Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
I remember watching Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers and not liking it very much. I know it’s the sixth movie in a franchise and one shouldn’t expect much. But with this rewatch I think I like it more now than before. I mean, come on, Paul Rudd is in it. It’s not THAT bad.
Photo Credit: Miramax
Released: Sep 29, 1995
Runtime: 87 mins
Director: Joe Chappelle
Writer: Debra Hill, John Carpenter, Daniel Farrands
Actors: Donald Pleasence, Paul Rudd, Marianne Hagan
PLOT
I knew what he was, but I never knew why.--Doctor Loomis
It’s been six years since the events of the last movie's events. No one has seen Michael or Jamie. Now Jamie has given birth to a baby son. And she must not only get away from Michael but also the cult that has held her captive.
MY THOUGHTS
There are a number of kills in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, and they are pretty decent as well. I think Jamie’s death is pretty good. A corn thresher? Hmmm. Also, good riddance to John. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. He didn’t need his head, he wasn’t using it anyways. LOL.
I think the acting was kind of okay I guess. Not the greatest. We have Paul Rudd (known for primarily comedies like Clueless, Anchorman, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Antman) playing Tommy Doyle, the young boy Laurie was babysitting years before. He’s a little bit of a loner who thinks Michael will be back. Marianne Hagan (known for Stake Land, Dead Calling, Last Kind Words, and Bread Crumbs) plays Kara Strode, a single mother who has moved back home with her family. Who just happens to live in the old Michael Myers home.
We also have Mitchell Ryan (known for Dark Shadows, Judge Dredd, and countless tv shows) plays Dr. Winn, a former coworker of Loomis as well as the leader of the Thorn cult. Donald Pleasence (Halloween 1-2, 4-5, Dracula *1979, Monster Club, Escape from New York, Alone in the Dark, and countless other movies and tv shows) plays Dr. Loomis, a psychiatrist who tried to treat and eventually try to stop Michael from killing.
And finally Kim Darby (known for Teen Wolf 2, episodes of the X-Files, Dark Realm, and The Evil Within) plays Debra, Kara’s meek mother. I need to mention J.C. Brandy (known for Kindred the Embraced, Femme Fatales, and Haunted: 333) plays Jamie Lloyd, Laurie’s daughter and Michael’s niece. I mention her because, according to Danielle Harris, she was treated badly during the shooting of the movie because she took over the role of Jamie. Which is a shame.
We start on a dark and stormy night where a very pregnant Jamie Lloyd is in labor. We find out her and Michael were captured six years earlier and she was now pregnant with Michael’s child. After giving birth, Michael escapes and starts killing everyone. Jamie gets her baby and escapes into the night, with Michael hot on her trail.
Michael eventually catches up with Jamie and kills her in a brutal way, but the baby isn’t with her. Before her death she called a radio station asking for help and that Michael was back. A now adult Tommy hears the pleas and eventually finds the baby, hidden. He’s been waiting for Michael to come back.
Meanwhile, a retired Dr. Loomis has a visitor a Dr. Wynn. Who wants Loomis to return to Haddonfield. He doesn’t want to but Loomis hears the radio plea and agrees to return. Now, the people of Haddonfield don’t agree. They are trying to move on. The town had banned Halloween and this year was restarting it by having DJ Barry Simms hosting.
Tommy befriends neighbor young Danny Stroud, whose family lives next door in the old Michael Myers house. Poor Danny has been having visions of someone telling him to kill his family. Despite Tommy warning the family to leave, most of Kara’s family is killed.
Kara, Danny and Jamie’s baby are taken to the sanitarium where the cult is preparing Danny to kill the baby and his mom so the curse can pass on to Danny. Tommy shows up to rescue them when Michael goes on one of his killing sprees, killing the cult members except Dr. Wynn who is the leader of the cult.
Tommy, Kara, Danny, and the baby leave while Dr. Loomis goes back in and we assume he dies.
============================================================
I wanted to take a quick break to let you know I found these great deals on Amazon for Halloween merchandise. I’ve applied to Amazon’s affiliate program and if I can get three purchases I will be accepted into the program. This will be of tremendous help with starting my small business.
============================================================
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers has its issues (the whole Thorn Cult thing bugs me), but I’m liking the vibe: the music and atmosphere. The more I watch it, the more I like it. I also like the story line of how Haddenfield banned Halloween but now we have teens trying to get Halloween allowed again. Even the trashy talk show guy. Plus, I dig the kills. You can’t go wrong with a bunch of kills.
As far as negatives, I don’t think this whole occult/cult story line really fits in with the franchise. Or maybe how it’s executed. I feel like a lot of different plot lines were added but were just dropped or forgotten.
Overall I think, despite its faults, I think Halloween: Curse of Michael Myers is better than Halloween 5. Watch if you’re a completionist or even if you want to see Paul Rudd's first theatrical release.
And now for your Forever Final Girl Exclusive…Did you know?:
Paul Rudd's film debut.
The producers of the movie wanted Brian Andrews to reprise his role as Tommy Doyle from the original Halloween. But he didn’t have an agent and they couldn’t find him. He's stated since that he regrets missing the opportunity.
Danielle Harris wanted to continue her role as Jamie, but turned it down when Dimension Films refused to pay her the $5,000 she wanted. Harris stated in an interview that when her agent learned that filmmakers were looking to cast an actress who was at least 18 or older to play Jamie in this film, she was only 17 but wanted to do the movie enough that she got herself legally emancipated from her parents at the suggestion of filmmakers so that she could work longer hours without having to go to school. Harris spent time and thousands of dollars on the legal process, but ultimately turned down the film due to her own dissatisfaction with her character's story and Dimension's refusal to pay her a salary that would have recovered her legal fees.
Donald Pleasence died while reshoots were being done so they had to use a body double for his reshoots.
Most of the cast and crew disowned this movie. On the Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006) DVD, they stated that the studio, producers, and director interfered and argued to the point of ridiculousness which resulted in a very poorly directed and edited film.
Many of the crew have gone on the record to state that director Joe Chappelle told them from the outset that he didn't like the Halloween films, and was only involved in this project because it got him a three-picture deal with Miramax.
Many of Donald Pleasence's scenes were edited out of the film because Joe Chappelle found him "boring".
In the original draft of the movie, when John came home from work, he turned on the TV and the scene of the boy dying from the mask in Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) was shown.
Dr. Loomis and Michael share no scenes together in either version of the movie, making this the only film in the franchise to feature both characters but never have them interact.
The room used in the sanitarium in which Kara is contained and escapes from is numbered 237, the same number as the infamous room from The Shining.
The Producer's Cut contains a lot less gore than the theatrical cut
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: 1/5
Scare factor: 3/5
Enjoyment factor: 3.5/5
My Rank: 2.7/5
IMDB: 4.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: critics: 0.9/10 audience: 3.7/10
Letterboxd: 2.1/5