One of the Best Horror Sequels Ever Made is Now Streaming
The Halloween franchise is never going to die. Despite years of production woes, unmade sequels, and not one, not two, not three, but as many as five different timelines (depending on how you determine them), there’s no stopping Michael Myers. The man, the Shape, the Boogeyman is a beast, and no amount of Hollywood interference can keep him down for long. Sure, the last time we saw him, he was being fed into an industrial shredder, but he’ll be back in the upcoming television series.
With such a diverse slate of films to choose from, everyone’s Halloween franchise rankings look different. Some love Halloween Ends, for instance, while others decry where David Gordon Green led his new trilogy of films. Halloween 3: Season of the Witch is a cult classic, and Halloween: Resurrection features not only Tyra Banks and some techno wizardry, but also Busta Rhymes fist-fighting Michael Myers. While it’s a given that John Carpenter’s original is everyone’s favorite, it’s what comes next that’s most interesting. My personal choice? Dominique Othenin-Girard’s Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. It’s the best Halloween sequel ever made, and now it’s streaming on Shudder.
Per Shudder:
Following her mysterious behavior at the conclusion of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, young Jamie (Danielle Harris) is committed to the psychiatric care of Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence). Meanwhile, Michael Myers is presumed dead following a shoot-out with the Haddonfield Police and a fatal fall down a mineshaft entrance. But all is not as it seems. A well-meaning derelict nurses Michael back to health, and one year later, he is back to kill again! Jamie finds herself the object of Michael’s murderous rage, and along with her new friends and Dr. Loomis, she tries to prevent Michael from continuing his bloody rampage.
For many, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is a mixed bag. Even I’ll concede it too easily retcons the previous installment’s most tantalizing twist. Franchise fans have similarly rejected the deaths of returning characters, the mental decline of series mainstay Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence), and the incredulous pivot into zany comedy at times. All the while, I maintain Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is the ugliest (endearingly), meanest, scariest Halloween movie of the bunch. It’s a more primal kind of thrill, especially compared to the patience of Carpenter’s original, but it was the first and best to really tap into the series’ idea of evil.
Tina Williams (Wendy Kaplan) is one of the best characters the franchise has ever had, and Danielle Harris turns in fiercely accomplished work as the haunted, psychically-connected niece, Jamie Lloyd. Sure, it was here that the series committed to its runic mythology, a throughline that would carry over into The Curse of Michael Myers before being discarded for the next timeline, but I’ve always loved the Curse of Thorn, okay?
I’m not alone, either. Halloween 5 fans continue to share their love for the series’ most misunderstood sequel. And we’ve got the proof below!
What do you think? Which Halloween sequel is your favorite? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins, and happy Halfway to Halloween!
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