Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
October 25, 2021 7:49 AM - Subscribe

The apparently comatose Michael Myers is being transferred from one hospital to another, but he wakes up when the ambulance crew talk about his surviving niece, Jamie. After slaughtering his attendants, Myers sets out to find his one living relative who is, fortunately, being cared for by a kind and resourceful foster sister named Rachel. Meanwhile, the ever-cautious Dr. Loomis remains on the killer's path.

Available streaming and for digital rental on multiple outlets in the US.

This is the first sequel to be made without any participation from John Carpenter or Debra Hill.
posted by DirtyOldTown (8 comments total)
 
Just to reiterate: in the previous Myers-related installment, Michael was shot in each eye, he and Dr. Loomis exploded in a massive fireball of pressurized gases, and Michael's body was shown slowly burning to a crisp in an extended shot.

Michael escaped this somehow only in a coma. It is never explained or mentioned, to the best of my recollection, how Dr. Loomis is alive and apparently unharmed.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:51 AM on October 25, 2021 [4 favorites]


This feels like what it almost certainly is: the producer owning the rights wanted to cash in on the IP and his plan wasn't much more complex than the subtitle of the film "The Return of Michael Myers." The people he hired were the kind of industry barnacles and journeymen that attach themselves to producers who don't have a real vision. Multiple screenplay drafts were stitched together, a film was farted out into the world by people who were neither especially fond of nor conversant in the source material.

I realize we live in an era that arguably swings too far the other way and leans toward excessive fan service. But, love or hate the David Gordon Green films (or even the Rob Zombie ones, for that matter) at least they feel like he work of someone who enjoys Halloween.

This is 80's style "give the kids the crap they want" filmmaking.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:20 AM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]


Ok, Loomis's preposterous survival is unexplained but he is not unharmed. He has a cheesey fake burn scar on his face and an over-the-top cane. Law enforcement stills gives him a peculiar amount of latitude, so that is consistent.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:25 AM on October 25, 2021 [1 favorite]


So, everything you said about this film is true. But. I watched it for the first time last year, and after spending most of the runtime completely zoned out, not even on this planet, bored out of my mind, the climax happened and I sat bolt upright and said, "Oh HELL NO." What a fantastic ending. It is, of course, ruined by the next installment, but who cares!
posted by kittens for breakfast at 6:12 PM on October 25, 2021


I have a lot of gripes about this one. To start off with, they shot it in Utah, so now this town in downstate Illinois has hills and alleyways.

It was also odd how much this Michael Myers likes impaling people instead of just stabbing. Forcing his thumb through the one guy's skull was sorta impressive, but jamming a loaded shotgun through that one woman when he could've, y'know, shot her seems like poor utilization of resources.

Earl and his barfly mob are presented as part of the solution, but frankly are scary as shit, as they seem as likely to shoot up a bunch of POC/immigrants as to actually pursue the killer.

I think what bothers me the most about this movie is that they didn't do the Michael's POV Steadicam work that is the core of the franchise. Although they do use it as part of that shock ending...
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:00 AM on October 26, 2021


While all of DirtyOldTown’s criticisms are arguably true...this movie’s all about the vibes, man. And aside from the original, no other installments in the franchise come anywhere close to capturing that essential autumnal “Halloweeny” vibe as this flawed little gem.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:44 PM on October 26, 2021 [3 favorites]


I watched this again at the kid's request. This time, I liked it a bit better. I still hate the mask, and I still am bummed they don't really use the Myers POV Steadicam. But Atom Eyes is right, the vibes are good, actually.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:35 PM on October 27, 2022


Yeah, I don't know what was up my ass the last time I watched this, but today, I liked it. Solid.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:49 PM on October 27, 2022


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