"Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge
#1
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Somewhere Hot Scoville Units: 9,999,999 Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
Posts: 12,258
Received 811 Likes
on
316 Posts
"Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) Selected by MysterioMan007 |
Additional Posters:
Spoiler:
IMDB ENTRY
SHUDDER
ALYXSTARR LINK
ALYXSTARR LINK - Commentary by writer Alan B. McElroy
ALYXSTARR LINK - Commentary by director Dwight Little
ALYXSTARR LINK - Commentary by actors Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harris
______________________________
These "October Horror Movie Challenge" threads are for the discussion of the films in the 31 FILM SUBSET list.
The plan is for everyone to watch this film on the October day in the thread title, and to start discussing it the morning of the following day.
You may start discussion early if you want, but the preferred plan is for this to be as much of a group exercise as possible, with all of us viewing it "together" and discussing after.
Of course, you are totally encouraged to participate in these threads even if you haven't watched the movie on the designated day.
Even if you haven't watched it in years, or are not participating in the Horror Challenge, please feel free to chime in.
Spoiler tags aren't always used in here, so if you have yet to see the film BEWARE OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS.
______________________________
S P O N S O R E D B Y | S P O N S O R E D B Y |
2020 DISCUSSION | 2020 LISTS
#2
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge
I remember always seeing the case/poster for Halloween 5 with Daniella Harris in her clown costume (continued from this one) at the video rental store in the glory days of 1989-90 when I was a kid discovering the world of film. I love how they keep Donald Pleasence in the mix through so many of the sequels when it would have been easy to write him off; his obsessive quest against Myers is part of what 'makes' the series. It's silly how they bandage up Michael's face here and so labouriously explain his return to Haddonfield , the staging is overly long with large swaths of exposition. Bonus points for recreating another babysitting scenario (on Halloween). "Jamie's an orphan" - Daniella Harris does well as a child actress. The rocking chair psych out is a cool scene with Myers stabbing the girl with a shotgun - the bits where he doesn't seem to know how to use or like guns are cool/funny additions to Myers storyline. Halloween 4 seems to spend a lot of time mocking that the police (and guns) don't protect the victims here, hard to tell if that's satire or cheap thrill fodder. What a gutsy perfect ending - contrasting innocence and malicious calling into question the whole proceeding film.
Edit: Personally the slow pacing is what kept me from enjoying it as much as a lot of others here.
Edit: Personally the slow pacing is what kept me from enjoying it as much as a lot of others here.
Last edited by Undeadcow; 10-30-20 at 12:00 AM.
#4
DVD Talk Legend
Re: "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge
Best of the sequels if you ask me. Danielle Harris was a good child actress as Jamie, and honestly Rachel was a pretty good final girl. It’s too bad that The Revenge of Michael Myers was such a shitty follow-up and killed Rachel within like the first ten minutes.
#5
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge
Definitely one of the best sequels to the franchise. I listened to the director commentary this year. It was an interesting listen. The director seems somewhat conflicted on just how supernatural or boogeyman he wanted to make Michael.
Get a whole bunch of untrained guys together, make sure they're armed and send them out to protect the town. What could possibly go wrong?
Get a whole bunch of untrained guys together, make sure they're armed and send them out to protect the town. What could possibly go wrong?
The following 2 users liked this post by Toddarino:
Spiderbite (11-01-20),
Undeadcow (10-29-20)
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Olympic Peninsula, Washington
Posts: 808
Received 232 Likes
on
161 Posts
Re: "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge
I've never seen this before. I enjoyed it. It wasn't on par with the original, or the 2018 version, or even part III. But it was nice to see a new (to me) movie with Loomis and Micheal Myers. And, of course, I loved the Halloween night setting. It made me want to watch all of the Halloweens again, in order. Don't think I've ever seen 5-8 either.
#10
Senior Member
Re: "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge
This one has not held up well for me. There are plot / logic problems and I think Myers looks terrible - bad mask and uniform.
6/10
6/10
#11
DVD Talk Legend
Re: "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge
This movie is watchable but only if you like this franchise. Unless this was one of the first Halloween movies you saw as a kid, I don't see it creating many future fans if you saw it as an adult.
Myers isn't remotely scary in the film and just seems like an omniscient, omnipresent entity that just like to kill people in boring ways. Don't even get me started on his laughable mask and look during the entire film. They must serve a lot of carbs and sugar in prison/insane asylums in the 80's.
The only eeriness felt during the entire film is in the ending and I hate that they pretty much abandoned that theme for Part 5. Cut to 10 years later and how cool would it have been to have an unstoppable female serial killer on the loose with the ghost of Myers inside of her? Instead, they just went back to the basics and made yet another sub-par "Halloween" film.
The good parts are Danielle Harris and Donald Pleasance. They both knock it out of the park with great acting even with a crummy script. Harris is cute as a button and very believable in every scene she is in...even in the chilling final scene. Pleasance once again chews the entire production down but goddamn, is he fun to watch! Anyone else would make that role seem hokey but somehow he owns it and comes across as a truly obsessed, never to be settled person that is stuck in this world of chasing an unstoppable serial killer.
And that is where the compliments end. Rachel is a very uninteresting final girl. Michael sucks in this one (costumer already discussed) and his kills in this are just downright dull. How cool would it have been to see him take down an entire police station? Nope...we just get to see the aftermath and him basically teleport to wherever the story needs him at that moment doing dull kills of people caught alone. The local yokels always struck me as kinda silly but with times now as they are....not so much. I do like that they kill a regular member of their community in their glee to mow someone down.
Questions...if the sheriff gives so much of a shit about his slut-bag daughter's honor, why the hell doesn't he tell her to go put on some pants when the house is full of people? Why is she walking around delivering coffee to people in panties and a long T-shirt? How can a man driving a truck not look in his view view mirror for a moment and know that three men are fighting and being tossed out of it? What the hell is up with the wall of Abraham Lincoln pictures in the restaurant? And why, for fuck's sake, if you can't get the mask to look the same as the original, can't you design a mask that at least comes across as a little scary and doesn't change hair colors at times in the film?
The producers were extremely short sighted in killing off Jamie Lee Curtis' character. But as we know, the Halloween franchise is so fucked and convoluted and none of the movies actually fit together at more than two at a time.
All in all, I still mildly enjoy this one because I am a fan of this wrecked franchise for some reason...but this movie is not one of the best in the series. It is simply middle of the pack.
Myers isn't remotely scary in the film and just seems like an omniscient, omnipresent entity that just like to kill people in boring ways. Don't even get me started on his laughable mask and look during the entire film. They must serve a lot of carbs and sugar in prison/insane asylums in the 80's.
The only eeriness felt during the entire film is in the ending and I hate that they pretty much abandoned that theme for Part 5. Cut to 10 years later and how cool would it have been to have an unstoppable female serial killer on the loose with the ghost of Myers inside of her? Instead, they just went back to the basics and made yet another sub-par "Halloween" film.
The good parts are Danielle Harris and Donald Pleasance. They both knock it out of the park with great acting even with a crummy script. Harris is cute as a button and very believable in every scene she is in...even in the chilling final scene. Pleasance once again chews the entire production down but goddamn, is he fun to watch! Anyone else would make that role seem hokey but somehow he owns it and comes across as a truly obsessed, never to be settled person that is stuck in this world of chasing an unstoppable serial killer.
And that is where the compliments end. Rachel is a very uninteresting final girl. Michael sucks in this one (costumer already discussed) and his kills in this are just downright dull. How cool would it have been to see him take down an entire police station? Nope...we just get to see the aftermath and him basically teleport to wherever the story needs him at that moment doing dull kills of people caught alone. The local yokels always struck me as kinda silly but with times now as they are....not so much. I do like that they kill a regular member of their community in their glee to mow someone down.
Questions...if the sheriff gives so much of a shit about his slut-bag daughter's honor, why the hell doesn't he tell her to go put on some pants when the house is full of people? Why is she walking around delivering coffee to people in panties and a long T-shirt? How can a man driving a truck not look in his view view mirror for a moment and know that three men are fighting and being tossed out of it? What the hell is up with the wall of Abraham Lincoln pictures in the restaurant? And why, for fuck's sake, if you can't get the mask to look the same as the original, can't you design a mask that at least comes across as a little scary and doesn't change hair colors at times in the film?
The producers were extremely short sighted in killing off Jamie Lee Curtis' character. But as we know, the Halloween franchise is so fucked and convoluted and none of the movies actually fit together at more than two at a time.
All in all, I still mildly enjoy this one because I am a fan of this wrecked franchise for some reason...but this movie is not one of the best in the series. It is simply middle of the pack.
#12
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Not Every Man Really Lives
Posts: 1,282
Received 145 Likes
on
97 Posts
Re: "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" Reviews/Discussion - 2020 Horror Challenge
Questions...if the sheriff gives so much of a shit about his slut-bag daughter's honor, why the hell doesn't he tell her to go put on some pants when the house is full of people? Why is she walking around delivering coffee to people in panties and a long T-shirt? How can a man driving a truck not look in his view view mirror for a moment and know that three men are fighting and being tossed out of it? What the hell is up with the wall of Abraham Lincoln pictures in the restaurant? And why, for fuck's sake, if you can't get the mask to look the same as the original, can't you design a mask that at least comes across as a little scary and doesn't change hair colors at times in the film?
The following users liked this post:
Spiderbite (11-02-20)