HALLOWEEN 5,6,7

HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS

While not as “good” a sequel as 4 or 2, I dig this one.. Again, Danielle Harris and Donald Pleasance carry this film. Michael is back a year later after a really nice sequence referencing Bride of Frankenstein where he is nursed back to health by an old man who he then kills. (He monster did it as an accident. Mike is just a jerk.)

Again the film executes the tropes first set out by the original but also builds on the mythology in an attempt to deepen the story. There are some missteps though. This is the first of the Halloween films that creates characters that you WANT to die. The goofy cops for two and I kind of wanted Jamie's little friend to buy it too. In fact, none of the characters, outside of Loomis or Jamie are worth even rooting for.

What I always enjoyed about the other films was the degree of empathy felt when the characters would buy it. On the other hand, one of the strong parts of this entry is that the story is built to carry on and seeds are planted to carry through the next installment.

HALLOWEEN 6: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS

This movie is weird for me. In a lot of ways, it takes the franchise in a bold (potential) new direction. But at the same time, it randomly kills off a beloved character (Jamie Lloyd) after recasting her.

But I didn't hate the film, mostly due to performances like the one that Paul Rudd (yes, that Paul Rudd) gave as TOMMY DOYLE. Tommy survived the first night's attacks and has studied Myers from afar and introduces the idea that Michael's unstoppability might be more than happenstance. The character of Doyle almost adds a degree of realism to the narrative, even with how “out there” it gets.

The film has major flaws, a product I learned later had to do with test screenings, reshoots and the like. The knowledge of a producers cut has my interest and I will wait for that to arrive to pass final judgement on the film. But, at the end of the day, I put this film slightly above 5 on the sequel list.

HALLOWEEN H20: This film is problematic for me. On the one hand, I enjoy it very much. It's a technically very good film. It's well put together, well written and well acted. And of course, it features the return of Jamie Lee Curtis. It's a slick horror film. Maybe too slick. The way they took the theme into a traditional score even feels too glossy.

The other thing that bothers me is their desire to ignore the 4,5,6 installments. While those events COULD have existed with the way the 7^th film is constructed, that they made a point of telling everyone that 4,5,6 didn't exist is lame. It means as an audience, we wasted our time and money enjoying those films. It's a little silly to feel that way, I know, but at the end of the day, its something that, as a fan, I can't pull back from.

HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION Not wasting my time.

RANKING OF HALLOWEEN FILMS:

Halloween (1978)
Halloween 4
Halloween 2 (1981)
Halloween (Zombie)
Halloween H20
Halloween 6
Halloween 5
Halloween 2 (Zombie)
Halloween 8

Happy Halloween everyone!!!