A year after the events of the previous film, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) is now not insane and evil as her uncle was following his attack on a family member, and is instead mute and tormented by psychic visions of all of Michael's killings. And him going about stalking people. And him driving in cars with people who he plans to kill but can't because of plot convenience.
Yeah, for all it's good points, this movie has a few really, really weird ones, too.
But yes, we begin one year after Jamie Lloyd stabbed her adoptive mother viciously with a pair of kitchen scissors in a scene that was quite reminiscent of the opening of the original Halloween. It was definitely a shocking twist ending, setting up Jamie Lloyd to follow in the footsteps of her infamous uncle, Michael Myers. Tended to (or, rather, stalked by) psychiatrist Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence).
In the meantime, Michael has managed to escape being blown up after being shot by the Sheriff of Haddonfield and the Redneck Mob and falling into a mine shaft. If you're confused about the part of him being blown up, don't worry...it didn't actually happen in Halloween 4 at any point. It was added in because, during the filming of Halloween 5, somebody clearly said "hey, is it really going to undercut the bad guy if we have him literally die just from falling into a pit?" But Michael does manage to escape and floats along the river in a manner very reminiscent of Bilbo Baggins...only with more gunshot wounds.
After a year to rest up in the care of a hermit living along the river...who decides to not tell anyone in Haddonfield that he's harboring the town's boogeyman...Michael murders him and gets right back on track to do some killing! And hey, the hermit was nice enough to give him a brand new mask instead of the Data mask he had in 4! Neat!
While we have a few returning faces, namely the aforementioned Jamie (Danielle Harris), her sister Rachel (Ellie Cornell), and Dr. Loomis. A few new ones as well, mostly to fill in the body count quota. As stated above, Jamie has become a deranged psychopath bent on-ohhhh, wait, no. No, no. That was only the proposed direction they wanted to take the series. Donald Pleasence was, apparently, very displeased that they didn't go the route of Jamie becoming the killer and the main focus of the series, but producer Moustapha Akkad remembered well the fan backlash against Halloween III: Season of the Witch and decided that people just wanted Michael Myers back.
...oh, don't worry about that movie. That's a tale for another Halloween entirely.
But yes, Michael is back up to his old tricks again. Interposed with this, in only a handful of scenes, is a mysterious man in black who is never clearly seen wandering about Haddonfield. Of course, that isn't as important to the story as the next movie - The Curse of Michael Myers - but that is also a tale for another time.
If there is a single word to describe this movie it's...well, I'd need two "dark." and "inconsistent". You have Jamie Lloyd so terrified that she speaks only a handful of words in the whole of the film. You have Michael making some serious headway in trying to kill her. Yes, this film legitimately has you terrified at points that Michael is actually going to success in murdering his eight year old niece.
The cinematography in many scenes is beyond superb, emphasizing the use of Michael in the background in many shots - particularly the scenes where he stalks Rachel around the house. 4 was missing a lot of that thing - suspense - and it's good to see it back. The film's very ending is one that is highly oppressive - possessing absolutely not a single sliver of hope for the protagonists as it seems that all their struggles have been utterly and completely in vain.
This film is also the film that has the annoying best friend character ramped up to eleven (though she does redeem herself somewhat by sacrificing her life to save Jamie). And where we are witness to two bumbling cops being chuckled right into the middle of a Halloween film from their madcap comedy one (yes, I know they're a homage to the cops in Last House on the Left, that doesn't help them be any less out of place).
This is also the film where - and no, I'm not kidding you - Michael drives a car in an attempt to run over Jamie, going about two miles an hour. While she's on foot. And he doesn't catch her. And he runs into a tree.
Which then explodes.
...my point is, whoever taught Michael to drive failed. Horrifically.
This film also suffers from the Night of the Demons problem of being made at a point where the 1980s were desperately trying to die and become the 1990s. And it shows.
That being said, the pacing is really good and has a lot of very tense, excellent moments that are aided greatly by the score done by Alan Howarth and the cinematography headed by Robert Draper. To their credit, even the aforementioned car scene is hard to find cheesy at first glance when you hear the pulse-pounding music and see how tightly the shots are edited. No shaky cam or quick cuts, you are left to focus on the horror of the moment.
...and then the car explodes and you snap back to reality. More's the pity, really.
The film, too, is carried by fantastic performances by the main players - namely Danielle Harris and Donald Pleasence. To the credit of Danielle Harris, she was a child at the time, but she had clearly become more comfortable in the role and you never got the "child actor" vibe from here as you would in so many productions. She plays every part of the role perfectly from the near-catatonic to screaming in horror as Michael pursues her to shock and sorrow whenever one of those close to her is cut down by Michael.
Donald Pleasence, of course, is awesome in anything he's in and yes, I will fight you on that particular hill that I will die on, thank you very much. See also: MadCap's Rule of Paul Rudd (again, Curse will have its due shortly). My personal favorite scene is where Loomis absolutely loses his shit on Michael and beats him with a two by four, a stunt that actually sent Michael's suit actor (Don Shanks) to the hospital with a broken nose.
And yes, another scene that would be hilarious if not for the performance of Pleasence - showing off a Loomis very, very much removed from the restrained yet devoted professional he was in the first film. He has been worn down by many years of fighting the evil inside of Michael Myers, and he wants nothing more than to see it end.
...admittedly, the beating is led into by Loomis using Jamie as bait while gleefully inviting Michael to "come play catch the little girl". But, as I said, this film has some weird moments.
Now, of course, I said I was cheating in the opening. This film really doesn't fit our theme this month of "Man or Monster"...or does it? Well, excuse me while I spoil this twenty-nine year old movie to tell you that, in the climax of the film, Michael has Jamie cornered in the attic and is about to kill her when she calls him "uncle". He takes off his mask...and we see a shot of a tear falling from his very human eye.
An earlier scene, too, has Loomis confronting Michael...who does not immediately attempt to kill him. Instead, rather strangely, he seems to hear Loomis out about trying to make a positive connection with Jamie instead of trying to kill her.
Naturally, you can guess how well that ultimately goes.
But it does make the wheels of the mind spin...is Michael as much a victim as those he kills? Is he truly the monster that he's been made out to be, or is there another hand behind all of this? Who is the Man in Black and why does he go to such lengths to bust Michael out of prison at the end of the film?
These are questions that, all, will be answered to various degrees of vagueness in the next film The Curse of Michael Myers, but we'll be saving that for next year.
As for The Revenge of Michael Myers, however, the tone is inconsistent, but I find it hard to care. The film is such a shift from the previous installment, but it makes a return to what made the original awesome even if it doesn't quite reach the same heights. Good cinematography and editing, excellent performances, and excellent scoring carry what should just be yet another film in a slasher franchise.
Sure, it can be hilariously stupid. But when it's good, it's great. And when it comes to sequels, that's more than you can ask for.
If you have to pick a horror movie to watch this year, enjoy a good one like this and not something like, say...Night of the Demons.
...yeah, I'll probably get to the second one next year. I'm going to need booze for it, I fear.
And with this review, Horror Month 2018 comes to a close. But, as I said last year, the season of horror may be coming to an end, but you must remember: the dark side is always there, waiting for us to enter - waiting to enter us.
Until next time...try to enjoy the daylight...
Happy Halloween, everybody!
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is brought to us by Magnum Pictures and Trancas International and is available wherever movies are sold.
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.
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