Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a 1988 slasher film directed by Dwight H. Little, written by Alan B. McElroy, and starring Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, and Danielle Harris. It is the fourth installment in the Halloween film series and a direct sequel to Halloween II (1981), ignoring the events of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which took place in a different continuity from the first two films.
Plot[]
Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece, with his former psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis again pursuing him.
Why It's Great[]
- It is an improvement of the previous critically-panned movie Halloween III: Season of the Witch which didn't have the main villain, Michael Myers, in it.
- Michael Myers returns in the film as he has a new mask and with the same serial-killing tendencies.
- It still carries the same terrifying and mysterious tone like the first two films.
- It features a new character Jamie Lloyd (played by Danielle Harris in her first film debut) who is the niece of Michael and the daughter of Laurie Strode because she was being a new take on the Final Girl as a child and has remained one of the most popular characters in the franchise to this day.
- Harris did an outstanding job in her performance as Jamie Lloyd.
- Likable new characters:
- Rachel Carruthers is similar to Laurie Strode as they both are action survivors and defend themselves and kids younger than them from Michael Myers by facing their fears and fighting back.
- Sheriff Ben Meeker, unlike most cops is the most competent officer of the police force and assists Dr. Loomis into taking down Michael.
- Great acting, mainly from Ellie Cornell, Beau Starr, Kathleen Kinmont, and others.
- Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace from the first film return in this film as teenagers but with little screen time.
- Donald Pleasence returns in the film to play Dr. Loomis again, only with a messed up face due to the explosion of the hospital in Halloween II and still gives a great performance.
- It has a new and great soundtrack.
- George P. Wilbur gave a neat performance as Michael Myers.
- The ending scene where a bunch of people gun down Michael and he falls through the ground is totally awesome.
Bad Qualities[]
- Jamie Lee Curtis did not return to play Laurie Strode as the script said that Laurie died in a car crash.
- Unlikable characters such as Brady, Kelly Meeker and the kids at Jamie's school.
- The idea of Jamie becoming the new villain of the franchise was ridiculous and was scrapped in the next film.
- It isn't as scary or striking as the first two films.
- False advertising: The movie poster has Michael Myers' original mask, but in the movie, his mask is revealed to be completely different.
- There was a goof featuring Michael's mask with blonde hair instead of black.
- Tommy's and Lindsey's minor appearances were pointless.
- The truckers acting like the law enforcement was a very stupid plot point, and resulted in the death of Ted Hollister thanks to these idiots.
- Most of the kills are quite lame.
Reception[]
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers currently has a 29% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 3.89 out of 10.
Box Office[]
Halloween 4 grossed $17.8 million domestically on a budget of $5 million.