Review of Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) by Bryan G — 07 Oct 2009

I've always had a problem with Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and more so Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Neither of these films captured the same sort of spirit that made the first two Halloween films so effective, and by this time around Michael Myers just wasn't scary anymore. While The Return of Michael Myers had some good intentions, The Revenge of Michael Myers feels like a mixed bag of so-so ideas that never lift off past their ridiculous set-up.

I hate to say it, but this film felt more like a lousy entry in the Friday the 13th franchise. What was once a somewhat complex serial killer has now been reduced to a rather uninteresting one that follows the cliches and patterns that slasher films prior have already beaten to death. And even with strange new aspects, like the psychic bond between Michael and his niece Jamie (Danielle Harris), go to waste in this forgettable entry in the Halloween series.

The various characters, or should I just call them victims, of the film aren't a great bunch of people to have to sit and watch. I especially hated the bumbling idiot cop duo, who had their own silly theme music that accompanied them when they were on screen. I still liked Jamie, and the performance by Danielle Harris. I felt the fact that she was in a mental hospital for children was interesting, but was disappointed that the stellar ending to the previous film didn't pan out better. I do have to question though why there are so many children in this hospital? Haddonfield has a lot of crazy children it apparently.

Since the characters weren't a likable bunch, I really didn't care about any of them dying. The deaths in this film are among the weakest of the series, and I hate to reference this film again but they do bare a resemblance to deaths in the Friday the 13th series. None of the deaths were scary in the slightest. The only moment in the film that I thought was kind of thrilling was the laundry-shoot scene, where Jamie is trapped inside while Michael is trying to stab his way at her.

All around, The Revenge of Michael Myers gets the Halloween series' spirit wrong. Michael is no longer the menacing screen presence he was once before, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) felt flat and even the Myers' home seemed different (since when was the house a Victorian style home?). I didn't care much for The Return of Michael Myers, but Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is far worse experience to get through than its predecessor.