Face-Off: Halloween 4 vs. Halloween H20

Ten years have passed since the events of the first two films in the HALLOWEEN franchise, ten years that murderer Michael Myers has spent in a coma. During that time, heroine Laurie Strode, the sister of Michael Myers, has passed away and her 7-year-old daughter Jamie Lloyd has been adopted by another family that lives in Haddonfield, Illinois, the setting of parts 1 and 2. When Myers hears of his niece’s existence, he awakes from his coma and heads back to Haddonfield to put an end to his bloodline… This sequel shifts gears a bit and gives Myers a new objective, but it is very much in line with its predecessors. In fact, it feels a lot like a bigger budgeted remake of the first movie, telling essentially the same story but with more deaths, gunfire, vehicular action, and explosions.

George P. Wilbur replaced fellow stuntman Tom Morga (who had played the Jason Voorhees copycat in the fifth FRIDAY THE 13TH film) as Michael Myers early in filming, and he makes for a decent Myers. Imposing figure, methodical movements, he stands around silently real well. Most of his screen time comes in the last 20 minutes, chasing the heroines and massacring fodder characters. At times Wilbur can come off as being a bit too stiff and slow, but it has never hampered my enjoyment.

Danielle Harris kicked off a genre career that has lasted to this day with her endearing performance as Myers’ niece, little Jamie. Equally likeable is Ellie Cornell as her teenage adoptive sister Rachel, who gets caught up in some love triangle shenanigans while also trying to protect Jamie from her homicidal uncle. The film benefits greatly from the presence of Donald Pleasence as Myers’ adversary Dr. Loomis, who partners up with Beau Starr as Sheriff Meeker, a strong presence himself. This film has a great group of characters at its core.

Michael Myers wakes from his coma even stronger than he was before, which is evident as soon as the first kill, which involves him shoving his thumb into a man’s forehead. He goes on to rack up a body count well into the double digits, tossing people around like they’re nothing, leaving body parts strewn around crime scenes. His trademark kitchen knife is put to use for some kills, but he’ll use whatever’s handy – including impaling someone with a shotgun. He doesn’t pull the trigger, he’s dedicated to being a slasher. If he doesn’t have a weapon, he can just crush a throat in his bare hands, or tear it open with his fingers. It’s enjoyable, but it’s a bit much for Michael Myers.

HALLOWEEN 4 really shines in the atmosphere department, establishing a wonderful Halloween feel right up front with fall imagery and holiday decorations on a farm property that has nothing to do with the story that follows. The locations the story does take place in, however, do tend to be well decorated, with glowing jack-o-lanterns, masks, sheet ghosts, paper decorations, etc. Kids run around in costume, trick or treating (Jamie among them), playing pranks, throwing toilet paper in trees. This feels very much like Halloween in small town, midwestern America.