SHERDOG MOVIE CLUB: Week 77 Discussion - Halloween

[TheRuthlessOne]

Well, I watched Halloween 4.

It was okay, I guess, but nothing more than that. I did not find it to be scary at all or even particularly creepy or suspenseful. Mostly it was just a kinda sorta entertaining but ultimately bland sequel.

One of the biggest problems is that Michael Myers is just not very cool in this one. For one, let's talk about the mask. Here's what he looks like in Halloween:

And here's what he looks like in Halloween 4:

It ain't the same. They may look similar, but it's not the same shit and the mask in the first film was a lot creepier. Not only that, but Michael doesn't move the same in this film as he does in the first. He kind of moves like a retard.

On the positive side, Halloween 4 does a better job of capturing the feel of the season and the holiday. The opening effectively conveys a sense of the fall and of a community that is ready for October 31.





The acting is solid enough all around. Donald Pleasence is back. The young girl who plays Michael's niece does a legitimately good job and is not annoying at all, as child actors sometimes are. The movie also has a more modern feel than the original, which I thought was positive on some level.

More than anything though, for me, was watching the movie and seeing houses and other things that were shot really close to my house. That part was pretty awesome.

All in all, it's maybe a 6/10 on a good day? It could've been a lot better but it also could've been a lot worse.

P.S. I didn't really get the ending. It was kind of cool to see the callback to the first film with the girl killing her foster mother much in the way that Michael killed his sister, but why did she do it? Just because she touched him for a brief moment? Did he pass some bad juju onto her? While it was kind of a cool and surprising moment in the film, there's no logical reason for it.

Its a brand new mask that he pulled off the shelf

The ending ties in with the entire film. Jamie picks the same costume that Michael had as a kid and other stuff happens... she had some sort of link to Michael

It had nothing to do with Michael touching her

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

Halloween 5 completely throws that in the garbage tho and forgets all about it

So we really never get any conclusion to that story

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

I guess maybe she was the female reincarnation of Michael

Probably makes as much sense as any other theory

 

[Guestx]

iirc the foster mom doesn't actually die from the stabbing. And in part 5 we're told that Jamie has some kind of weird mental connection with Michael. She knows where he is and when someone else is in danger, but she can't speak for most of the movie so she struggles to let people know.

Struggles to speak? Sounds dumb.

I've noticed that in most "rank the Halloween movies" lists that people tend not to have much good to say about the fifth one.

Its a brand new mask that he pulled off the shelf

The ending ties in with the entire film. Jamie picks the same costume that Michael had as a kid and other stuff happens... she had some sort of link to Michael

It had nothing to do with Michael touching her

Well I didn't figure it was the same mask, but they could've made it LOOK the same. It really does not look very good, in my opinion.

And if she was supposed to have some kind of link to Michael in THIS film, then I don't think the movie does a very good job of expressing that.

Okay, so she picked a similar costume. I think most viewers wold interpret that as a creepy coincidence, not evidence of some kind of metaphysical connection. And I can't think of anything else in the movie that pointed in that direction either.

 

[Guestx]

Halloween 5 completely throws that in the garbage tho and forgets all about it

So we really never get any conclusion to that story

So in the fifth film they don't address the fact that she stabbed somebody like a maniac?

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

Struggles to speak? Sounds dumb.

I've noticed that in most "rank the Halloween movies" lists that people tend not to have much good to say about the fifth one.



Well I didn't figure it was the same mask, but they could've made it LOOK the same. It really does not look very good, in my opinion.

And if she was supposed to have some kind of link to Michael in THIS film, then I don't think the movie does a very good job of expressing that.

Okay, so she picked a similar costume. I think most viewers wold interpret that as a creepy coincidence, not evidence of some kind of metaphysical connection. And I can't think of anything else in the movie that pointed in that direction either.

I'd have to rewatch the entire movie to really continue this conversation

I remember there being a few things that suggested a link between the too but its been so long since I seen it.

So I really dont have anything off the top of my head that I can reference

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

So in the fifth film they don't address the fact that she stabbed somebody like a maniac?

Yeah they act like it never happened

Halloween 5 is pretty much the same as Halloween 4. Michael just chasing Jamie around but not as good

 

[Guestx]

Yeah they act like it never happened

Halloween 5 is pretty much the same as Halloween 4. Michael just chasing Jamie around but not as good

Hmm. . . Well like I said, I didn't think this one was especially good so that sounds . . . not great.

 

[Andersons Foot]

Struggles to speak? Sounds dumb.

Yeah she's in a children's hospital or something at the beginning, traumatized from the events from 4 I guess. They do kind of address the foster mother attack. Someone throws a rock with a note on it that says something like "the evil child must go" through the window of her hospital room. Rachael is talking to Loomis about it and he says people fear her because she's related to Michael and that she attacked her foster mother.

 

[Andersons Foot]

There is a scene in 5 that I always thought was sort of creepy. Loomis is trying to draw Michael back to the Myers house I think? It looks different but I think it's meant to be the Myers house. But he's trying to draw him there by using Jamie as bait, but there's an army of police hiding and waiting for him. So Loomis tricks the cops into leaving knowing that Michael won't show with them there, and that leaves Loomis, Jamie, and a single cop to face off with Michael.

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

There is a scene in 5 that I always thought was sort of creepy. Loomis is trying to draw Michael back to the Myers house I think? It looks different but I think it's meant to be the Myers house. But he's trying to draw him there by using Jamie as bait, but there's an army of police hiding and waiting for him. So Loomis tricks the cops into leaving knowing that Michael won't show with them there, and that leaves Loomis, Jamie, and a single cop to face off with Michael.

Yeah Loomis was full on crazy at that point

 

[saugeye killah]

There is a scene in 5 that I always thought was sort of creepy. Loomis is trying to draw Michael back to the Myers house I think? It looks different but I think it's meant to be the Myers house. But he's trying to draw him there by using Jamie as bait, but there's an army of police hiding and waiting for him. So Loomis tricks the cops into leaving knowing that Michael won't show with them there, and that leaves Loomis, Jamie, and a single cop to face off with Michael.

I've said it a million times - if you can just get through the first 40 minutes of Halloween 5, the last 30 or so are great.

 

[Andersons Foot]

I've said it a million times - if you can just get through the first 40 minutes of Halloween 5, the last 30 or so are great.

Agreed. I really enjoy the second half of that movie. Although I've never really been sure what I think about the man in black.

 

[Guestx]

@TheRuthlessOne, I know I sounded probably more negative than positive about Halloween 4 earlier, but upon reflecting on it throughout the day today I think it's a film that's going to grow on me over time.

I also found this episode of the Film School Rejects podcast where they discuss the film. The hosts are pretty positive about it so you might enjoy the discussion.

https://filmschoolrejects.com/junkf...n-4-the-return-of-michael-myers-fde645ea81b2/

 

[TheRuthlessOne]

@TheRuthlessOne, I know I sounded probably more negative than positive about Halloween 4 earlier, but upon reflecting on it throughout the day today I think it's a film that's going to grow on me over time.

I also found this episode of the Film School Rejects podcast where they discuss the film. The hosts are pretty positive about it so you might enjoy the discussion.

https://filmschoolrejects.com/junkf...n-4-the-return-of-michael-myers-fde645ea81b2/

I been thinking more about that mask and I have come up with something that explains it nicely I think

In the movie there is a ton of kids who are dressed up as Michael Myers for Halloween

The mask that Michael grabs is a knock off that was made for people to dress up

So its doesn't look like the original cause its just some knock off mass produced crap

 

[Guestx]

I been thinking more about that mask and I have come up with something that explains it nicely I think

In the movie there is a ton of kids who are dressed up as Michael Myers for Halloween

The mask that Michael grabs is a knock off that was made for people to dress up

So its doesn't look like the original cause its just some knock off mass produced crap

Yeah, I figured as much. It just sucks that the mask makers half-assed it and didn't come up with something that looked creepier.

 

[saugeye killah]

I been thinking more about that mask and I have come up with something that explains it nicely I think

In the movie there is a ton of kids who are dressed up as Michael Myers for Halloween

The mask that Michael grabs is a knock off that was made for people to dress up

So its doesn't look like the original cause its just some knock off mass produced crap

That's the allure of it to me. That one scene where the Sheriff and Loomis come face to face with three or four "Michaels"...

He is bigger than just a person. He is everywhere.

 

[Death By Samson]

This movie gave me a hell of a lot of nightmares when I was a kid.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Struggles to speak? Sounds dumb.

I laughed.

 

[Guestx]

@TheRuthlessOne @saugeye killah @AndersonsFoot

If y'all are interested, here's a behind-the-scenes doc I found on Halloween 4, 5 and 6. I'm watching the segment on #4 right now.