Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Impressions: Throughout the 1980s, many pretenders came and went, striving for the vacant throne left behind when Michael Myers was vanquished back in 1981 (1978, in the context of the story). The most notable among these was Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Both movies turned out sequel after sequel, becoming incredibly popular franchises within the horror community. Unfortunately, the quality of the aformentioned films seemed to deteriorate with each release. Furthermore, neither one possessed the mystique and truly sinister aura that belonged to their predecessor: Michael Myers.

The story of Michael Myers was one that was so utterly fascinating that fans were begging for more, ever since he was 'killed off' in Halloween II. It was this obsession with his story, much more so than any real problems, that resulted in the poor reaction toward Halloween III: Season of the Witch. They couldn't get enough of The Shape, and who could blame them? Michael Myers set the standard for all slasher movies that were to follow; however, the Halloween series transcends the what one would consider to be a simple slasher movie.

Seven years after Michael's last appearance, he was resurrected (as was the franchise), to the delight and horror of his fans. Though I had watched the first two movies a handful of times by then, Halloween 4 was the first one to really have any significant impact on me. Perhaps, the reason for this is that I saw this one in the theatre, right around my 8th birthday. From this point on, the character of Michael Myers was of great importance to me. This didn't turn into complete obsession until some years later, but it was at this point that I took notice and recognized this person as far superior to those who had attempted to fill the vacuum that his absence had created. I also became quite fond of Danielle Harris, at a young age, but that is another story.

Plot summary: Ten years have passed since Michael Myers terrorized the small town of Haddonfield. We discover that neither Michael nor Dr. Loomis died in the fire at the end of Halloween II. The former has been in a comatose state, while the latter is permanently scarred and crippled. As it turns out, Laurie Strode has since died in a car accident, though she left behind a young daughter, Jamie Lloyd. Myers awakens as he's being transported from one facility to another and then proceeds to mercilessly slaughter those in the truck. He then begins to make his way back to Haddonfield. The following day, this news makes its way to Dr. Loomis, who then tells his associates at Smith's Grove that he knows where Michael is headed. After a brief encounter at a small gas station, Loomis continues on to the police station where he attempts to warn them about the impending danger. Traumatized by the events of 1978, no one wants to believe that it could all happen again.

Meanwhile, Michael begins stalking his niece, Jamie, who has been adopted by the Caruthers family and is in the care of her older step-sister, Rachel. The two have sort of a tense relationship, as Jamie's nightmares seem to be putting a strain on things. Also, no teenager wants to blow off plans to babysit. After having to cancel her date plans to take Jamie trick-or-treating, they go to pick up a costume for her. Ironically, she chooses a clown costume similar to that worn by Michael the night he killed his older sister, Judith. That night, the terror begins.

Sheriff Meeker and Dr. Loomis search for Myers, as crack-technician, Bucky, gets tossed onto an electrical box that manages to wipe out the power of the whole town. Meeker has a deputy set up shop at his home, where his daughter and Rachel's boyfriend were getting friendly. Once they locate Jamie and Rachel (who had been separated while trick-or-treating) they barricade them in his house while waiting for the state police. The sheriff has to go out in order to prevent his vigilante citizens from trying to take matters into their own hands (some of them had lost family members, back in 1978, and end up killing the wrong person in their quest to get even with Michael Myers). He manages to get into the house anyway, killing everyone but Jamie and Rachel. They escape, making their way to the school and Dr. Loomis. Michael makes short work of him and continues to follow them as they flee in a truck full of rednecks. Michael kills them all, forcing Rachel to drive, and is then thrown from the truck. She takes aim and drives right into him, propelling him backward into what appears to be a small graveyard. Jamie gets close to him, as the state police arrive, touching his hand. Though he was trying to kill her, she feels some strange connection to him. As he rises to finish what he started, Jamie jumps out of the way and the police open fire on him, sending him into a mine shaft. They follow this by tossing some sort of explosives in behind him, presuming to have finished him off.

Back at the house, Jamie puts on her clown mask and proceeds to stab her step-mother with a pair of scissors. As Dr. Loomis and Sheriff Meeker rush to the bottom of the stairs, after hearing the woman's screams, they gasp in horror at the sight of Jamie standing there with the bloody scissors. Loomis attempts to shoot her, knowing that she is possessed by the evil of Michael Myers, but the sheriff prevents this.

Conclusion: Halloween 4: The Curse of Michael Myers was very successful in rejuvenating this near-dead franchise. There were enough similarities with the original to maintain the same feeling (Rachel acting as the baby-sitter, Loomis teaming up with the sheriff to stop Myers before it's too late, the sheriff's daughter being murdered, etc.) while also adding a new dimension to the story. This is aided, greatly, by the strong characters in the film. As opposed to the endless stream of cookie-cutter victims put to death by Jason Voorhees, the characters in this film are all well-defined and do a great job in drawing the audience in and giving them a reason to care. In particular, Danielle Harris does a phenomenal job of carrying this movie, along with Donald Pleasance. It's very rare that a child actor can pull off something like this, but she exceeds any and all expectations that anyone could have possibly had for a girl her age. The theme does well to tie things together, as well, since Alan Howarth returned to work on the score. While nothing will ever surpass the first two films of this series, Halloween 4 proved to be one of the most successful of them all and remained true to the story. If you haven't seen this, the season is approaching. Do yourself a favour and remedy the situation.