Our October challenge continues with Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Originally released in 1989, it’s directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard. Much like the previous entry, there’s no Jamie Lee Curtis or Laurie Strode.
However, characters from the previous movie return. This includes Donald Pleasance’s Dr. Loomis. Other than Michael Myers, he’s the only character to be in every Halloween movie to do with the Shape.
Other returning characters are Jamie Lloyd and Rachel Carruthers. Where the last movie makes it seem Jamie kills Rachel’s mother, it turns out she only attacked her.
Halloween III: The Revenge of Michael Myers picks up from where the last movie finished with Michael. He escapes the lynch mob and is nursed back to help by a hermit. A year later he’s better and as a thank you for helping him, Michael kills the hermit.
I know.
Shocker.
The movie plays out similarly to the last where Michael tracks down Jamie. Meanwhile, Jamie has a supernatural connection with her uncle and knows what he’s doing. Dr. Loomis tries to use this to his advantage so he can take down the Shape once and for all.
The Revenge of Michael Myers mostly feels like an unnecessary addition to the series. If we’re honest, any movie after Halloween II seems it so far. Maybe I’ll have a different opinion once I’ve seen Halloween IV, H20 and Resurrection.
One of the biggest issues with the movie is the death of Rachel. After the previous entry, Rachel’s seen as the second most popular recurring character from Halloween. Her arc in Halloween IV makes audiences love her, and she grows into a better person.
Unfortunately, all of that is stripped away when she dies way too early into the story. This means newcomer Tina, Rachel’s annoying friend, takes over as protector of Jamie. Sadly, she’s written as yet another stereotypical teenager who refuses to listen to the warnings.
For her faults, she at least does the right thing in the end. But, it’s too late and it’s hard to really feel anything.
Another issue is the inclusion of a figure all in black. The original draft makes it clearer but instead, it becomes a cliffhanger. Now, I have no issues with setups for the next movie.
Even though I know it comes into play in the next movie, it doesn’t do enough in this one to make a viewer care. Taking out the context from the original draft gives the impression it was too cut-out too late.
Halloween V: The Revenge of Michael Myers is a step down from the previous entry. While it has the bones of something better, it never manages to live up to it.
