Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers
Managing to be at the same time a loving homage and a near ripoff of the Carpenter original, the fourth entry starts off with a strong atmosphere as we have it explained what happened with Myers and Loomis over the last ten years, leading up to Michael’s escape. Loomis takes off in hot pursuit, and sadly this first twenty to thirty minutes are the highlight, with the two confronting each other at a gas station before Loomis hitches a ride with a crazy old preacher. Things go downhill when they get to Haddonfield, with the intro of the very thickheaded Sheriff Meeker. Loomis helps him identify Michael’s target, and what does he do?? HE TAKES HER TO HIS HOME, WHERE HIS DAUGHTER IS. Then the moron LEAVES THEM ALONE IN THE HOUSE TO CHECK ON SOMETHING ELSE. Pathetic. On the plus side, Pleasence NEVER gave a bad performance, Ellie Cornell is extremely hot and pleasant to watch (few heroines have ever made tight jeans look sexier), and Danielle Harris proves she’s one of the best child actors in horror history. However, despite an 88-minute running time, the pacing is leaden, and drags on forever, redeemed ONLY by the shock twist ending, which comes close to topping the first film, but still overall, quite a disappointment…
5/10