Review of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) by Lukee S — 05 May 2011

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.

Myers is back and we can breathe again after enduring the third instalment of the Halloween line. (review posted). The story picks up, ten years after Halloween 2 ended, Myers has of course survived being set on fire at the end of the second film, and for ten years he has been living in a comatose state. Two doctors arrive, the transfer staff. As Michael has begun to regain his consciousness he is to be moved to a state prison. On the way he overhears that he has a niece, and breaks free of his confines, killing the hospital staff and setting off to find her...

What I Liked: I felt a genuine relief that this was the return of Michael Myers, though looking back, 2 would have been a good end for him (and 1 arguably an even better end) None the less, after enduring the real horror that was the third instalment, Myers' return comes as a cleansing nostalgic wave in my opinion. But there were other things I liked also, Donald Pleasance returns and once again reinforces the film with superb acting and delivery of lines. I also enjoyed the 'twist' ending, and can say that when I was a few younger, it was the only film ending which genuinely scared me for some bizarre reason.

What I Didn't Like: There were some weaknesses in the script here, I felt that they really tried to push this 'evil' theme about Myers, which albeit understandable was I believe, a distraction from the original story. This weakness of the script runs throughout, and some of the acting provided by the supporting cast is dire to say the least.

Conclusion: If you have watched and absolutely loved 1 and 2, then I would seriously recommend this film, however, I would not recommend if you have never seen the original films featuring Myers. This subject matter doesn't lend itself well to Halloween parties and the likes, none the less I consider it a moderate addition to the franchise. 60%.