“You can’t kill damnation, mister. It don’t die like a man dies.”
Going in to watching Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, you need to be aware, from the jump, that this movie wasn’t necessary. No Halloween movies after the first one were necessary, strictly speaking, both from a narrative standpoint and because they were all retconned out of existence by David Gordon Green’s 2018 Halloween. So right away the bar is set pretty low, especially after the franchise-breaking insanity of Halloween III (this film is so bent on reinvigorating the franchise that they even switched from Roman numerals to Arabic). All things considered, this is a flawed movie and an obvious cash grab, but as far as those things go, it’s not a terrible one.
But it is occasionally frustrating. Michael Myers, presumed invalid after the explosive finale to Halloween II, is being transferred to a new care facility, and for some reason this is happening on October 30. Why would you take him out in public the night before Halloween? That’s like his favorite day. And true to form – Michael is very theatrical this time around – he breaks out the second the ambulance hits the tarmac. We don’t see all the carnage, which works in the film’s favor; by being (a bit) more restrained, not only are we left to imagine whatever horror Michael brings about, but Halloween is able to set itself apart from an increasingly crowded field of slasher flicks. What we see is enough, and what we see looks like Michael forcing his thumb into a man’s brain through his forehead.
Enter Dr. Loomis, as these films mandate. Your mileage with Halloween 4 will vary depending on how much you enjoy this character. He spends much of Halloween 4 doing what he did in Halloween, which is telling people that Michael isn’t a man, then waiting them to ask what he is, then waiting a beat and responding “Evil.” Donald Pleasence is equal parts harbinger and ham, chewing the scenery…but only a little. The performance never devolves into camp, but it can still be trying to see him repeat himself scene after scene.
Top billing aside, though, Pleasence isn’t the star of the show, just its second-most familiar face. Michael is more theatrical than ever, and George T. Wilbur does a decent job with the character. He has a better physical understanding of Michael, and moreover has the build for it. Dick Warlock, the previous Michael, was just too short for the role. The mask, though, has certainly seen better days. This one doesn’t look like a Halloween mask; it looks like a Halloween mask. Unfortunately, the Michael-Laurie connection is still present, and just as dopey and unnecessary as it always has been.
If someone were to describe this movie to you, they’d probably tell you that Michael returns to Haddonfield to kill his young niece. What they’d omit is that Michael doesn’t even know he has a niece. So he just goes back to Haddonfield (the most predictable thing he could possibly do), with the intention of killing…someone, I don’t know, I’ll figure it out when I get there. This brings into question several aspects of Michael’s psyche, which his fixation on murdering his family forces us to reckon with, instead of just appreciating him as the unknowable boogeyman of the first film.
The silver lining to this, though, is that the young actress playing his niece, Danielle Harris, is flat-out terrific. Harris commands every scene she’s in, frequently outshining her more experienced co-stars, but without undermining then. She’s not a scene stealer, just preternaturally talented, and absolutely someone who should be getting more work today. (Rob Zombie, to his credit, cast her in his 2009 film Halloween II.) There’s always a sinking sensation when you realize the movie you’re watching largely revolves around a child actor, but man does Harris carry this thing with aplomb. The Return of Michael Myers is worth watching just for her. Well, that and the genuinely shocking ending.
Halloween 4 ends with such a bang that it makes me actually interested in watching Halloween 5, as opposed to just obligated to. That’s pretty impressive for an otherwise middle-of-the-road slasher flick. Look, as we discussed yesterday when talking about A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, by the time franchises get this far along, there’s a very slim chance that any of the entries will be good. So do you just settle? Yes and no. Don’t think of it as taking what you can get; think of it as seeing the bright spots in the darkness.
Thursday, 10/1: Phantasm
Friday, 10/2: Frozen
Saturday, 10/3: Suspiria
Sunday, 10/4: Suspiria (2018)
Monday, 10/5: Emelie
Tuesday, 10/6: Castle Freak
Wednesday, 10/7: Session 9
Thursday, 10/8: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Friday, 10/9: We Are Still Here
Saturday, 10/10: The Changeling
Sunday, 10/11: The Bad Seed
Monday, 10/12: Verotika
Tuesday, 10/13: The Legend of Hell House
Wednesday, 10/14: Lake Mungo
Thursday, 10/15: Puppetmaster
Friday, 10/16: Marrowbone
Saturday, 10/17: A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Sunday, 10/18: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Monday, 10/19: Sweetheart
Tuesday, 10/20: Girl On the Third Floor
Wednesday, 10/21: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Thursday, 10/22: Triangle
Friday, 10/23: Dog Soldiers
Saturday, 10/24: Noroi: The Curse
Sunday, 10/25: Train to Busan
Monday, 10/26: Tales From the Hood
Tuesday, 10/27: Mandy
Wednesday, 10/28: Sometimes They Come Back
Thursday, 10/29: Veronica
Friday, 10/30: The Wicker Man
Saturday, 10/31: Child’s Play
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