Halloween

HALLOWEEN (18)

D: John Carpenter

Falcon (Debra Hill)

US 1978

93 mins

Horror

W: John Carpenter & Debra Hill

DP: Dean Cundey

Ed: Tommy Lee Wallace

Mus: John Carpenter

Donald Pleasance (Dr. Sam Loomis), Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie Strode), Nick Castle (Michael Myers), Nancy Loomis (Annie Brackett), P.J. Soles (Lynda van der Klok), Charles Cyphers (Sheriff Leigh Brackett)

Neither the first "slasher" movie, nor the most original, but John Carpenter's iconic scary movie was the first to tap into a the mainstream market, creating a lasting legacy and countless copycats.

The plot is simple and single-minded; a psychopath escapes from an asylum and spends the evening of October 31st killing teenagers and babysitters.

Style is very much over substance, with John Carpenter's eerie electronic score enough to send shivers down the spine alone, while the emotionless "face" of villain Michael Myers has also become part of horror folklore.

8/10

Jamie Lee Curtis & 'the shape' in Halloween

HALLOWEEN II (18)

D: Rick Rosenthal

Dino de Laurentiis (Debra Hill & John Carpenter)

US 1981

92 mins

Horror

W: John Carpenter & Debra Hill

DP: Dean Cundey

Ed: Mark Goldblatt & Skip Schoolnik

Mus: John Carpenter & Alan Howarth

Donald Pleasance (Dr. Sam Loomis), Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie Strode), Charles Cyphers (Leigh Brackett), Lance Guest (Jimmy Lloyd)

Virtual retread of the first movie, immediately following the events from the 1978 film, and mostly set inside the hospital where Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is recovering from the traumatic events.

The film wastes no time with any real development as it practically opened with the masked maniac Michael Myers killing random people indiscriminately and without real reason.

Jamie Lee Curtis & Donald Pleasance do a good job reprising their roles from the original film, but it does miss the directorial guidance of John Carpenter, even if he did stay on production as both producer and co-writer. A decent sequel, even if it does lie on top of the original film's blueprint. The Halloween series contained two years later, although the next sequel did not feature the same villain.

6/10

HALLOWEEN III: THE SEASON OF THE WITCH (18)

D: Tommy Lee Wallace

Dino de Laurentiis (Debra Hill & John Carpenter)

US 1982 (released 1983)

98 mins

Horror

W: Tommy Lee Wallace [based on a screenplay by Nigel Kneale]

DP: Dean Cundey

Ed: Millie Moore

Mus: John Carpenter & Alan Howarth

Tom Atkins (Dr. Daniel Challis), Stacey Nelkin (Ellie Grimbridge), Dan O'Herlihy (Conal Cochran), Ralph Strait (Buddy Kupfer), Michael Currie (Rafferty), Jadeen Barbor (Betty Kupfer)

The title is a complete misnomer, since this has nothing to do with the two previous films and only makes reference to them in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene.

The film itself is decent enough to stand on its own merits; a macabre scary movie about a satan-worshipping toy manufacturer who intends to restore Halloween to its witch-cult origins through masks which turn the wearer's insides into creepy-crawlies and goo.

An effective chiller, though original screenwriter wasn't impressed with the tampering of the evil toymaker character, originally inspired by Celtic myths and tradition, only to be reduced to a mad scientist.

Closer to Invasion Of The Body Snatchers than any other horror franchise and while effective, it does seem a little cheapened by TV movie production quality.

5/10

HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS (18)

D: Dwight H. Little

Trancas International (Paul Freeman)

US 1988

88 mins

Horror

W: Alan B. McElroy [based on characters created by John Carpenter & Debra Hill]

DP: Peter Lyons Collister

Ed: Curtiss Clayton

Mus: Alan Howarth

Donald Pleasance (Dr. Sam Loomis), Ellie Cornell (Rachel Carruthers), Danielle Harris (Jamie Lloyd), Michael Pataki (Dr. Hoffman), Beau Starr (Sheriff Ben Meeker)

As the title suggests, the psychopathic maniac is back after 7 years (Michael Myers as the main villain was absent from the third movie), rising from a coma to continue his killing spree in the old neighbourhood of Haddonfield, Illinois.

Released 10 years after the original film, it's all rather formulaic and cliche-driven, and ends up being a step down from the first sequel with both plot and execution. Donald Pleasance reprises his role as Dr. Sam Loomis, but even he looks bored in this.

It's worth noting that this film marked John Carpenter abandoning the series and selling the rights to Moustapha Akkad & his production company, who wasted no time churning out Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers a year later, taking full advantage of the slasher craze which dominated horror movies of the 1980's.

4/10

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS (aka HALLOWEEN 5) (18)

D: Dominique Othenin-Girard

Galaxy/Magnum/Trancas (Ramsey Thomas)

US 1989

97 mins

Horror

W: Dominique Othenin-Girard, Michael Jacobs & Shem Bitterman [based on characters created by John Carpenter & Debra Hill]

DP: Robert Draper

Ed: Charles Tetoni & Jerry Brady

Mus: Alan Howarth

Donald Pleasance (Dr. Loomis), Danielle Harris (Jamie Lloyd), Ellie Cornell (Rachel Carruthers), Beau Starr (Sheriff Ben Meeker), Wendy Kaplan (Tina Williams), Don Shanks (Michael Myers)

More of the same, with masked serial killer Michael Myers returning to Haddonfield once again for a killing spree, with the added incentive of murdering his niece, Jamie (introduced in Halloween 4).

Incidentally, the ending of Halloween 4 is retconned for this fifth sequel for the narrative to make sense, but it's still lazy writing, built around the usual tropes, cliches and jump scare rubbish.

Quite possibly the worst of all the Halloween movies, released just a year after the previous sequel, it's quite apparent that this was just a rushed cash-grab.

3/10

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS (aka HALLOWEEN 6) (18)

D: Joe Chappelle

Dimension/Miramax/Trancas/Nightfall (Paul Freeman)

US 1995

88 mins

Horror

W: Daniel Farrands

DP: Billy Dickson

Ed: Randolph Bricker

Mus: Alan Haworth

Donald Pleasance (Dr. Sam Loomis), Paul Rudd (Tommy Doyle), Marianne Hagan (Kara Strode), Mitchell Ryan (Dr. Terence Wynn), Devin Gardner (Danny Strode), George P. Wilbur (Michael Myers)

The sixth Halloween film and the first to try and provide some explanation for masked murderer Michael Myers seemingly being invincible, which it does so by introducing a cult who worship the psychopath like a religious figure. If you can swallow that, you might think this is a worthwhile horror movie, but I certainly didn't. The series really had run out of steam by this point, recycling the same jump scare scenes with different cast members, the only real mainstay of the performers being Donald Pleasance, who is looking really tired by this point (he died shortly after the film's release). The film also provided an early role for Paul Rudd, but there isn't much he can do with a bizarrely written character.

Tonally, the film is an utter mess, with some strange editing choices and directorial decisions. Apparently, this was due to poor reception from test audiences, but if this is the edit after the initial cut, I'd hate to see how it originally looked.

3/10

HALLOWEEN: H20 (HALLOWEEN: 20 YEARS LATER) (18)

D: Steve Miner

Dimension/Nightfall/Trancas (Paul Freeman)

USA 🇺🇸 1998

86 mins

Horror

W: Robert Zappia & Matt Greenberg [based on characters created by John Carpenter & Debra Hill]

DP: Daryn Okada

Ed: Patrick Lussier

Mus: John Ottman

Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie Strode / Keri Tate), Josh Hartnett (John Tate), Michelle Williams (Molly Cartwell), Adam Arkin (Will Brennan), Adam Hann-Byrd (Charlie Deveraux), Jodi Lyn O'Keefe (Sarah Wainthorpe), Janet Leigh (Norma Watson)

Of all the Halloween sequels, Halloween H20 is amongst the better ones, despite using the exact same formula as everything which has been seen before.

As the title suggests, the events take place 20 years after the original film and the original protagonist, Laurie Strode (Curtis), has changed her identity and now has children of her own. Her homicidal brother and villain of the franchise (Michael Myers) escapes from the mental asylum prison (once again) and discovers her whereabouts, so he can continue his killing spree.

Though the cookie cutter plot is practically the same thing we've seen before, it ties in closer with the original film simply due to the return of Jamie Lee Curtis' character. There's enough shocks to whet the appetite of horror fans and there's plenty of tension built throughout. The only let down is the weak ending, which fizzles out to the end credit scene. Still, it's much better than some of the previous sequels.

5/10

HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION (15)

D: Rick Rosenthal

Miramax / Dimension / Nightfall / Trancas International (Paul Freeman)

US 🇺🇸 2002

90 mins

Horror

W: Larry Brand & Sean Hood [based on characters created by John Carpenter & Debra Hill]

DP: David Geddes

Ed: Robert A. Ferretti

Mus: Danny Lux

Brad Loree (Michael Myers), Busta Rhymes (Freddie Harris), Bianca Kajlich (Sara Moyer), Thomas Ian Nicholas (Bill Woodlake), Katee Sackhoff (Jen Danzig), Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie Strode)

*SPOILERS*

A completely pointless resurrection, since the previous instalment (Halloween: H20) wrapped everything up nice and tight, even if it did retcon all the other sequels.

Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode, but is killed off before the opening credits, after which we’re treated to the acting “talents” of Busta Rhymes and a bunch of pathetic student characters participating in a reality TV show at Michael Myers’ old house, where the serial killer returns to pick them off one-by-one.

A serial killer flick for an MTV generation, with no connection to previous films aside from the opening scene which is nothing short of a crime against the original film.

It’s notable that it was Jamie Lee Curtis’ own idea to have her character killed off in this film, due to being unsatisfied with the script and fed up with playing the same character again, but she obviously had a change of heart when she did return for the 2018 reboot/sequel.

The resurrection of this story path didn’t last, as this was the last sequel of the original Halloween series before Rob Zombie approached the original material with his own take in 2007 and the 2018 film, simply called Halloween, that again retcons everything following the 1978 original.

3/10