Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (Dwight H. Little, 1988)

After the excellent Halloween 3: Season of the Witch Moustapha Akkad and his team decided to bring back Michael Myers. John Carpenter was involved from the beginning, but when they didn't stick with his idea about a Haddonfield destroyed by fear, examining the psychological aspects of a serial killer's terror, he dropped out. I would have loved to seen his vision, but in all honesty the finished result, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers,  is clearly one of the best Halloween sequels so far. There's several reasons for this, but lets take a look at the story first.

It begins with Michael Myers being moved to a new clinic. Of course he overhears that he still have a relative alive, Jamie Lloyd (Halloween-veteran Danielle Harris) - the daughter of Laurie Strode! Or is it? I can't remember, they're relatives in some way. So lets go on, nothing to see here. It's Halloween and the teen daughter of the foster family have promised her to go out trick or treating, but at the same time Michael arrives to town - with dr Loomis not far behind, and the mayhem can begin again!

Now, I'm a big fan of graphic violence. But what makes Halloween 4 so great is that it actually succeeds in being really good without bringing in the blood and gore (except the absurd "thumb-in-forehead"-scene...). It's very old-fashioned in style and it reminds me more about the first one than the second - or the sequels that came after. Director Little manages to gives us a good amount of great scares without just being simple jump scares, which is quite unique in the third (or actually second) sequel to a timeless classic.

Another fine thing is how the guilt of dr Loomis is back in the picture. He's an asshole, as usual, but like in Halloween 2 he ONCE AGAIN indirectly causes the death of an innocent teeen. I makes the wrong assumption, he acts way to fast and he creates not one tragedy, but a half a dozen tragedies - because of those who killed the boy on his indirect order. "You have created a lynch mob", as sheriff Ben Meeker screams at him. A brilliant little twist. 

One of the best scenes in the whole movie is the siege situation. It's something rarely used in a slasher film, but here a house is guarded with cops and inside is Jamie and her babysitter (played by Ellie Cornell) and during a nailbiting sequence Myers is trying to get inside, succeeds (of course!) and causes more trouble. It's classic thriller-filmmaking. 

I've said it before, Halloween 4 is one of the best in the franchise and probably the last really good quality slasher of the 80's. 

Comments

[Jesper]

Now I really wanna rewatch part 4 (and 5) again! I remember part 6 to be pretty good as well, but I might be wrong, it was ages since I saw that one too.

[Megatron]

"John Carpenter was involved from the beginning, but when they didn't stick with his idea about a Haddonfield destroyed by fear, examining the psychological aspects of a serial killer's terror, he dropped out."

Interesting idea by Carpenter, would have loved to see that.

"(except the absurd "thumb-in-forehead"-scene...)."

What the hell...? hahahahhahah...almost as stupid as when McClane kills a terrorist with a piece of icicle in Die Hard 2(1990).

http://youtu.be/JdgFpPKxal0

"It's very old-fashioned in style and it reminds me more about the first one than the second - or the sequels that came after."

I only seen the first one.

"I makes the wrong assumption, he acts way to fast and he creates not one tragedy, but a half a dozen tragedies - because of those who killed the boy on his indirect order. "You have created a lynch mob", as sheriff Ben Meeker screams at him. A brilliant little twist."

Maybe they kept some of Carpenters vision...?

"I've said it before, Halloween 4 is one of the best in the franchise and probably the last really good quality slasher of the 80's."

I believe you, good review and thanks.