Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a 1988 American slasher film directed by Dwight H. Little, written by Alan B. McElroy, and starring Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, and Danielle Harris in her film debut. It is the fourth entry in the Halloween franchise and marks the return of Michael Myers, as the primary antagonist, after his absence in Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), a standalone film.
"Halloween 4" and "Halloween IV" redirect here. For other uses, see Halloween 4 (disambiguation).
Initially, John Carpenter and co-producer Debra Hill intended to create an anthology series, with only the first two films being connected. Halloween 4 was originally intended to be a ghost story, but after the poor reception of Halloween III, the idea was abandoned.
Halloween 4 released in the United States on October 21, 1988. Despite mostly negative reviews from critics, the film grossed $17.8 million domestically on a budget of $5 million. It has developed a strong cult following since its release and has enjoyed positive reappraisals in the years since its release.
The film begins the "Thorn Trilogy" story arc which would be continued in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995).[5][6]
In 1998, the franchise did a soft reboot with the release of Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, which serves as a direct sequel to Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981) and thereby ignores the events, themes and new characters introduced in the Thorn Trilogy story arc.[7]
Plot[edit]
On October 30, 1988, Michael Myers, who has been comatose for ten years since the explosion at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, is being transferred from Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium to Smith's Grove Sanitarium. During the transfer, when Michael overhears that he has a niece living in Haddonfield, he awakens, kills the ambulance personnel and heads back to his hometown to kill her. Dr. Loomis, who also survived the explosion, learns of Michael's escape and gives chase once again.
Loomis follows Michael to a gas station and diner, where Michael has killed a mechanic for his coveralls, along with a female clerk. Michael escapes in a tow truck, hitting the gas pumps causing an explosion, destroying Loomis's car in the process given by Ridgemont and disabling the phone lines. Loomis continues to pursue Michael on foot. Loomis then hitches a ride with a priest in a pick-up truck.
In Haddonfield, Laurie's daughter Jamie Lloyd suffers from nightmares about The Shape and is bullied at school for being the niece of "the boogeyman." On Halloween night, her foster parents Richard and Darlene go to a party and leave their teenage daughter Rachel to babysit, forcing her to cancel a date with her boyfriend Brady. Rachel picks Jamie up after school to buy ice cream and a Halloween costume. Jamie decides on a clown costume when Michael suddenly appears to steal a new mask. He goes after his niece but flees when she screams in horror.
That night, as Rachel and Jamie are trick-or-treating, Michael breaks into the Carruthers' house and kills the family dog. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield and warns the new sheriff, Ben Meeker, that Michael has returned. As they search for the girls, At the power station Michael throws an electrine worker into a transformer, plunging the entire town into darkness. He proceeds to kill most of the town's police force, prompting the locals to form a lynch mob.
Meeker and Loomis find Rachel and Jamie and take them to the sheriff's house, where Brady is having an affair with Meeker's daughter Kelly. They barricade the premises as Loomis departs to find Michael, who has already snuck into the house. The lynch mob accidentally killed a teenager who they thought it was Michael. After Meeker leaves to respond the shooting Michael kills Brady, Kelly, and a deputy as Rachel and Jamie flee to the attic and onto the roof. Rachel lowers Jamie down to safety but is attacked by Michael, falling to the ground and losing consciousness.
Pursued by Michael, Jamie runs down the street and runs into Loomis. They seek shelter at the school, but Michael finds them and tosses Loomis through a glass door. He chases Jamie through the school, until she falls down a flight of stairs, Michael prepares to kill her when Rachel reappears and subdues him with a fire extinguisher. The lynch mob arrives and agrees to help the girls get out of Haddonfield. Along the way they meet a lone trooper who tells them there's a substation up the road where they'll be safe. Michael, who has been hidden underneath their truck, climbs aboard and kills the men Including Earl. Rachel takes the wheel, throws Michael off the truck, and rams into him. Meeker and Loomis arrive with the rest of lynch mob and the state police, while Jamie approaches her uncle and touches his hand. As he rises, Meeker and the others shoot him until he falls down an abandoned mine.
Back at the Carruthers' house, Darlene goes upstairs to run a bath for Jamie when she is suddenly attacked. Loomis hears her cries and sees Jamie in her clown costume holding a pair of bloody scissors, reminiscent of when Michael killed his older sister. Rachel, Richard, and Meeker look on in horror as Loomis sobs, realizing that the evil inside of Michael has infected Jamie.