Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
The silence that followed Jamie Lloyd’s chilling ascent up the stairs, scissors in hand, at the close of Halloween 4 was pregnant with terrifying possibilities. A year later, we slid Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers into the VCR, the tracking adjusted just so, anticipating the continuation of that dark promise. Instead, we got… something else entirely. Something stranger, more gothic, and ultimately, more frustrating, leaving a different kind of unease lingering in the static-laced air long after the credits rolled.
### A Different Kind of Dread
This isn't the lean, relentless dread of the original, nor the satisfyingly brutal efficiency of its immediate predecessor. Halloween 5, helmed by Swiss-French director Dominique Othenin-Girard (who'd later give us Omen IV: The Awakening), feels almost like a European art-house take on the slasher formula filtered through a late-80s funhouse mirror. The atmosphere is thick, almost suffocating at times. The Myers house, inexplicably transformed into a sprawling, cluttered Victorian mansion brimming with shadows and secrets, feels less like a suburban home and more like something out of a Poe story. It’s visually interesting, yes, but it immediately signals a departure from the grounded terror Haddonfield usually represented.
The plot itself stumbles right out of the gate. Michael, shot multiple times and fallen down a mine shaft, washes out into a river and is inexplicably taken in by a kindly, mute hermit (complete with a parrot, no less) who nurses him back to health for a full year. It's a bizarre opening that deflates the urgency and requires a hefty suspension of disbelief even for a slasher sequel. We then rejoin young Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris, delivering another powerhouse performance far beyond her years), now rendered mute by her trauma and residing in a children's clinic. She seems to have developed a psychic connection with her monstrous uncle, experiencing his violent urges and seeing through his eyes – a plot device that adds a layer of supernatural dread but also conveniently papers over narrative gaps.
### Loomis Unhinged, Myers… Masked?
Donald Pleasence returns as Dr. Loomis, now cranked up to eleven. His obsession with Michael has consumed him entirely, pushing him beyond ethical boundaries as he relentlessly badgers the traumatized Jamie for information. Pleasence commits fully, his wild eyes and frantic pronouncements bordering on caricature, yet providing some of the film's most memorable (and intense) moments. He’s less a psychiatrist and more a man possessed, convinced only he can stop the inevitable storm. Watching him use Jamie almost as bait feels genuinely uncomfortable, adding a layer of psychological darkness to the proceedings.
And then there's Michael himself. The mask in Halloween 5 is… controversial. Ill-fitting, with an oddly elongated neck and somewhat bewildered expression, it lacks the terrifying blankness of the original or even the serviceable look of H4. It often feels less like The Shape and more like a guy in a slightly awkward costume. This was reportedly a last-minute change on set, with several masks being tried and rejected, leading to this less-than-iconic iteration. Yet, despite the visual hiccup, Michael still manages moments of brutality. The infamous pitchfork impalement in the barn, or the tense sequence involving Tina (Wendy Kaplan) and the car, remind you that the core threat is still potent, even if the packaging feels off. The decision to kill off Rachel (Ellie Cornell), Jamie’s foster sister and the final girl from H4, so abruptly early in the film remains a sore point for many fans, a casualty of the rushed production aiming for shock value over narrative cohesion. The entire film reportedly went from script conception to screen in under six months following Halloween 4's box office success ($17.8 million from a $5 million budget).
### Secrets in the Shadows (and Barns)
The production itself seemed fraught with creative turbulence. Othenin-Girard aimed for a different mood, perhaps influenced by his European sensibilities, which sometimes clashed with the established American slasher tone. This is most evident in the film’s look and the introduction of the mysterious Man in Black – a figure clad in dark clothes and cowboy boots, sporting the same cryptic "Thorn" tattoo as Michael. Who is he? What does he want? The film offers no answers, merely dropping him into the climax to break Michael out of jail, a baffling cliffhanger born from script rewrites intended to set up a sequel (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers) that would attempt (some say clumsily) to explain this burgeoning mythology. It’s a prime example of sequel setup undermining the current story, a common ailment in 80s horror franchises. Even the infamous laundry chute scene, arguably the film's most suspenseful sequence pitting Jamie against Michael in claustrophobic confines, apparently caused Danielle Harris genuine distress on set due to its intensity and tight space.
Despite its flaws – the meandering plot, the questionable mask, the Tina character often grating on viewers' nerves, the jarring tonal shifts – Halloween 5 possesses a strange, dark energy. Alan Howarth's score, while incorporating Carpenter's classic themes, often feels more orchestral and brooding, complementing the gothic visuals. There are moments of genuine suspense, particularly revolving around Jamie's vulnerability and her psychic torment. It’s a film that feels haunted, not just by Michael Myers, but by production compromises and unrealized ambitions.
Rating: 4/10
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is a fascinating mess. It boasts a truly committed performance from Danielle Harris, Donald Pleasence chewing scenery with glorious abandon, and some genuinely atmospheric moments thanks to its peculiar gothic aesthetic. However, the narrative is incoherent, the early disposal of a beloved character feels cheap, the mask is a misstep, and the introduction of the Man in Black mystery derails the climax entirely. It's a significant step down from H4, feeling rushed and unsure of its identity. For die-hard Halloween fans and VHS hoarders, it remains a necessary, if often frustrating, chapter in the saga – a weird, dark detour on the road back to Haddonfield that leaves you pondering what might have been. Doesn't that strangely ornate Myers house still stick in your memory, though?