Violence/Gore: Closer to the original HALLOWEEN than later entries, with a surprisingly small amount of actual blood or gore. A girl being impaled by a rifle is gruesome but shown bloodlessly, while arguably the most violent sequence involves a rowdy bunch of Haddonfield redneck vigilantes incorrectly identifying a fellow gun-toter as Myers in the movie’s funniest scene.

Sex/Nudity: Kathleen Kinmont goes topless briefly.

Best Line: “You can’t kill damnation, Mister. It don’t die like a man dies!”

Score:

One of the greatest fanboy thrills of my later teen years was sitting in a darkened movie theater and seeing two doomed paramedics moving the dormant body of Michael Myers. On a rainy night in 1988, the Shape is about to be moved from the medical facility where he lay comatose for ten years ever since the concluding moments of HALLOWEEN II (which was released in 1981 but took place on the same night in 1978 as the original film). One medic signs for the bandaged Myers while another checks his blood pressure. They’re ready to move him.

And then the music blasted from the screen - the theme! HALLOWEEN was back. Michael Myers was back. It was just like going home again.

HALLOWEEN III, while a fun experiment, was almost the death of this film series. Carpenter and Co. tried to steer the franchise away from the Shape and into an anthology structure, but the fans wouldn’t have it. Although SEASON OF THE WITCH is a fun little creepy concoction, no Myers was a no go at the box office. But it wasn’t until 1988 that producer Moustapha Akkad made the move to resurrect the Shape and reunite him with at least one of his major co-stars - his tireless pursuer, Dr. Sam Loomis, once more played by Donald Pleasence. There was no chance that Jamie Lee Curtis would return to the series - her career had to take a few more downturns before that would happen - but Loomis would find allies in a new town sheriff and a new array of young Haddonfield natives led by Ellie Cornell’s Rachel and her foster sister, Jamie, played by Danielle Harris. Oh, and did I mention that Jamie is in fact the late Laurie Strode’s daughter and Michael Myers’ niece? Yes, Michael has a new family member to kill! The stage is set for good old-fashioned Halloween mayhem. (By the way, in case you’re wondering, Laurie and husband Jimmy Lloyd from II were supposedly killed in a car accident. But Laurie will be back one day…)

With the passing years, HALLOWEEN 4 ages pretty well. It manages to re-create much of the mood of the first film, introduces some very likable characters in Rachel and Jamie, and gives Loomis - now considerably more deranged in his obsession with Myers and bearing the scars from the hospital explosion at the end of HALLOWEEN II - a chance to grow into a more complex and magnetic foe for the Shape, almost like a Gerard to Myer’s Fugitive. Musically, the theme tune is used frequently and well, as is ‘Laurie’s Theme,’ further tying this new installment into the HALLOWEEN universe. George Wilbur is a decent enough Myers, though he lacks the distinctive body language created by Nick Castle and Dick Warlock.

The worst part? That mask! So begins what HALLOWEEN fans often consider the ultimate cross they must bear through every new sequel - enduring an endless parade of completely inaccurate mask sculpts that for the most part utterly fail to recapture the simple terror of the William Shatner white-face from the first film, reasonably re-created in the first sequel. The expressionless, way-too-clean version seen here lacks the scowl and twisted mouth of the original, robbing Myers of his trademark demonic visage…and what’s with the friggin’ ’70s sideburns? Now that’s pure evil! (And yes, I know he acquires this new mask in town early in this movie, but with an icon like the Shape, there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. If Haddonfield can keep stocking the damn things despite all the history that builds up around them - surely residents must cringe to see the face of their own local Boogeyman in stores every Halloween - they can at least stock the right style!) By the way, I’ve never been able to figure out why Michael inexplicably shows up at the school wearing a platinum blonde version of the mask, painfully visible as he throws Loomis through the doorway. Was this some weird, poorly executed tribute to Ben Tramer’s blonde Shape-on-fire in HALLOWEEN II?

The movie’s ending is a brilliant parallel of events at the start of the very first HALLOWEEN, and Loomis’ tortured screaming should send a chill down any HALLOWEEN fan’s spine. Unfortunately, the concluding scene also promises an all-new direction for the series that might have been fascinating but was never meant to be. Moviegoers were quite happy with HALLOWEEN 4, but they definitely wanted Michael Myers back at fighting strength for 5. There was no room for a new Shape, and Akkad wasn’t about to disappoint his audience. But soon enough, fans would rue the day they clamored for the revenge of Michael Myers…

DVD Extras: There’s a nice “making-of” documentary on the disc.

ATB