Review #473: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.
Cast
Donald Pleasence (Dr. Samuel Loomis), Danielle Harris (Jamie Lloyd), Beau Starr (Sheriff Ben Meeker), Wendy Kaplan (Tina Williams), Tamara Glynn (Samantha Thomas), Ellie Cornell (Rachel Carruthers), Jeffrey Landman (Billy Hill), Jonathan Chapin (Mikey), Matthew Walker (Spitz), Betty Carvalho (Nurse Patsey), and Don Shanks (Michael Myers/Man In Black) Directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard.
Review
Quite literally, you could use this quote (said by the producer, Mousatapha Akkad) to describe this film: "Drunk off the success of Halloween 4, we began production on Halloween 5." Barely a year apart from the previous film, this film didn't even have a complete script. Danielle Harris' character was meant to be more serious, as evidenced in the fourth film's ending, which wasn't even followed up in the next. It might've worked well, as evidenced by Harris' enthusiasm: "The way Halloween 4 ended, I thought I was going to be the killer. I thought it would have been fun to come back as the killer, or Michael's sidekick. Scary, but fun." Instead of a unique twist, we get...lousy side characters who "scare" each other, a mostly mute Harris, and...a fairly decent Pleasence performance.
The side characters even ruin any chances of actual scares, like when Myers is apparently chasing a girl in a haystack...only to reveal it's not Myers, and it's laughed off like nothing. I don't know why, but the idea of Michael driving is more amusing then it is scary, but at least he isn't riding a bicycle or a pogo stick. Pleasence seems tired, though I attribute that to his characterization in the film, or maybe he's tired of the script, I don't know. Harris is mute for a good portion of the film, which is sad, because I actually did like Harris' performance in the previous film, but now I'm seeming picky. The scares are mediocre, though the side characters' attempts at scaring each other ruin the chances. And yes, the Myers house is shown for the first time since the original...looking nothing like it, but I suppose it was a stylistic choice. That or a ton of redecorating, because it is a giant house with many windows. Their is a scene involving Michael and Jamie in which...Michael sheds a tear and a barely visible shot of his face...which isn't burned, even though he was burned in the second film, which is evident in his hands, but not the face. The ending seems all fine and dandy, except...it's not. It ends on a cliffhanger, and a pretty lame one. It could've worked as a way to explain his return in the next film...which took 6 years to be released. All in all, this is a rushed production with barely there scares, okay performances, and a lackluster continuation of the series. But at least, I can rest from this franchise, and focus on something different, like this film with all but the letter A scratched out...
Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.
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