My Halloween 4 thoughts

Michael-Myers.net General Discussion
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I posted this on Facebook, but it undoubtedly got lost in the shuffle with all of the 2018 mask interest. I’m hoping to hear some thoughts from forum members.

My brief-ish thoughts on Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

I normally don’t write something like this; most of you probably don’t care what my opinion is. However, I decided to watch Halloween 4 Saturday night for the first time all the way through, as a 38 year old man. The movie has been on AMC so many times the last several years, I’ve seen it multiple times, usually in bits and pieces … although probably watched it all the way through at some point. I’m primarily a fan of Halloween (1978) and just tolerate the other films, although I find them entertaining and respect their place in the Halloween franchise. The anticipation of Halloween - 2018, the anticipation of getting my 2018 TOTS mask, my recent emergence to the hobby; all played a part in me being interested in re-watching this film again.

As we all will probably agree, the cover art/poster for Halloween 4 (and to an extent H5) is absolutely remarkable. As a kid, not allowed to rent rated R movies, it is one of the covers I vividly remember the most as I wandered the aisles of local movie stores. I would often stop and look at the horror VHS section and wonder what those movies were all about. Another horror cover that stuck in my mind was Friday the 13th - The Final Chapter, where Jason’s mask lay in a puddle of blood with a knife stuck in its eye hole. There was a certain beauty to visiting a movie store back then; something most of you remember: the cover art, the posters, the curtain you weren’t old enough to go behind.

The opening of Halloween 4 was good. It did a great job of putting you in the Halloween mood. The movie’s ambitions were admirable. The fans wanted Michael Myers back in Halloween. The $tudio (yes, studio with a $) probably wanted him back in the films also. The ideas and connections to Halloween 1 & 2 weren’t bad. The random idea that Michael Myers wanted to kill his niece is understandable. Not that it was a great idea, but it was a way to explain his motive once story lines had to be created in H2, making Laurie the sister of Michael, which was never John Carpenter’s intention in 1978. It made me wonder what story I would decide to create as an excuse to insert Myers back into the series back in 1988. Honestly, I’m not real sure.

As far as the mask goes, at least a different one made sense … considering the original one was burned to a crisp in H2, However, a completely different one would make more sense. As suggested before by forum members, the Emmett Kelly clown mask probably would have been a good choice. It would have been an effective nod to the plastic clown mask that Myers wore as a 6 year old while killing Judith. Imagine the ramifications of that decision: we may have never seen Michael Myers in a white mask again. One has to wondered … I do, anyway. The look of the mask, the lack of continuity between scenes, the infamous unconverted mask scene, the out-of-the-way strategy of hiding his eyes; all make the film a bit frustrating for someone who pays particular attention to those type of things. Even worse than that: the look of George Wilbur in the costume. It’s not even worth going into detail.

Overall, I thought the story was fine. Donald Pleasence is always a pleasure to see on screen. I actually think the ending was really good. The attempt to make Halloween bloodier, as a sign of the 80’s time, was a predictable evolution. The decision to make Michael Myers superhuman (inserting his thumb through a human skull) was eye-rolling. Imagine what his thumbs would have done to a Nintendo controller in 1988 … geez. I see Halloween 4 as a tolerable missed opportunity. With better decision making, a couple changes to the cast & story, and better attention to detail, it could have been really good.

We came a long way from Nick Castle’s eerily sitting up behind Jamie Lee Curtis, turning his head in a robotic way … to George Wilbur bumbling around on a rooftop like a puppet controlled by strings, standing up with his shoulders up to his ears like a confused Michelin Man, wearing thirteen pairs of coveralls instead of one. I think he may have even worn a stuffed bra underneath. Ugh … I said I wouldn’t go into detail.

Thanks for reading.

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Halloween 4 is a great sequel in my opinion, it’s actually my 2nd favorite sequel (just behind H2 1981), and it’s my third favorite movie in the series. A lot of people hate the H4 mask, but I love it. It’s my second favorite mask in the series in fact. To me, it perfectly captures everything about Michael Myers…the extreme lack of any and all emotion, or expression, the blankness, and as Loomis said, “the blackest eyes”. To be honest, I think it’s the creepiest mask in the series, even more so than the original '78 mask, even though that is obviously the best mask in the series, and my favorite. I also love the lighting and overall mood, and vibe of H4. I absolutely adore the opening sequence showing the farm fields with the Autumn decorations, and the cold wind blowing, plus the eerie music in the background, it’s perfect. Back on Myers again, I’m not a fan of the bulked up shoulder pad look he had in the movie. Michael should be a normal, average looking guy, he’s not Jason for goodness sakes. I think Danielle Harris did a great job as Jamie, and Rachel was a great character also. Donald Pleasence was wonderful as always, though I must admit I’m not a huge fan of how crazy he becomes in this movie. I vastly prefer his performance in H1 and H2, because he was more in control in those movies. In H4, to me he comes off as a bit of a parody of the stereotypical “crazy old man that no one listens to” that goes around yelling loads of nonsense like “we’re all doomed!” and things of that nature. Overall, I really like H4 a lot, and in my opinion, it’s the last “good” Halloween movie.

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I really like how the sheriff actually did listen to Loomis and took him seriously right off the bat.

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Sheriff Meeker is actually one of my favorite characters in the series.

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I agree. He’s much better than the bumbling duo in H5. His desire to help Loomis was much more realistic.

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I agree. The mask is creepy and disturbing, in a sense. Like I said, the story was pretty good. But I do see the film as a missed opportunity. Whereas something like Halloween: Resurrection, other than a pretty cool Jamie Lee Curtis opening scene, was destined for disaster. Although, the reality show/online streaming angle pretty much holds up today as a modern story line.

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I was 12 in 1988 and Halloween 4 was the first time I seen Michael Myers in the theater. We had a movie theater in Paterson NJ that didn’t care about your age and let us in and would play double features. Anyway, Halloween 4 will always have that special place for me being it was the 1st one seen in the theater for me. Back then I didn’t know there was a difference from the H1/2 masks in comparison with H4. It was just a white mask and was thrilled when I got my first don post mask back then. Also remember then renting it, watching part 4 then hitting the same theater for part 5 a year later. H1 and H2 will always be my favorite, but H4 has a special place for me down memory lane

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I understand completely. That kind of stuff never goes away. Before I actually cared about masks, I wouldn’t have known or cared about the differences in the films. I’m like you: it’s just a white mask and it’s real creepy. I think, as a child, I remember seeing parts of Halloween (1978) on TV and vaguely remember seeing Myers slowly appear behind Laurie … the mask with a bluish tint as he slowly comes out of the shadow. I think that image is what has stayed in my mind. Then, as I said, the cover mask images on the VHS covers.

There’s nothing like childhood memories.

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H4 is most definitely flawed, but it is better than 5,6,and Resurrection. I remember seeing the poster and being really excited about the mask, but being very disappointed when I saw the movie and realized it wasn’t anything even close to what we saw on the cover. His look was another problem. The Herringbone suit, all puffed up… with Wilbur’s huge frame just really felt off for me.

That being said, the intro is fantastic. Puts you right into the Halloween mood. Once the movie starts, however, that feeling doesn’t really carry through the film. I feel like they did the best with what they had. John Carpenter unfortunately painted the character in a corner with H2, something he regrets. So all sequels past that point became all about Michael killing his family, which really diminished the character and left it with a legacy that has followed it all the way to this new Halloween (which thankfully is retconning it). I still feel like it is the best of the sequels, outside of maybe H20… which shows how bad most of the sequels were. I always stuck with the character and the story for Dr. Loomis and because the original was so good. But most of them were rough. I Still enjoy them for what they are, and H4 is still fun despite the flaws.

That mask though. :laughing:

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Most of my disappointment with H4 is I went in thinking I’d see a mask like the one on the cover, Maniac style, and instead got a bland mask. It has grown on me over time though, especially since starting to collect Myers masks. I personally would put 4 behind 1978 and H2 as possibly the third best in the sequel department. I liked the atmosphere of the film and it was definitely, in my opinion, better than 5,6, Resurrection and both RZ installments. H20 I change opinions on every time I watch it but the opening scene is still the best scene in the movie.

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What I like about the H4 mask is that it is more accurate to a regular “drugstore mask”. As we know, the longer a certain mask is produced, the quality usually lessens. So look at the 78 Mask Michael steals and then the 88 mask he steals.
As for the plot of H4, I think the film does a nice job of covering some ends that the other films leave open. Such as the power lines going down, which Haddonfield looses communication. The parents picking up there kids from trick or treating and actually going home and locking their doors. It creates that Erie vibe that there is a killer loose in a town without communication and no one knows his whereabouts. The town mob hunting for Michael. Almost the same idea of The Dark Knight Rises, the town is fighting back. Love that angle.

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Agreed. I feel the same way.

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Walking on a roof like that, well not too mnay people can do it with a mask on with small eye cuts and padding under the coveralls. The movments are forgiven. Really the only issues is have with it are them giving George stuffing to make him look larger when he already is much bigger than Nick and Dick and not too far off of the Jasons at the time, and that the mask didn’t have better finishing (not so much the master of the mask, just how it was painted and haired and the eye cuts). I also think the teen love triangle could have been nixed, I know for many Kelly’s boobs were a top billing co-starring role, but I think the film would have been much tighter without the love triangle (have some more atmospheric scenes to compensate for some lost time, maybe The Shape stalking Jamie while she is with the group of kids, soem more of Loomis on the hunt on the streets). The script originally didn’t have the love triangle, I think the producers wanted more teen stuff.