The Past, Present and Future of Michael Myers: Halloween 4 (1988)

Released theatrically in late October of 1988, the fourth film in the Halloween franchise was initially pitched as something of a ghost story by John Carpenter and Dennis Etchison. Moustapha Akkad insisted on finding another direction in which to take the franchise. Even though Carpenter felt there wasn’t any more story left to tell after the first film, he again agreed to come back to co-write. Debra Hill was also set to produce. That all seemed to change once Akkad rejected the initial concept; resulting in both John and Debra selling their rights to Moustapha. The new story was still to be set in Haddonfield, Illinois, where Michael still very much alive; just quiescent and hospitalized.

While it’s always great to watch Pleasence act – especially as determined psychiatrist Loomis – I feel his return greatly diminishes the shock value and tragedy or Halloween 2’s ending. In the first two films, Loomis is often blamed for Michael’s escape. As the body count rises, Loomis became all the more determined to find Michael. Upon meeting back up with Laurie in the hospital, he apologizes for leaving her to go it alone, seemingly unaware Michael would continue pursuing her. It seemed as though making sure Myers would die by taking himself out in the process was an act Dr. Samuel Loomis was wholeheartedly willing to commit. The original opening for Halloween 4 was to begin during the hospital explosion, with Loomis being pulled out and screaming to let Michael burn.

By production of Halloween 4, Jamie Lee Curtis had already began making a name for herself and opted not to return, so the focus for this new story would go to Jamie Lloyd; Laurie Strode’s daughter, played impressively by a young Danielle Harris. In the supporting role, Ellie Cornell plays Rachel Carruthers. Laurie was said to have died in a car crash, survived only be Jamie. She lives with the Carruthers’. Darlene and Richard Carruthers are certainly not written as anything other than moronic, selfish cock-blocks for Rachel; the mother going as far as emulating her daughter’s hairstyle. The father isn’t all that small, either. First he dips his tie in his coffee, then complains to Darlene about it. She then tells him what tie to wear and where he can find them. They’ve some fairly dumb moments in this film. More on that later.

When we’re first reintroduced to Michael, he’s bandaged up pretty well. Sort of like a mummy in bloody gauze. It would have been cool to see him after the ambulance escape, walking around like that before getting the jumpsuit and mask.

The Return of Michael Myers could easily be compared to the original, being that similar events occur. Loomis chases Michael and finds him in Haddonfield, a young innocent is tormented at school and teased about “the bogeyman”. Michael finds himself a new costume. Loomis reaches out to the town’s sheriff (this time Beau Starr’s Ben Meeker) to help him hunt down Michael. The sheriff’s daughter is easily taken out. The primary characters are a bogeyman-fearing kid and a romantically desperate babysitter. There are nods to the first film: the glasses on the dog in the bar belonging to the character Bob and pictures of Laurie Strode, which actually take you out of the film for a moment, given that one of them is of Laurie on the stump moments before Annie picked her up. The other photo of Laurie is a production photo of Curtis, with PJ Soles and Nancy Kyes (then Wallace) cropped out.

The ending is also quite reminiscent to the beginning of the original. Not just because a kid in a clown mask stabs a relative, but because Jamie’s adoptive parents are just as terrible as Michael’s parents in the original. They’re definitely not written as the brightest crayons in the box – Darlene especially. She and the hubby fail to notice Deputy Logan pulling out of their driveway only seconds before they pull in. Curiously, Darlene explains to Richard that neither Jamie nor Rachel have arrived back yet, simply because none of the lights are on in their home. I guess they didn’t notice the town-wide power outage. At the end of the movie, Darlene draws Jamie a bath. She only turns on the hot water, and she does so, all the way. Perhaps Jamie’s actions could be construed as self defense rather than attempted murder.

The movie is rumored to have several missing scenes and in fact, several people I have spoken to regarding their experiences seeing the film during its initial theatrical run claim as much. There is also a strange moment in this film where, when Rachel and Jamie are seated in the back of Meeker’s cop car, he and Loomis are startled by four guys dressed like Michael Myers. One of them says, “You thought it was me, didn’t you, sheriff?” After the pranksters rush off, Meeker and Loomis hop into the car and drive away, leaving the real Michael out in the street. It is theorized that Michael can talk. It’s far-fetched, but nonetheless it’s interesting.

Part 4’s charm is with incredibly suspenseful scenes; being a rooftop chase and several on-road stunts, and the fine contradistinction of the warm and dry, rural look of the morning shots and the cold, wet misty atmosphere of the third act. Director Dwight H. Little’s take on Haddonfield, Illinois captures the feel of small towns, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pasadena, by this time, had become too expensive to shoot in. Although at the time many critics were disgusted with the film, Halloween 4 made nearly $18 million from a $5 million budget.

Despite flaws that could be found with the parents, Michael’s white hair appearance at the schoolhouse and the fact Nancy Stephens wasn’t asked back, Halloween 4 is a great sequel.