31 Days of Halloween: Everyday is Halloween 4 (1988) at Jamie’s House
By Joey Click
31 Days of Halloween keeps tricking and treating as 1428 Elm takes a look at the 1988 Halloween sequel, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.
Since today marks 29 years since Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers changed the face of fear, we’re honoring the horror gem in today’s 31 Days of Halloween. Enjoy Trick ‘r Treaters…
“I’m telling you Michael Myers is here, in this town! He’s here to kill that little girl and anybody who gets in his way!” — Dr. Sam Loomis
The Season Of The Switch
After ending its second outing with Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis burning, the Halloween series makes a grave mistake. Instead of bringing back the madman of the hour, the series calls upon a wicked witch for 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch.
A great movie in its own right, critics and fans tare the picture apart, and for six years, the series rests. But after series “Godfather”, Moustapha Akkad, wins the rights in a nasty legal battle, Michael begins to plot his come back. And soon, Haddonfield won’t know what killed it..
Death Returns To Haddonfield
— Courtesy of Trancas International Pictures
Ten Years Ago HE Changed The Face Of Halloween. Tonight HE’S BACK!
The film is Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Going “back to the basics”, the film finds a mostly inexperience writer and director, Alan McElroy and Dwight Little, respectively, leading the creative charge. Ditching the witches, the film again finds Dr. Loomis trying to save Haddonfield from the clutches of the murdering Michael Myers.
With Laurie Strode dead in a car wreak, her daughter, Jamie Lloyd, is now the “Boogyman’s” main prey. But something tells me you horror heads know the plot, so let’s get into why the film is so freaking good.
Beginning with one of the most effective openers in horror history, Halloween 4 gets almost everything right. Using Loomis appropriately, the film simplistically stays on course through breakneck plotting. Interjecting approachable situations like a love triangle and loneliness in a scary world (Jamie and those damn mean kids), the film adds needed human elements into a movie about inhuman acts. Speaking of human….
Protagonist Pack A Terror Punch
What makes Halloween 4 so damn effective is the two-punch power of Jamie and Rachel. Arguably co-protagonists, the two are realistic, emphatic and anchor the story emotionally. Something 1989’s Halloween 5 misunderstands, the two are what takes the third Halloween sequel above average.
Just think of the film’s best moments: The Meeker house chase, the truck showdown, the Brady/Kelly/Rachael situation, Jamie’s winning over her bullies and the shocking ending all work because these two are fully realized and relatable — they make you feel Halloween 4 and not simply view it.
More from Halloween
- 31 Days of Horror: The secrets of The Nightmare Before Christmas!
- Is David Gordon Green’s sequel to The Exorcist doomed to fail?
- Where can I stream the original Halloween and all of its sequels?
- 31 Days of Horror Movies: Halloween Ends, I Bet I’m About to Offend You
- Interview with Michele Dawson, Nurse Deb in Halloween Ends
A Long Lasting Treat
It’s been almost three decades since Halloween 4 took horror sequels to new heights. Taking the series back to its simplistic roots, the film is seemingly now found among best sequels lists in the horror community more and more. And while Halloween 5 kills almost everything the fourth film executes, we’ll always have Micheal’s true return. And that’s something the hack Dominique Othenin-Girard can never take away from us….he directed the garbage Part 5.
Happy anniversary Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, here’s to many more years of you tricking and treating…
Next: 31 Days of Halloween: Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)