While I personally liked Halloween 3, most audiences at the time did not. They demanded more of the adventures of Michael Meyers, and Hollywood listened. In Halloween 4, Michael has been lying unconscious in a mental asylum for ten years, both Loomis and him barely survived being set ablaze at the end of Halloween 2. While being transferred to Smith's Grove, he awakens and escapes back to Haddonfield where he commences his usual Halloween hunt. This time, he has a new target in his sights: Jamie (Danielle Harris), the daughter of Laurie Strode who is living with a foster family. Can Loomis track him down in time? Will Jamie survive with her sanity intact?
Halloween 4 is definitely better than Halloween 3. The film has an atmosphere that feels reminiscent of the ones in the first 2 Halloween films, and Michael still retains some of his supernatural qualities we are so familiar with. Danielle Harris does a great job as Jamie (for a child actor, she's pretty impressive), and Ellie Cornell holds her own as Rachel, Jamie's foster sister who is tasked with protecting the girl.
Donald Pleasence just about outshines everyone else as Loomis, putting on a superb performance that is on par with his previous outings as the beloved character (He has some scars from his burning in the 2nd film and walks with a limp). As for Sasha Jenson, I started out not really liking his Brady (he's kind of a douche) but by the time he has his quick fight with Michael I had grown to actually quite like his character. I also liked Beau Starr as Sheriff Ben Meeker, who actually acts pretty sensibly throughout the whole film.
Halloween 4 is a little uneven, but it certainly feels like we are watching a Halloween film and the darkness that pervaded the first film is back here (thankfully). It's not as good as the first two Halloween films, but it's certainly better than the third outing. Halloween 4 is the rare 4th-quel that is a worthy predecessor to the previous films and is definitely worth a watch if you are a fan of the franchise. Complete with a pretty cool ending, Halloween 4 makes for good viewing during the haunting season.
4 Stars
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