REVIEW: HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS (1988)

 By Stephen Pytak

Some new plot twists and a dash of '80s excess give "The Shape" some new life here.

But I think my favorite thing about this film is Donald Pleasence.

His wide-eyed reactions to the madness surrounding him and ramblings about evil were always a treat.

And this time out, he gets the chance to escape from an exploding gas station, then talk about the forces of darkness while he drinks with a traveling preacher.

The adventures of "Dr. Samuel Loomis" are a highlight in Halloween 4, one of the best entries in this long-running series.

Donald Pleasence as "Dr. Sam Loomis" in "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)." Copyright 1988 by Trancas International Films. 

I saw Halloween 4 opening weekend at the former Cinemette East Theatre on Mall Boulevard at Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, the mall where Romero filmed Dawn of the Dead (1978).

At the time, I was a freshman at Point Park College in Pittsburgh, studying film at the Pittsburgh Filmmakers in Oakland. 

I first learned about the sequel in Fangoria a few months earlier, and I was kind of excited for it. I was a big fan of Carpenter's original, and I enjoyed Rick Rosenthal's sequel, although I didn't think it was as good. 

See, I was never a fan of Carpenter's script for Halloween II and the decision to make "Laurie Strode" the sister of "Michael Myers."

But I was still curious what filmmakers would do to try to revive the story in 1988. And for the most part, I liked what they came up with.

Turns out both Myers and Dr. Loomis have survived their fiery confrontation at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital at the end of Halloween II (1981).

Myers is the worse for wear. He's supposedly been a coma since his outing in 1978. And he's spent the last decade wrapped in so many bandages that he looks like a low-rent mummy.

So the powers that be have decided to transfer him from Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium to Smith's Grove on Oct. 30, 1988.

Real smart.

I guess they didn't bother to read the file on this guy. If they had, they might have postponed the trip until sometime in November.

The medics who accompany him also make the mistake of talking aloud about his family history.

According to the events of Halloween II (1981), that stuff somehow piques his interest. We don't really know why. All we can figure is he enjoys bumping off his relatives.

Anyway, while riding in the ambulance, Myers learns that he has a living relative, a niece named "Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris)." And that prompts him to spring into action, bust a few heads and tear back to his hometown, Haddonfield, Illinois.

And there's nothing subtle about the kind of mayhem on his mind. Unlike the first incarnation of The Shape in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), this version of Michael Myers is a bruiser out to tear his victims apart, a madman on par with "Jason Voorhees."

And now his sights are set on a little girl.

Jamie is the daughter of legendary final girl "Laurie Strode (famously played by Jamie Lee Curtis)." In the first act of this film, we learn that Laurie was killed in a car wreck. And Jamie was adopted by the Carruthers family. 

As soon as word spreads about Michael's escape, Loomis limps back on the scene. This time out, he's got some scars, a cane and a shiny-silver semi-automatic pistol. I believe it's a 9 mm Smith & Wesson 639.

This modern-day version of Val Helsing immediately gets down to business. And he finds his former patient in no time.

Then we get some razzle dazzle we hadn't seen in the Halloween movies up to that point, in particular some large-scale spectacle. 

The two have a confrontation at a roadside gas station. The tension in the sequence builds and builds, then everything explodes, literally.

This happens in broad daylight. Myers has already killed everyone inside and has stolen some boots and a pair of coveralls.

When they spot one another, it feels a bit like a western. But in those films, it became something of a cliché, the classic scene where a lawman and a villain face each other on the main drag of a dusty town square. 

But here, it felt kind of fresh. We hadn't seen anything like this before in one of these flicks.

Loomis first tries to reason with him:

"Michael? Why now? You waited ten years? I knew this day would come. Don't go to Haddonfield. If you want another victim, take me. But leave those people in peace. Please, Michael."

Myers does what Myers usually does. He offers Loomis the same kind of charm which made him a model patient at Smith's Grove. He just stands there, about 15 feet away from Loomis, emotionless, just staring at him through layers of off-white bandages.

And Loomis realizes nothing has changed. 

They're pretty much the same characters they were back in 1978, just squaring off against each other in another place and time.

So Loomis pulls out his shiny silver hole puncher and fires off a few rounds.

But this time, he misses.

Myers has no intention of being a clay pigeon this time out. 

And in the blink of an eye, he exits, stage right.

Bullets bounce off a few kitchen cabinets.

Then the engine of a tow-truck roars to life.

Myers is on the move.

Loomis gives chase. 

Myers puts the pedal to the metal, smashes through a garage door, knocks over a gas pump and ignites an inferno. He has Loomis in his sights.

Loomis fires off a few more rounds before he has no choice but to leap out of the way, during a really cool shot where some slow motion is employed.

And the seemingly unstoppable murderer continues on his mission to return home for one more night of mayhem.

It's one of my favorite scenes in the series, a real jolt of adrenaline. 

I can't remember the last time a scene in a Halloween film was that much fun. 

It's the last really interesting moment between these two characters. 

There are some other cool concepts in this film.

Let's talk a bit about Jamie. Danielle Harris is a solid actress. And she does really well with what she's got to work with.

She's actually one of the more interesting characters in the series, at least in this film.

For starters, I like the idea of this masked killer tracking down a 7-year-old. It gave Myers something new to do. And it's something I hadn't seen before. 

And he goes to great lengths to try to get a hold of her.

There's more action than usual. There's a rooftop chase. Then Myers ends up clinging to a pick-up truck Jamie is riding in.

The writers, including Alan B. McElroy, really injected the script with some juice. 

They also gave Jamie some interesting connections to her serial killer uncle. 

For example, when she goes to a store to choose a costume for trick or treat night, she decides to dress up as a clown. 

That's the kind of costume Myers wore when he was 6 and killed his sister "Judith" in 1963. It's a very cool nod to Carpenter's original film.

Also when she finds her costume, he finds his. There is a mask similar to the one he wore in 1978 on the rack. He grabs that and immediately pulls it over his mug, while standing right behind her, using the same oversized mirror she is.

This is very nicely staged. 

Then there's the conclusion of Halloween 4, and Jamie's fate.

If you're a fan of this film, you know what I'm talking about.

And it's too bad Halloween 5 (1989) didn't do something more with that. 

Heck, some fans are still holding out hope that a true sequel to Halloween 4 can be made. 

I also love Halloween 4 for the character of "Rachel Carruthers (played by Ellie Cornell)." She is Jamie's stepsister. Since she is Jamie's babysitter on this fateful Halloween night, she does everything in her power to protect her from the boogeyman.

Basically, Rachel is the film's final girl.

We get a solid performance by Ellie Cornell, one of the best heroines in this series.

And it's too bad Halloween 5 didn't do something more with her.

Another thing I love about Halloween 4 is the theatrical poster. 

It's iconic. Maybe it's the last time we had a really great one sheet for any entry in this series.

It's too bad The Shape mask in the film wasn't just like the one on it.

RATING (On a scale of 1 to 5): 4.