He's Evil on Two Legs!

I was mentioning to a friend at work that perhaps next year I will break from writing about the same films as I have in years past. That there are only so many things I can say about Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers (1988). I was watching early Friday morning and must admit it wasn’t an altogether tired experience. Can’t say it hasn’t been the last few years. But much like the 1981 sequel, this 1988 return of the Myers character went over a bit better. And it is only because I have watched it too many times to count. I do really enjoy the trick-r-treat and Halloween spirit. I’m in that spirit this year so it hasn’t been too “going through the motions”. I like the quiet neighborhood Halloween night. Director Little might not have the script that goes in any sort of unpredictable places (except the twist at the end which might remind folks of Friday the 13^th V: The New Beginning; replacing the name killer with a character he wants to kill doesn’t garner a positive reaction so doing so is often dropped altogether…). And that scene with the kids wearing Myers’ masks, freaking Loomis and Sheriff Meeker out, still works well. Myers pulling a Hauer and Terminator by obliterating the Sheriff’s station once again just rings implausible to me. Most amusing I guess is how Loomis often goes where Myers isn’t when in Haddonfield. How Myers escapes, can be in so many places, overpower folks, move about as if he wasn't a human fireball in Part 2, and outsmart everyone asks us to really accept a lot of nonsense. You either go with it or not. This was a hot rental back when I was a kid, though. My siblings and I watched it quite a bit. Now it is confined to the month of October. Little Jamie Lloyd and Rachel avoiding Myers while everyone else isn't so lucky also asks us to really brush aside common sense. What better final girl than a little girl running for her life from Myers? It went by really fast, too. It is only 85 minutes, though. I do agree with the critique that if this weren't attached to the Halloween franchise, this sequel wouldn't be such an annual revisit. It isn't all that impactful. Curiously I was more receptive of the twist at the end this go-around.