This Day in Horror History: HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS Opened in 1988
Mike Sprague
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On this day in horror history, the fourth installment in the Halloween franchise, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers with Donald Pleasence and Danielle Harris opened in 1988. It follows Michael Myers returning to Haddonfield to kill his niece Jamie Lloyd, the daughter of Laurie Strode, with Dr. Sam Loomis in pursuit.
It is a direct sequel to Halloween II, ignoring the events of Halloween III: Season of the Witch which took place in a different continuity from the first two films.
Halloween 4 grossed $17.8M on a budget of $5M and received mostly negative reviews. However, the film has developed a strong cult following since. A direct sequel, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, was released one year later.
Directed by Dwight H. Little from a screenplay written by Alan B. McElroy, the film finds the apparently comatose Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur) being transferred from one hospital to another, but he wakes up when the ambulance crew talk about his surviving niece, Jamie (Danielle Harris). After slaughtering his attendants, Myers sets out to find his one living relative who is, fortunately, being cared for by a kind and resourceful foster sister named Rachel (Ellie Cornell). Meanwhile, the ever-cautious Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) remains on the killer’s path.
The film sports a 29% on Rotten Tomatoes with this Critics Consensus: Halloween 4: The Return Of Michaels Myers may bring the series’ masked killer back into the fold, but fails to offer the visceral scares and inventiveness of the original.
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