An Underrated Halloween Entry
In 1988, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers was released and received a positive reception from fans. Many would argue the film successfully recaptured the magic of the original film with its atmosphere, portrayal of Myers, and stellar kills. The film also introduced audiences to a new batch of likeable characters, Jamie Lloyd, Laurie Strode’s daughter, and her step-sister, Rachel Carruthers.
It’s no surprise producers rushed a follow-up entry into production. They actually started filming before there was a completed screenplay and it definitely shows throughout the movie.
Problems
In Halloween 5, there are stupid cops, bland teenagers, and unnecessary plot devices all over the place. Rachel is killed off near the end of the first act. Jamie is mute and confined to a hospital for most of the movie. She also shares some sort of psychic connection with Michael. Somehow, touching his hand at the end of the previous film gave her clairvoyant abilities. She can sense when he’s near and see his actions from miles away when they are occurring. The kills aren’t spectacular either, a cardinal sin every horror flick should avoid.
Positives
It sounds like I hate this movie. I don’t. It’s a guilty pleasure of mine. This is most likely because it was one of the first Halloween movies I saw during my childhood. I actually didn’t realize a negative perception surrounded it until I encountered Halloween fandom online.
What do I like about it? Jamie Lloyd is probably the most interesting final girl in the franchise. She’s only a child, so the fact that she has to outwit a psychopathic adult in order to survive keeps things interesting. Her youth and innocence makes her easy to identify with as well. No one wants to see harm come to a child. It was a huge mistake killing her character off in Halloween 6.
Donald Pleasence as Dr. Sam Loomis is also always a pleasure to watch. He’s so devoted to this role, you’d actually think he’s a high-strung, prophet of doom in real life. My gut tells me he was always one of the hardest working actors on set.
And then there’s the man in black.
The Man in Black
The man in black is a mysterious character. He lurks in the shadows, stalking characters and holding a briefcase for most of his screen time. Then at the end, he shoots up the police station and frees Michael from jail.
I like this character and at the same time I don’t. He’s intriguing because you don’t know who he is or why he’s helping Michael Myers. Is he a relative? A serial killer fanatic? A demon? Halloween 5 doesn’t give you answers to any of these questions. That’s fine. Sometimes, questions are better left unaswered.
However, the Man in Black is a pointless character too. Other than more questions, he doesn’t add anything to this movie. None of the principle characters interact with him, so no one knows he exists. He’s not scary either.
Instead of throwing him into the mix, the writers should’ve added Lindsay Wallace or Tommy Doyle to the story. That would’ve been way more interesting and a nice tie-in to the original film. Audiences would see how much they’ve matured since the events of 1978 and if those events had any psychological effects on them. And we wouldn’t have been forced to deal with characters like Spitz or Mikey either, who are essentially a waste of space as far as I’m concerned.
Jamie Lloyd: The Killer?
Fun fact! The original plan for this movie was to pickup exactly where the previous film left off with Jamie Lloyd transformed into a cold-blooded killer. I’m glad they didn’t pursue this route. Halloween is one of those franchises where audiences come expecting to see Michael Myers front and center. Deviating from that formula in any form is going to disappoint the audience. Don’t believe me? Watch Halloween Ends. There are lot of people unhappy with the way that movie turned out. Myers is barely even in the film.
I understand why studios and writers get the urge to take slasher franchises in this kind of direction every now and then. Sometimes you just have to freshen things up. It happened with Friday the 13th too. The concept itself isn’t a bad idea. An individual witnesses a brutal murder or survives a horrific killing spree and the resulting psychological stress warps their mind. Eventually, the person questions their own sanity and suffers from the temptation to commit murder themselves. As a stand alone thriller or horror flick, this plot is great. But adding it to an already established franchise is a big mistake. A sudden plot shift of this magnitude does nothing except throw off everyone’s expectations and send millions home disappointed.
