After the commercial and financial failure of Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, the franchise was left in an uncertain state. The horror genre was starting to see diminishing results and there didn’t seem to be any fresh takes on any of these existing franchises. As we entered the 90’s, Freddy was dead and Jason had gone to hell. The open-ended nature of Halloween 5 meant that he could still be out there but would anyone care?
Interest in Halloween was re-engaged when Dimension Films snagged up the rights to the franchise. The company, run by Harvey and Bob Weinstein (real horrors in their own right), had also snagged the rights to the Hellraiser franchise so having Halloween in-house felt like the next logical step.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers represents one of the longest gaps between films (nearly 6 years) but all of that time did nothing to infuse the franchise with any creative energy. Even before you know about all the behind the scenes interference, it’s clear that this film is the victim of a lot of voices trying to be heard and more than a few people believing they were in charge. The film is a muddled mess and The Shape is rendered to a robotic puppet that is controlled by outside forces, which kills all of the mystique that once made this character scary, For my money, this is one of the lowest points of the franchise alongside the 8th entry, Halloween: Resurrection.
The film follows The Shape (George P. Wilbur) as he arrives in Haddonfield to finish off his last surviving relatives – with his efforts confounded on an ongoing basis by Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) and a survivor from the first film (Paul Rudd’s Tommy Doyle). There is also a lot of stuff about cults and the alignment of stars on Halloween night that serve to make the narrative more confusing than engaging.
It’s hard for me to talk about the story of this film without referencing the infamous Producer’s Cut. After the film’s home media release, the original workprint of the film (which featured 45 minutes of alternative footage and an alternate ending) was discovered by fans of the series. This version, dubbed The Producer’s Cut, developed a cult following, with bootleg copies sold on eBay and online petitions targeting for an official release of it. Fans ultimately got their wish of a pristine copy of that cut when it was finally released on Blu-ray in 2014.
The Producer’s Cut became a big deal because the incohesive version that was released theatrically was not the intended vision of the writer or the director. Producer Paul Freeman and director Joe Chappelle reportedly rewrote the ending on-set, even from shot-to-shot as production deadlines loomed. Freeman also sent the crew home when crucial scenes needed to be shot; deleted scripted scenes indiscriminately; rewrote dialogue and action sequences; and assumed the responsibility of directing second-unit shots and the supervision of post-production of the original cut. These complications resulted in Dimension Films’ parent company (and the film’s co-production company) Miramax, taking over the film’s production, and ordering many of the reworked sequences to be reshot. In early 1995, after filming and editing was completed, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers was given a test screening in New York City which, as described by actress Marianne Hagan (Kara Strode), “consisted primarily of fourteen-year-old boys.” During the Q&A afterward, one of the audience members expressed great displeasure at the ending of the film, which entailed a Celtic ritual and the passing on of the “Curse of Thorn” to the Dr. Loomis character. As a result of the audience’s disapproval toward the film’s finale, the movie was rushed back into production, this time without Donald Pleasence, who had died on February 2, 1995.
Reshoots took place in Los Angeles, California in the summer of 1995 and A. Michael Lerner replaced George P. Wilbur in the role of Michael Myers, as the studio executives wanted him to appear less bulky. This resulted in a continuity error as the last third of the film features a slimmer Myers. Some of the additional footage incorporated into the finale of the film was shot at Queens of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles. This is essentially the finale we get in the theatrical release of the film.
I bring all of this up in this review to show that Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers never really had a chance. There were far too many cooks in the kitchen that it’s surprising that we even got a film that was able to be released. There are fans of the Producer’s Cut who think that it’s a much better movie but I fall in the camp that both versions are pretty bad but at least the Producer’s Cut has a clearer vision, even if I don’t really think that vision is much better.
The film that we do get is riddled with problems. It’s not scary. It lacks suspense and since so many cuts were made, it is rushed to its conclusion in a blink and it is over fashioned. It really doesn’t feel like a full film and more like a series of sequences that were thrown together without much thought. I honestly don’t blame director Joe Chappelle or writer Daniel Farrands. It’s clear that the studio was the real hindrance here and it shows from start to finish.
I will say that Chappelle shows more directorial skill than the helmer of the previous film. Parts of The Curse of Michael Myers look pretty good and there is a sense of atmosphere, even though not much is done with it. The opening sequences involving Michael hunting after Jamie (played by J.C. Brandy here, and by Danielle Harris in 4 and 5) are pretty well done and an across the street knife attack seen through the eyes of a telescope represents the best single moment of the film.
The characters and acting are fairly decent for such a shoddy production. The film is notable for being Paul Rudd’s first film (Mariah O’Brien, who plays Beth in the film, has stated she ran lines with him to help him prepare for his Clueless audition) and while this won’t go down as one of his best performances, it’s clear that he showed the promise of what was to come for the actor. His version of Tommy Doyle is weird but oddly likable and that has a lot to do with Rudd’s natural likability. Marianne Hagan isn’t the best female lead of the series but there is something real about her that makes her performance feel natural. With more character development, the character probably could’ve been even better but as she is, she’s simply ok but not great. The supporting cast doesn’t add much to the proceedings, they’re around to eventually be killed but I will say some of them are better than the supporting players in part 5.
Then we have Donald Pleasence. This sadly marked his last appearance as Dr. Loomis as he passed away months before the film’s release. It has been said that Pleasence was very ill while making the film and it does show a bit but, again, even in the lesser installments he appeared in, he always gave 100%. A part of me dislikes that this film was dedicated in his memory because it’s such trash but a dedication of the franchise as a whole to him seems more fitting. He brought prestige to these productions and likely elevated those working around him. Until the bitter end, he showed up and gave it his best effort and that should be commended.
Commenting on the depiction of The Shape here seems a bit redundant. Even though George P. Wilbur is on deck from part 4, Michael has lost any of the allure that once made him scary so there isn’t much that Wilbur could do to be physically imposing. A. Michael Lerner, who plays him later in the film, doesn’t add much either but this also isn’t his fault. The film has no interest in making him scary. He’s just there to be a mindless killing machine.
My opinion of the film hasn’t changed much with each viewing I’ve had over the years. By the time Halloween: H20 was released, it was decided to wipe the slate clean and just make it a direct sequel to part 2, thus ignoring 3-6. With such a dismal release such as part 6, it’s easy to see why this decision was made. The franchise limped into this installment without a clear focus or direction. The tagline for the film is “Terror Never Rests In Peace” but by the end of the film, you wish they would’ve found a way to make it happen.
