Halloween 4 - The Return of Michael Myers (Divimax Edition)
List Price:
Our Price: $4.74
You Save: $5.20 (52%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Beau Starr, Danielle Harris, Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, George P. WilburBrand: Fox
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Anamorphic, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-07-25
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
DVD Reviews of Halloween 4 - The Return of Michael Myers (Divimax Edition)
DVD Review: Fun, but flawed
Summary: 3 Stars
7-years after Halloween II (10-years in the storyline) with the success of the other franchises as well as slasher movies you knew it was just a matter of time before the Halloween series returned. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers was a solid entry in the series, but there were many flaws. As I have gotten older some of these movies don't hold up as well and Halloween 4 is one of those movies for me that doesn't work quite as well as it once did.
Halloween 4 was one of the better slasher movies to come out of the 80s and probably one of the best if not the best of the late 80s, which isn't saying much since by the time Halloween 4 rolled around the slasher movie was pretty much dead and hanging on by a thread.
Writer Alan B. McElroy does a solid job at creating likeable characters with some depth; which is something that often lacks in these movies. Apparently Alan McElroy wrote the script in just 10 days to avoid the writer's strike that was looming and even though he did do a fine job I think at times it does show the script was rushed. Again I think the script was good and just might be the best written of all the sequels it could have used some touch up in some spots.
Director Dwight H. Little does capture the mid-west fall setting perfectly. There are some problems though. While Dwight Little isn't a terrible director he isn't a great one either. I have seen some of his work and while they weren't great movies some were enjoyable and at the end of the day that is all that matters to me. Halloween 4 had some good pacing, but also some poor pacing. Maybe poor pacing isn't the right word. By this time there wasn't much left to do in slasher flicks and what would have worked well a couple of years earlier doesn't so well at times here.
Dwight Little is no John Carpenter and Michael stalking and watching doesn't work nearly as well as it does in the original. While there is a decent feel of dread it never has the tension the original has at all. There are moments where you get a sense of looming danger, but there just seems to be something that is a bit off. It's obvious Dwight Little was a fan of the original there are many scenes where he tries to channel what Carpenter did. Some of those moments work others not as much.
The biggest strength of Halloween 4 is also its biggest weakness; instead of being your typical run of the mill slasher movie the makers try and be more than that. The characters are well developed something most slasher films lack, Alan McElroy and Dwight Little could have taken the easy way out and deliver the typical slasher film with a lot of kill scenes and gore.
They both focus more on suspense and tension and characters, but it just doesn't work at times. Despite having a decent body count it can feel like a long stretch in between kill scenes and as I stated before Michael stalking his victims just doesn't work quite as well and after a while it starts to slow the pacing of the movie down too much. The longer Halloween 4 went without a death scene it started to drag. The original was able to go stretches without one, but that was a greatly made movie.
Like I said Halloween aims to bring more depth to the characters instead of the typical characters we normally get, but while it worked it also slowed the pace down at times. The funny thing is though of all the Halloween movies, Halloween 4 might have the most solid cast of characters. But there is still just something missing here. The sub-plot with Rachel and Brady, while maybe a little out of place for a slasher flick does adds a lot more depth to both characters.
As I stated earlier the biggest problem though is by this time the slasher movie was pretty much dead there really wasn't any new ground that could be explored. Halloween 4 was better than a lot of the slasher flicks of the 80s it does suffer a bit from there been there done that. Despite some problems Halloween 4 has some excellent moments; the scenes in Sheriff Meeker's house are quite well done with some good tension and the roof top scene rates as one of the best moments of the series. The ending was really well done and even quite creepy.
All the characters are well done and even the characters with the smaller roles are well developed and you get a feel of what they are like. All the actors play their roles excellent and come across as real people. So there is more good here than bad; but I still can't help, but feel there was just something missing. I can't quite place my finger on what exactly it was.
Normally in horror movies children get on my nerves, but Danielle Harris is the exception; she comes across as a real kid and when she is supposed to look terrified she does. Obviously the strongest link to Halloween 4 is Donald Pleasence; without him I don't think the movie would have worked all that well. Slasher movies are known for not having the smartest characters, but sometimes things go a little too far. One scene that always bothered me is when Michael is hiding in the back of the cop car. When he gets out and the cop comes back and sees the door open he pays no mind to it.
That scene really always bothered me with all that is going on one would think the cop might think that was a bit weird. The biggest flaw of the movie is towards the end. After Rachel and Jamie escape from the school and meet up with the town rednecks some how Michael is able to escape from the school and get under the truck. And some how he manages to throw them off the back of the truck one by one. Nobody notices anything? That is just sloppy filmmaking. And the reason it bothers me so much is that for the most part Halloween 4 is a well made movie. Slasher movies in general aren't all that well made, they might be fun, but not well made. Halloween 4 though is a well crafted movie despite the flaws.
Halloween 4 gets off to a solid start, but never is able to fully get back on track. That is why I say the pacing was just some what off at times. I'm not one who needs a death every couple of minutes to hold my interest, but Halloween 4 while having a decent body count could have used maybe one or two more in the middle sections. Dwight Little goes for suspense over what the typical slasher film at this time was doing, which was the more dead, the better. So the biggest strength for Halloween 4 is also its biggest weakness.
There really isn't anybody to blame in particular. The actors play their roles well, McElroy's script is pretty good and as a director Little does a pretty solid job. But even with all of those factors some of the middle sections just don't seem to work as well as they could have. It just gets a little too slow and that is I said adding a kill or two would have helped out the pacing.
Donald Pleasence is great like always, but he really doesn't have much to do besides pretty much repeat what he said in the original. Pleasence is one of my favorite actors and has done many great movies. The thing about Pleasence is he knew when to play a role straight and he knew when to go a little over the top. Problem here is he's just not given much to do. I cannot even begin to imagine Halloween 4 without him, and since Donald's death the series just hasn't been the same, but I can't help but feel he was brought back for the sake of coming back. While it would have been maybe a little tougher I think Halloween 4 could have worked without him. I love the actor and character so I'm fine that he came back, but he really didn't serve much of a purpose besides rehashing what he did in the original.
Halloween 4 was the first one I had seen in theaters; previously it was all on home video. So Halloween 4 will always have a special place with me and like many kids my first crush was Danielle Harris. But the older I get I seem to enjoy this one a little less.
The ending of Halloween 4 was quite well-done and chilling. Besides the original Halloween this one had the best ending. There were many of the best moments of the series to be found here, it's just as a whole I don't think everything fully worked. My review may not sound all that positive, but I do enjoy Halloween 4, just not as much as I did as a child.
Description of Halloween 4 - The Return of Michael Myers (Divimax Edition)
HALLOWEEN 4:SPECIAL EDITION - DVD MovieBestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Halloween: H2OEBH; Release date: 2011-04-26; DVD
Best price: $2.90
Price in other shops:
The Halloween Collection: Halloween Resurrection / Halloween: H2O / Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael MyersEBH; Release date: 2011-09-06; DVD
Best price: $5.98
Price in other shops:
Artist Not Provided - Halloween II / Halloween III - Season of the Witch (Double Feature)NBC Universal; Release date: 2007-08-14; DVD
Best price: $7.77
Price in other shops:
Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (Dimension Collector's Series)Buena Vista Home Video; Release date: 1999-10-19; DVD
Best price: $3.65
Price in other shops:
Halloween - ResurrectionBuena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2002-12-10; DVD
Best price: $3.93
Price in other shops:
Halloween III - Season Of The WitchUniversal Studios; Release date: 2003-10-07; DVD
Best price: $3.92
Price in other shops:
Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael MyersRelease date: 2011-04-26; DVD
Best price: $2.90
Price in other shops:
Halloween 5 - The Revenge of Michael Myers (Divimax Edition)STARZ/SPHE; Release date: 2006-07-25; DVD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Halloween IIUniversal Studios; Release date: 2001-09-18; DVD
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
HalloweenSTARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2007-08-14; DVD
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops: