Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Director: Dwight H Little
Starring: Donald Pleasance, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris

Synopsis:
Ten years after his rampage in Haddonfield, Michael Myers breaks free to seek out his niece, Laurie's daughter.

Impressions:
With Season of the Witch underperforming, it's back to the formula established in the first two films, and I hope you like it because that's all you're going to get from here on. This kicks off the Thorn Trilogy, which fills out the first timeline of the franchise. (There are four continuities in case you were curious.) While you can swallow that Michael survived the events of Halloween II, since he's apparently unkillable, it's a whole lot less plausible that Dr. Loomis made it out of that explosion with just some mild scarring and a limp (or that he hasn't been committed by now). We pick up with Jamie, the daughter of Laurie Strode (who was killed offscreen with barely a footnote's worth of acknowledgement), and her foster sister Rachel. Basically, Jamie becomes the target of Michael just as Laurie was before, but I think you can imagine the twist as soon as she picks out a clown costume for Halloween. I do like how there's a more proactive response by the police and the locals (even if it does mostly just serve to provide more meat on the plate). There's some more gore to the kills if that interests you, with work by Frank Carl Buechler, whose track record includes Friday the 13th Part VII and Nightmare on Elm Street 4. Overall, the film is okay but nothing all that compelling. Take it or leave it.

Rating:
50/50