Check out my updated review here! https://thevagrantrises.blogspot.com/2018/10/updated-review-20-halloween-4-return-of.html
Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: Michael emerges from a coma to seek out and kill his eight year old niece who is still living in Haddonfield.
Review: With the pitiful performance of the dreadful "Season of the Witch," and with it being the tenth anniversary of the original film, they decided to bring back Michael with this fourth entry which was probably the smartest move. Personally, I believe this is the second best film in the franchise so everything goes down from here on out, and there are ten films total! This movie has one of the most odd but interesting openings in the franchise. Instead of the famous "Halloween" theme music there is a kind of haunting melody with a windy-esque feel as we see Halloween-themed imagery of old, classic farm houses that really brings back the nostalgia of the 80s for me; something just feels off with this holiday now and everyone is a total wimp and wants to stop trick-or-treating by like 7 PM?!! The worst thing about this film is the introduction sequence because it is just so contrived and full of plot holes, but they did try their best to revive Michael in a feasible way without making him a supernatural entity like Jason. After part two, Michael was an eyeless crispy critter, but this film ignores the shots to the eyes and just says Michael slipped into a coma after the severe burns (yeah, unlikely story but okay). It's funny because they do this trick twice as Loomis has also returned from the dead with some burn scars; did they not realize there was an explosion too?! Apparently the thing that sets Michael off and wakes him from his coma is news about his niece which makes him go apeshit and kill everyone with only Loomis in hot pursuit as the police believe Michael died during the escape. How Michael knows his niece, Jamie, is in Haddonfield is as good as anyone's guess, but it may have an explanation by the end of the film. If you can get past all of this ridiculous resurrection, the movie becomes so much more enjoyable. We get an interesting contrast early in the film as we see the every day life of Jamie and how she appears to be very sad while at the same time we cut back to Loomis and Michael wreaking havoc across the countryside as they both are moving toward Haddonfield. Loomis has a lot to do in this film as essentially there are only three main characters besides Michael; they are Loomis, Jamie, and the other is Rachel, Jamie's foster sister. I did like the attention to Loomis as he does feel like a crusader in these films, and he always borderlines on being a little too obsessed. Actually, we have yet another big contrivance as Michael slowly assembles his attire from the first two films while traveling. The mask looks off too since they couldn't use the original likeness due to some legal issue with William Shatner; just look the story up on that as it is kind of entertaining. Oh, in case you hadn't realized it by now, all of this is taking place leading up to Halloween night in which the majority of the movie takes place during! There is a hint of typical '80s slasher material here with some teen stereotypes as Michael dispenses with whoever gets in his way. There is a part where Loomis finds all the police dead which was kind of preposterous since Michael has never been so overt, but since it was offscreen I will forgive it. I do like the relentless chase scenes as Michael tries desperately to kill Jamie. Danielle Harris, as Jamie, does a wonderful job, and I have to admit I had a crush on her when I was little; still kind of have a crush since she is still appearing in the "Halloween" franchise to this day! There is an interesting dynamic as you have Rachel trying to protect Jamie and Loomis not exactly helping things with his crazy antics. Unfortunately, there is way too much screen time to some idiots I refer to as random rednecks. They serve as some kind of pointless padding or I guess to show us the town as a whole is involved this time to take down Michael? After the body count has piled up and everyone thinks they're safe, Michael seemingly appears out of nowhere aboard a truck Rachel and Jamie are escaping in. Finally, after shaking Michael loose at a graveyard (how apropos), everyone guns him down with shotguns and he falls in a grave as many tombstones cave-in on him. After this, we are given perhaps the best and most shocking ending in the whole franchise! Remember when I said how did Michael find Jamie? Well apparently Jamie finds herself possessed with whatever made Michael kill as she does her best to recreate the opening scene of the first film in the clown costume and all. The film leaves us with a final shot of the bloody Jamie and Loomis trying to gun her down to no avail. This ending is half the reason I rate this so high. Now if only they continued the franchise properly with this plotline! Overall, this is a fun film that knows it has problems trying to followup where part two left us. I love the characters and we actually come to care if they are killed. There is a creepy atmosphere here that I don't think the other films were ever able to maintain. Since this franchise's timeline and story changes so much, people have their own sense of canon, but I would suggest any real fan make this a part of their canon.
Notable Moment: At the end when it appears the curse has been passed on to Jaime, and she stabs her foster mother.
Final Rating: 7.5/10
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