captures the trauma and terror that her character is put through and is the emotional core of this movie. Honestly, without her powerhouse performance, this movie would not work as well as it does.

Even without her though, this movie is a lot of fun: Loomis is back and crazier than ever, you have the classic horror tropes and a final set piece that makes sense and is super effective. Instead of feeling dated, it almost feels...comforting.

The Bad: Unfortunately, this movie is pretty weak when it comes to kills, an important metric for any slasher. A lot of them are bloodless and generic, save for the opening kill and...well, the final one. It's also more than a little annoying as to how Michael can just teleport wherever he needs to be and becomes outright hilarious by the end.

The Ugly: Not gonna lie, I absolutely lost it at the sight of dozens of schoolchildren running after a little girl chanting: "Jaimie's an orphan!" The 1980s were not a subtle decade, that's for sure.

It is ten years after Michael Myers escaped from the psychiatric clinic and went on the rampage and he has been in a coma ever since being burnt at the end of Halloween 2. But one of the ambulance drivers transporting him somewhere lets slip that he has a niece in Haddonfield and before you know it he's making his way back there.

Myers has become seemingly indestructable by now. He was seen emerging from a hospital as a human fireball at the end of art 2 and yet he seems to have escaped more or less unscathed. And howcome he can see anything when he was blinded in Part 2 just before being roasted alive?

However, if you overlook these points you'll find this is an entertaining and well-made film. Dr Loomis returns to Haddonfield after his ex-patient, played by Donald Pleasance at his best, and there are plenty of interesting characters and situations.

One of the better of the Halloween series, certainly much more worthwhile than the dismal Halloween 5 or most of the repetative Friday the 13th films.