Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
I can admit, when I first watched Halloween 4 and 5 I wasn’t a big fan of Michael chasing after a kid. But I did like the movies. And I did like young Danielle Harris. I became an instant fan of this up and coming scream queen/final girl.
Photo Credit: Trancas International Films
Released: Oct 21, 1988
Runtime: 88 mins
Director: Dwight H. Little
Writer: Dhani Lipsius, Larry Rattner, Benjamin Ruffner
Actors: Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris
PLOT
Ten years after the original movies, a comatose Michael Meyers wakes up and heads to Haddonfield. His sister is dead, but now he has a 7 year old niece he hunts for.
MY THOUGHTS
There’s roughly 18 or 19 kills, sadly including Sundae the dog. What is it with Michael not liking dogs? Is he a cat man? Anyways, I would say there are lots of body parts in the movie, as well as electrocution, and a random, idiot teen killed by stupid drunks shooting first, without finding out if it was Michael or not. I think Kelly’s (Kathleen Kinmont) death by being pinned to the wall with the shotgun was interesting. A nice throwback to the first movie when Bob is pinned to the wall with a knife.
Again, we have decent acting in Halloween 4. Standouts for me are obviously Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis and Danielle Harris as Jamie. Ellie Cornell as Rachel, Jamie’s adopted sister does a good job. She kind of annoys me, but it’s the character not the actress.
Donald Pleasance plays as a more unhinged Dr. Loomis. Of course it’s understandable, especially with the burn scars on his face and hands. But he uses 7 year old Jamie as bait! Who does that?
This is Danielle Harris’s first film and I think she does a pretty good job playing a 7 year old and as a young final girl. (Yes, I know, technically Rachel is the final girl but I see Jamie as more of a final girl because he is after her and not Rachel. Just my opinion though.) We see glimpses of the great horror actress we will see in the future.
We start Halloween 4 with Michael Meyers in a coma (for the last 10 years). He’s being transferred to another hospital. While in the ambulance, he wakes up and kills all of the EMT’s and attendants. Dr. Loomis finds out and follows the trail of dead bodies back to Haddonfield and finds out about Laurie and Jamie.
Meanwhile, Jamie has nightmares of the bad man (Michael). She also is bullied in school by idiot kids because of who her uncle (Michael) is and that her parents are dead. Rachel, who seems kind of hesitant about Jamie, has to babysit her and is upset it will mess up her plans with her boyfriend.
While trick or treating, Rachel finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her with the Sheriff’s daughter. She gets separated from Jamie, only for both of them to run into the Sheriff and Dr. Loomis.
The Sheriff and Dr. Loomis discovers that the police station has become a bloodbath where several officers were killed by Michael. The news reports that the town is under curfew and everyone needs to go home. The local bar owner calls bullshit on it and tries to call the station. No answer. He grabs several of his drunk patrons to go searching for Michael. Instead they find a teen dressed as Michael and yet again, shoot and kill him.
Meanwhile, the Sheriff takes Rachel and Jamie to his house where her boyfriend and the Sheriff’s daughter are at. Very uncomfortable. They lock up the house pretty tightly and the Sheriff leaves to stop the vigilantes. Somehow Michael gets in the house and kills them all but Rachel and Jamie.
Rachel is hurt and Dr. Loomis takes Jamie to a school where he knows Michael will follow them. Michael throws Dr. Loomis through a glass door and chases after Jamie. Rachel shows up and stops Michael as the vigilantes show up at the school after hearing the alarm. They agree to take the girls to the next town. Unbeknownst to them, Michael is under the truck they are in. When they stop he gets into the truck and kills the men in the back.
Eventually, Rachel gets him off the truck and rams him with the truck, sending him near a mine shaft. This sends him flying and they think he’s dead. Jamie, being the typical kid, goes over to him and touches him. Rachel yells for her to get away from him as Michael gets up. The Sheriff and the rest of the vigilantes continuously shoot Michael until he stays down.
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Overall it’s a decent movie in the series. Not the best and definitely not the worst. Definitely worth a watch if you haven’t seen it. I don’t like Dr. Loomis as much in this movie. I think he’s a little more reckless and willing to use a child as bait is horrible. I didn’t like Michael’s mask as much in this version. Also, did anyone else notice that Michael had blonde hair when they were filming the school scene? Really?
And now for your Forever Final Girl Exclusive…Did you know?:
On Halloween 1988, 10 years after Michael Myers tried unsuccessfully to murder his younger sister Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and fell into a coma, he awakens, escapes, and returns to Haddonfield intent on killing his seven-year-old niece, Laurie's daughter Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), who has been adopted by the Carruthers family. When Jamie and her adopted sister Rachel (Ellie Cornell) go trick-or-treating, Michael (George P. Wilbur) stalks them. Wherever Michael goes, however, his psychiatrist Doctor Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is not far behind.
Danielle Harris sold the clown costume to a fan.
Just so Danielle Harris wouldn't be scared, George P. Wilbur would often lift up his mask between takes to remind her that they were just making a movie and that he was not really going to hurt her.
The girl Lindsey who drove Rachel and Jamie to the discount mart was going to be revealed as Lindsey Wallace from Halloween (1978) and have a larger part in the film as Rachel's friend and helping her babysit Jamie, but that was cut for budget reasons. The third boy hanging out with Brady and Wade in the drug store was meant to be Tommy Doyle from the original film.
Danielle Harris revealed in 25 Years of Terror, when her character runs through the neighborhood screaming for help someone legitimately called the cops, "I was banging on doors, yelling for someone to help me, help me, after I got lost trick or treating or something. So, at 4 o'clock in the morning, they heard a little screaming up the streets, and someone called the cops. The cops came. Then the story ended up in The Inquirer that I was almost kidnapped off of the set."
Jamie's name in the original script was Brittan "Britti" Lloyd but was changed in homage to Jamie Lee Curtis.
The drugstore set was also used in Stephen King's The Stand (1994).
Film debut of Danielle Harris.
Jamie's dog Sundae is the third dog to die in the series.
After viewing a rough edit it was decided that the movie was too soft, so the producers brought in special effects expert John Carl Buechler for one day of extra "blood" filming. The thumb in the forehead and the redneck's head getting twisted were both done by him.
Have you seen the other Halloween movies? Check out my other reviews here: Halloween Franchise.
Let’s get into the rankings:
Kills/Blood/Gore: 3.5/5
Sex/Nudity: 0/5
Scare factor: 4/5
Enjoyment factor: 5/5
My Rank: 3.1/5
IMDB: 5.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: critics: 3.1/10 audience: 5.2/10
Letterboxd: 2.9/5