The film's poster.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a 1988 American horror movie, directed by Dwight H. Little. It stars Donald Pleasance as Dr. Samuel Loomis, Danielle Harris as Jamie Lloyd, Ellie Cornell as Rachel Carruthers and George P. Wilbur as Michael Myers. The movie is a sequel to Halloween II, released in 1981. As its title indicates, the character of Michael Myers, who does not appear in the 1982 movie Halloween III: Season of the Witch, is brought back for this film. The plot deals with Michael Myers' murderous pursuit of his niece Jamie Lloyd.
The movie was a moderate box office success. It was made on a budget of $5,000,000 and earned $17,000,000 on its release in the United States. It was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America.
A year later, in 1989, a sequel, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers was released.
Plot
Michael Myers has survived the fire at the end of Halloween II but has been in a coma ever since. While he is being transferred from hospital to the Smith's Grove Sanitarium, he begins to come round. He hears the ambulance driver and paramedics talking about him and learns that his sister, Laurie Strode, had a daughter named Jamie Lloyd who is living in Haddonfield. Michael kills the ambulance driver and paramedics and escapses from the ambulance. He makes his way back to Haddonfield, killing several people on the way, and once again steals a white-faced mask.
Laurie Strode has recently died in a car accident. Her eight-year old daughter Jamie Lloyd has been adopted by the Carruthers family. She is aware that she has an uncle who is considered to be a monster but does not know that he is the same man that she has been having nightmares about. Jamie selects a clown costume for Halloween, identical to the one that Michael Myers wore when he killed his sister Judith at the beginning of the first movie in the series.
Rachel Carruthers, Jamie's teenage step-daughter, had wanted to spend the evening of Halloween with her boyfriend Brady but her parnets tell her that they are going out for the evening and that she will have to take Jamie out trick-or-treating. During the course of the trick-or-treating, Rachel learns that Brady is cheating on her with the sherriff's daughter.
Dr. Samuel Loomis has also survived the fire at the end of Halloween II but it has left him with scars on his face and body. He wears black gloves and walks with a cane. When he learns that Michael Myers has escaped, he realises that the murderer is going to go after Jamie Lloyd. He makes his way to Haddonfield and is able to persuade Sheriff Meeker that the girl needs protection. The people of the town learn that Michael Myers is loose and gangs of vigilantes form, promising to kill him on sight.
Michael Myers murders a technician at a power plant, causing a blackout that plunges the town into darkness. Rachel and Jamie are found by the sheriff and Dr. Loomis. They are taken to the sheriff's office, where Dr. Loomis tells Jamie more about her uncle Michael Myers. They are then taken to Sheriff Meeker's house. Michael, hiding in the back of a deputy's car, arrives there. He kills the deputy, Brady and the sheriff's daughter.
Dr. Loomis and the two girls take refuge in a school. Michael follows them there and throws Dr. Loomis out of a window. The two girls are rescued by a group of vigilantes but Michael holds on to their truck's chassis. He kills the vigilantes, forcing Rachel to drive the truck. Michael is thrown from the truck. He is shot by the police and falls down a mine shaft.
The girls are taken home by Dr. Loomis and Sheriff Meeker. Dr. Loomis rejoices that the evil Michael Myers is finally dead. Mrs. Carruthers goes upstairs to run a bath for Jamie. Jamie suddenly puts on her clown mask, grabs a pair of scissors and stabs Mrs. Carruthers to death. Dr. Loomis screams in horror as he sees Michael Myers' niece follow in the footsteps of her murderous uncle. Sheriff Meeker, Mr. Carruthers and Rachel look up at Jamie, as she stands at the top of the stairs and glares down at them from behind her mask.
External links
- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers on the Internet Movie Database.
- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers on AllMovie.
- Quotations from Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers on Wikiquote.
- Official website of the Halloween movie franchise.