Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) Review

"I got a town full of beer-bellies running around in the dark with shotguns"

-Sheriff Ben Meeker

Ten years after the events Halloween II, Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur) awakens from a coma in the middle of being transferred to a different institution.  He quickly starts killing his way back to Haddonfield, where his young niece, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), lives with her foster family.  As Michael rampages through town, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) returns to try and stop his former patient once and for all.

What Works:

As per usual, Donald Pleasence is fantastic as Dr. Loomis and frequently comes off as unhinged as Michael is.  He's a great character and every scene with him is gold.  I particularity love the scene where he hitches a ride with a crazy, drunk reverend (Carmen Filpi), has a drink with him, and smiles while the reverend sings.

A welcome new addition to the series is scream queen Danielle Harris in her first role.  Child actors are rarely good, but Harris is one of the best and she's a wonderful protagonist.  Jamie's life is so tragic and Harris is great at playing a sad kid, you can't help but feel awful for her.  The scene where she is being bullied at school is one of the most upsetting moments of the series, but does a great job at making you root for this character.

I love the idea of Michael basically declaring war on Haddonfield.  He knocks out the power, the phone lines, and wipes out most of the police force in rapid succession.  This, with the addition of armed posses running around, really gives you the sense that everyone in this town is in danger and that Michael could be anywhere at anytime.

The last half-hour of this movie is really excellent.  I love how the characters board themselves up in a house to try and hold out against Michael.  Of course he gets inside and starts killing his way through the house.  We then get some awesome sequences, especially the rooftop escape, the slaughter of the rednecks in the truck, and Sheriff Meeker and his men blowing Michael away.  They are all very tense and really exciting.

Finally, I love the ending of this movie where Jamie stabs her stepmother and is poised to become the next Michael Myers.  It's a great cliff hanger and Loomis' screams really sell the reality of what just happened.  It's a shame that the 5th movie does nothing with what was really an awesome concept.

What Sucks:

There are quite a few boring parts to this film, primarily in the second act.  From the time Loomis arrives in Haddonfield to Michael's assault on Sheriff Meeker's house, not much of interest happens.  This movie has a great first and third act, but the second act could have used some more punch.  We only get one onscreen Michael kill in that large chunk of the movie and it's simply not enough.

The only other thing I don't like about Halloween 4 is the nightmare sequences from Jamie.  There are just a few too many sequences of Jamie having visions of Michael that may or may not be real, some even occurring in broad daylight where she is definitely not dreaming.  They don't make much sense and feel a little cheap.

Verdict:  

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is another solid sequel in this series, though it is my least favorite of the first four films.  It has great performances from both Donald Pleasence and Danielle Harris, an excellent third act, and a fantastic cliffhanger ending.  The second act is pretty boring and there are too many "dream" sequences, but this movie has certainly got it going on. 

 7/10: Good