By the time you get to the fourth film of a franchise, you’d be forgiven for expecting the entry to be lackluster. This is especially true of the horror genre, which sometimes has its plot taking them into space or the hood by that point. The Halloween franchise was a bit of a different beast by the time it reached its fourth outing. The first film in 1978 was a critical and box office hit, which began the talk of a sequel. At the “Halloween: 40 Years of Terror” convention this weekend, producer Irwin Yablans made it clear to the crowd that the word sequel wasn’t really in the vocabulary at that time in the industry so the concept still felt very new. John Carpenter never intended to do a sequel but dollar signs prevailed leading Universal Pictures to distribute Halloween II in 1981. While the film was financially successful, it didn’t reach the box office heights of its predecessor and the critical response was subpar in comparison to the first because by the time Halloween II came out, a new wave of slasher films ushered in by Friday the 13th in 1980, had taken the world by storm and those films tended to throw nuance and suspense straight out of the door in favor over more blood and gore effects. Halloween II was accused of becoming one of those imitators, which was a shame for most critics because the original definitely was something unique on its own.
Universal Pictures came back to the creative powers that be and wanted to do a Halloween III. John Carpenter and his writing/producing partner, Debra Hill, said they would only be interested in doing another film if they dumped Michael Myers. That story was done, he was dead and buried and this began the planting of the seed to do a Halloween themed film every year but have it feature a brand new story under the Halloween banner.
The eventual idea that came to fruition was Halloween III: Season of the Witch and according to director Tommy Lee Wallace at “Halloween: 40 Years of Terror,” many who went to see the film on opening night were incredibly confused that Michael Myers was nowhere to be found and an almost immediate backlash began. The film was a critical and financial failure and it seemed to put the nail in the coffin for any more Halloween films since the original creators were finished with them because their idea didn’t fly and, as stated before, they had no interest in playing in the world of Haddonfield and Michael Myers anymore.
As the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street films were bringing in a big box office, the one series that was arguably responsible for their existence, lay dormant. The late producer Moustapha Akkad, probably the biggest supporter of the franchise until his untimely passing, thought the only way to make things right would be to bring Michael Myers back into the fold. The experiment of an anthology film series didn’t work so maybe just going back to basics would.
Thus, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, was born. The film was released 10 years after the original film which made The Shape’s return all the more significant. Being the fourth film in this franchise also played out differently than it would for other genre efforts. There was a nice gap between the last time we saw Michael Myers on a screen so there wasn’t this sense that they were just needlessly exploiting the franchise for money. I guess you can say that Halloween 4 was almost like a soft reboot. The mythology of the original is still in play and there is at least one person to connect this film to the first two (Dr. Sam Loomis) but we also have brand new characters and a fresh take on this night of terror.
I have said as long as I can remember that Halloween 4 is my favorite of the sequels. It has likable characters that we root for and care about. It cares more about building dread and atmosphere rather than putting an emphasis on blood and gore, and it’s genuinely suspenseful as it builds to it climax. There are many Halloween fans that will tell you Halloween II is a better film and I’d say, at first glance, they might be right. Halloween II takes place on the same night as Halloween and its visual style arguably comes the closest to emulating the feel of the original. For me, despite being a fun sequel, what makes Halloween II subpar in comparison is that since it does take place on the same night, but was released 3 years later into a totally different horror climate, it’s easy to really focus on what doesn’t work in comparison to the first film. The film has pacing issues and feels very much like a copy of the films the original inspired, albeit with more graphic violence and a higher body count. There also aren’t many characters to invest in. Sure, I like Jimmy and Bud is certainly funny, but they’re around to add to the list of bodies and nothing more. Even Laurie, so vulnerable yet fiercely strong in the first film is reduced to a catatonic mess that’s almost as quiet as her soon to be revealed big brother.
Halloween 4 rectifies a lot of those issues by not necessarily wiping the slate clean but by adding some polish to it. Director Dwight H. Little and writer Alan McElroy have stated that they wanted the film to be more character driven and closer in pacing to the first film. I would never accuse Halloween 4 of being on the same level as the original but their choices to keep it more character focused, particularly between their two female leads, makes the surrounding horror happening to them all the more palpable because we actually care whether they live or die.
The premise behind Halloween 4 was simple: ignore the ending of Halloween II, in which both Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance) and Michael (George P. Wilbur) were irrevocably killed off. Postulate instead that the inferno which consumed them wasn’t as bad as it looked – they both escaped with a little scarring. Now, ten years later, Michael is back on the hunt again, this time going after his orphaned niece, Jamie (Danielle Harris). The only things standing between the single-minded serial killer and his target are an ill-prepared local police department, Dr. Loomis, and Jamie’s foster sister, Rachel (Ellie Cornell) – not very daunting obstacles for a force of “pure evil” who can’t be killed by conventional means. So, one-by-one, Michael slices and dices his way through the men standing between him and his goal, with Loomis a step behind and Rachel, Jamie’s protector, a step ahead.
Halloween 4 takes its time building to Michael drawing closer and closer to his niece Jamie. This allows the film to build the necessary atmosphere to allude to the impending danger. The opening of Halloween 4, which drops the traditional iconic pumpkin opening with Carpenter’s signature score, instead provides us with ominous shots that allude to the Harvest and true essence of Halloween. It starts things off different but it immediately puts you into the world that they’re trying to create.
From there, we have two stories that are bound to intersect. Michael has awakened from his coma and has escaped for Haddonfield and Dr. Loomis is hot on his trail. The other story finds Jamie and her foster family living seemingly normal lives but there is something in Jamie that seems to have her uneasy about the day. Whether it’s the nightmare of Michael Myers she has early in the film or a feeling of isolation she’s experiencing because it’s clear that her uncle is the infamous killer that terrorized Haddonfield 10 years earlier, she seems to feel that something is off as well. This is an aspect of the film that I didn’t pay much attention to until a few years ago. This link between her and Michael is evident from the start and as a viewer, you’re just waiting for these two plot threads to collide.
Dwight H. Little deserves credit for creating a film that is visually arresting. Halloween II feels more like the original in look in tone but there is something off-putting and mysterious the way Little shoots Haddonfield. In this installment, production moved to Salt Lake City, Utah but Little creates a small town USA atmosphere that is almost as engaging as the first film. A lot of the film is washed in this beautiful blue tint with ominous fog sweeping across the frame and his use of shadows are top notch. Michael isn’t really shown much in his full glory until late in the film and that keeps it more in line with the original than many of the other sequels.
A horror movie always has signature sequences and Halloween 4 has a few set pieces that elevate tension. Haddonfield is awash in darkness because The Shape has taken the power out so their hiding places are all dimly lit. By the time Loomis has convinced the local Sheriff that Jamie and her family are in danger, the two girls have been rounded up for safety at the Sheriff’s house with our other principle cast members and are locked in for their safety. The drawback is that Michael has already made his way inside and we as an audience know that they’re not safe, and that makes the primary location of one of the chase sequences so effective.
The chase sequence in question is the infamous rooftop chase which begins inside and then has Rachel carrying Jamie on her back to the roof to escape Michael. The peril of the situation is effective before Myers even makes it to the roof. It’s slippery, high and it just throws in more obstacles that put them in danger. It’s a genuinely suspenseful and exciting sequence and honestly one of my favorites from the whole franchise.
Almost just as good is the truck sequence that races us to our conclusion. Michael takes out a series of individuals in the back of a pickup truck because crashing his hands through the window to try his hardest to rip Rachel out of the car. It’s an exciting sequence because it’s not only a fun action scene but it’s also a solid showcase for Rachel who holds her own against The Shape.
Acting is sometimes ignored in films like this but every once and awhile the performances transcend the genre a bit. Danielle Harris, who was maybe nine or ten when she made this film, gives a performance that is well beyond her years. She makes you instantly care about Jamie and she conveys so much expression before she even utters dialogue. Dwight H. Little has said that he tried to shoot her eyes as much as he could because she showed so much emotion with a look and that’s evident in almost every scene she’s in. There is a reason she’s a huge fan favorite in this franchise.
Holding her own as well is Ellie Cornell as Rachel, who gives us a final girl that seems like a bit of an homage to Laurie Strode. Cornell conveys the resourcefulness of Rachel and her connection with Danielle feels real which is why you root for both of them to make it out alive. Also back on deck is Donald Pleasance who, at this point, could’ve done the role in his sleep but he’s always 100% committed. Other than the original, this is my favorite Loomis performance because there is something about his aged determination that continues to resonate with the audience. Supporting performances from Sasha Jenson as Brady, Kathleen Kinmont as Kelly and Beau Starr as Sheriff Meeker are also noteworthy even if their characters aren’t as well-rounded as the three leads
We can’t do a Halloween review and not talk about The Shape, which often is the most critically looked at character for most fans. George P. Wilbur isn’t my favorite person to don the mask but there is something deliberately slow about his stride that works for this film. I prefer the work of Nick Castle and Dick Warlock but Wilbur manages to be physically imposing without conveying a true hulking stature that would make him look superhuman. I will agree that the mask used in this film is not too great but it looks better than the look in 5 or 6 for my money.
Perhaps what makes Halloween 4 so memorable for most is the ending. I won’t reveal it here on the off chance that someone hasn’t seen it but it’s the best conclusion of the franchise outside of the original. The image, along with the physical performance in response to it, still gives me goosebumps today and all I wish is that Halloween 5 had done something with it rather than going in the uninspired direction it went in.
As I look over this review to fine tweak it, I have just come back from the “Halloween: 40 Years of Terror” convention and I was lucky enough to meet anyone from Halloween 4 who was in attendance. What I gathered from the other people who were either at these little meet and greets or attending the Halloween 4 panel was that this was their favorite sequel too. It was cool being in a room with people who understood me in that way. There is no reason a film in its fourth outing should be as solid as this one but it was made with the intention of getting The Shape back out there and making us remember why we’re afraid of the face of Halloween. There is a sense of dread and impending doom that none of the sequels have been able to come close to in my opinion and as this film closes in on its 30th anniversary this week, I can honestly say that it still holds up and still holds its place as my personal favorite sequel of the franchise.
