Wuchak Ten years after the events of "Halloween" and "Halloween II" (which both took place on Halloween night, 1978), Michael Myers escapes captivity a second time and again returns to his hometown in Illinois with a direly concerned Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) hot on his trail. Myers goes after his sister's daughter, Jamie, and is willing to take down the whole town of Haddonfield if necessary."Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" (1988) ranks with the best 80's slasher flicks and is actually superior to the somewhat overrated progenitor of the genre, "Halloween" (1978). Whereas the original "Halloween" was an effective low-key but classy slasher and deserves credit for starting the craze, it wasn't without flaws and "Halloween 4" (1.) fixes those issues and (2.) improves upon its strengths.For instance, while the original movie takes place during Halloween in Illinois, you certainly wouldn't know this by the footage since it clearly looks like summer. This movie, by contrast, definitely looks like it takes place during the fall and has an all-around superior Halloween ambiance with trick-or-treaters and so forth. Another example is the original's lack of drive and the fact that Michael only kills a few teenagers and doesn't seem all that formidable whilst this film features a mounting build-up of suspense and potently conveys Michael's deadly formidableness while upping the ante in the body count.Other advances includes the lack of lame dialogue (like in the original when the girls were walking home) and Dr. Loomis has much more interesting things to do than lurk in the bushes by the Myer's dilapidated abode speaking ridiculously ominous words. When Loomis speaks portentously in this entry there's great reason to believe him (take, for instance, what happens to the Police Station).Yet another (arguable) improvement is the women: Although Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes (Loomis) and PJ Soles were fine in the original, "Halloween 4" has winsome Ellie Cornell as Rachel and hottie Kathleen Kinmont as Kelly and the movie wisely takes advantage of their presence in a classy way. Rachel may not strike you as anything special at first, but as the story progresses she emerges as an attractive and noble final girl.The "Friday the 13th" franchise debuted two years after "Halloween" in 1980; and by October, 1988, when this film was released, the "Friday" franchise had no less than seven films under its belt. Meanwhile, "Halloween 4" was only the third Michael Myers movie (keeping in mind that "Halloween 3" was curiously disconnected from the Michael Myers mythos)."Friday the 13th" of course ripped-off "Halloween," but simultaneously added original components to the genre (e.g. summer camp and everything revolving around it, easily the best females in the slasher genre, as well as an increasingly devolving supernatural killing machine). "Halloween 4" sort of gets its revenge by borrowing from the "Friday" films; for instance, the character of Jamie Lloyd and what happens to her mirrors Tommy Jarvis' story arc from 3-4 years earlier. Perhaps the greatest revenge is that "Halloween 4" is better than any of the "Friday" sequels after "Part 2" and is at least as effective as "Part 2."The original "Halloween" was shot in the Los Angeles area (South Pasadena & Hollywood) while this one was filmed in the Salt Lake City, Utah, region. Like the first film, it's streamlined and doesn't overstay its welcome.GRADE: A

benfrancis-40945 Halloween 4 is one of the best films within the franchise, with its simple storyline and great scenes, matching the basics of the original. Danielle Harris shines as Jamie, and Ellie Cornell is amazing as Rachel becoming the hero in the end. Donald's plesences returns as doctor Lumis and does one of his greatest performances in this entry. The plot flows nicely, and the cast and characters are highly likeable, which makes you root for them in the end, making the movie more suspenseful and engaging. Some of the best scenes are the rooftop chase, the gas station scene, the truck scene and the cliffhanger ending.

TheLittleSongbird John Carpenter's 1978 'Halloween' is wholly deserving of its status as a horror classic. To this day it's still one of the freakiest films personally seen and introduced the world to one of horror's most iconic villainous characters Michael Myers.Which is why it is such a shame that not only are all of the sequels nowhere near as good but that the decline in quality is so drastic. Ok, the original 'Halloween' is very difficult to follow on from, but most of the sequels could at least looked like effort was made into them. 'Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers' may still be no great shakes but actually is one of the better and more watchable 'Halloween' sequels, better than the previous two sequels and much better than most of the ones that were to follow. Lets start with what is good first. Donald Pleasance and Danielle Harris are very good, particularly Pleasance, who is just as creepy and deranged as Michael Myers himself. Ellie Cornell is sweet without being too much so and doesn't overdo it too much.A few of the deaths are unsettling, especially the first one, and the settings and the music score are suitably eerie. Things are taken more seriously than the previous two sequels and it's not as stupid or illogical while the characters are nowhere near as annoying as before. Praise is given for returning back to its roots somewhat and it feels more of a 'Halloween' film than 'Season of the Witch' which tried to do something different but failed.However, 'Halloween 4' has its issues. Pleasance, Harris and Cornell aside, the acting really isn't worth mentioning, something that was expected but even by 'Halloween' sequel standards it was really terrible. The less said about the even worse script the better, was not expecting much from the dialogue in the first place but again by the sequel standards the cringe factor was high. The characters may not be as annoying here but they are incredibly dull.Praise is to be given for returning back to its roots, as said, but like the second film it is too much of a bland retread with very little, if anything new, with scares, chills and suspense seriously lacking and most of the deaths having little imagination or the shock factor. The ending didn't feel that well rounded off, some of the film is sluggishly paced and directed (but not as inept as in 'Season of the Witch') and the cinematography on the most part is too dark.In conclusion, watchable if no great shakes. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Sober-Friend In 1987 I was think the following year would be the 10th Anniversary of the original film. I knew there would be a "Halloween IV". For some reason I knew they would call it "The Return of Michael Myers". Now believe it or not I even thought he would go after his "Niece". What I didn't think of was "In the past 10 years where was he"? I saw this film opening night and I saw it again the next day. I enjoyed the film. In was a logical progression of "Where to take the Story" since (At the time) Jamie Lee Curtis said "Should would never do another Halloween". Now this film is well made. The story works and Danielle Harris was very good. The ending was also shocking and well executed. I just wish "Halloween V" would of Incorporated the new direction that was promised at the end of this".