Halloween - The Curse Of Michael Myers (DVD)

...the sixth instalment of the Halloween series split fans down the middle not so much in terms of quality but in terms of acceptance to the series. Released six years after the fairly mediocre Revenge of Michael Myers it seemed that, even in 1995, Myers was still popular as it grossed $15m in America, hardly mind-blowing but good for a sixth sequel. However this would go direct-to-video in the UK, possibly due to negative feedback from reviews or because ...
...have passed since the last Halloween night Michael went on a rampage. After the shooting in the police station both Myers and his niece Jamie (J.C. Brandy) are presumed missing, if not dead, neither of them being found. People in Haddonfield are finally getting their lives back together after several years without Michael Myers and feel ready to celebrate Halloween once more. However Michael Myers and Jamie are alive. The Man In Black took them away ... more

Also dubbed ‘The Origin of Michael Myers’ the sixth instalment of the Halloween series split fans down the middle not so much in terms of quality but in terms of acceptance to the series. Released six years after the fairly mediocre Revenge of Michael Myers it seemed that, even in 1995, Myers was still popular as it grossed $15m in America, hardly mind-blowing but good for a sixth sequel. However this would go direct-to-video in the UK, possibly due to negative feedback from reviews or because the producers just didn’t think it held a chance theatrically.

The Curse of Michael Myers is one of the more popular parts of the series. It remains notorious for re-writing what everyone thought of Myers up to now and really did mess with the series as a whole. It attempted to explain Michael’s actions and provides an explanation as to why he kills. This ruined the series for some fans, as many believed Michael shouldn’t have a reason to kill, quite rightly so, killing without reason remains more sinister. Two versions of this were made, the theatrical and producers cut. While they had good reason to change some areas for theatres the producers cut is far superior and fills in a lot of gaps that the theatrical version left out, of which you will read about later.

So six years have passed since the last Halloween night Michael went on a rampage. After the shooting in the police station both Myers and his niece Jamie (J.C. Brandy) are presumed missing, if not dead, neither of them being found. People in Haddonfield are finally getting their lives back together after several years without Michael Myers and feel ready to celebrate Halloween once more. However Michael Myers and Jamie are alive. The Man In Black took them away to a hideaway where Jamie was made pregnant by Michael and gives birth six years later (I doubt that’s how long she was actually pregnant though) but attempts to flee in order for her and the baby to live a happier life. Despite hiding the baby from Myers Jamie is caught and killed by him leaving Myers to search for the baby. None other than Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd), the boy who Laurie baby-sat in Halloween, finds the baby and attempts to keep it away from Myers. To add to all the goings on across the road from Tommy the Strodes, a relation to Laurie Strode who now live in the Myers house, are not all that happy. Kara (Marianne Hagan) is having a tough time with her parents due to her illegitimate son Danny (Devin Gardner). Danny is having his own problems thanks to images of the Man In Black insisting him to ‘kill for him’. It is not long before Tommy and Kara team up over the events and Loomis (Donald Pleasance) is not far behind trying to track down and kill Myers again but this time there are a few surprises to be found out along the way.

The film certainly has a long-winded synopsis and is defiantly the most complicated of the Halloween films as there are a lot of new characters to take in but nearly all are in relation to past Halloween films. The plot is also fairly silly as well. However if you thought what you just read was preposterous then leave enough room the actual ‘Curse’ Michael is under and then it really does take the biscuit of credibility. It really does ruin the purity of the original Halloween after seeing this as it just unnecessarily complicates and adds things that are not needed at all and does devalue aspects that the series tried to build up as Michael’s ‘Bogeyman’ image fades ever more so. Of course as well as the main events there is, for all you horror purists, the staple of horny and dumb teenagers and a wave of virginity losing along the way, all with icky and bloody ends most of the time too.

What this film lacks in credibility it succeeds in being fun. This film, despite its confusing plot, is probably the least serious of the Halloween films – intentional or not. You will enjoy watching this film as long as you don’t expect wonders from it and take the goings on with a pinch of salt. This is an entertaining film to watch and enjoy. The style really has changed from the other Halloween films entirely. It’s far more bold and brash than previous films. Gone is the subtle and imposing theme tune and in comes pumped up rock style music. Corridors that may have been moody and unlit are now bathed in the harsh glow of red. Myers also gets back to his Halloween II roots and the deaths are bloodier than ever with inanimate objects such as threshers playing host to his murderous ways. The body count is round about the 14 mark, give or take a few Doctors, while not as many cadavers as Halloween 5 this remains one of the more morgue-filling films of the series.

Where it needs to be the acting is well done. Rudd plays the now grown up loner Tommy convincingly and doesn’t fall into the trap on hamming it up as a considered ‘nut’ of the town. He does make some silly faces when confronted with Myers but I guess anyone would make some kind of face when a masked guy comes at you with a knife. Hagan also performs fine in her role. She’s not quite Jamie Lee Curtis material, though that’s mainly because we have little back-story on her, but she remains constant and focused throughout. David Gardner doesn’t get too much screen time or chance to really display his character enough for us to get a lot of understanding from him therefore if he was thought as a replacement style ‘Young Jamie’ he fails. He does convey innocence but doesn’t really show any ‘dark side’ (apart from one incident but even then it didn’t seem like a real threat) his role really needed a bit more padding out for him to work well but from what he does get to do the young actor does as best he can. The other characters fair less well, due to underdevelopment and also the cramped number of characters in the film. The Strode parents John (Bradford English) and Debra (Kim Darby) are really not used to their full potential, especially English, who comes across the evil Dad but there’s no real dimension to him. Darby is the polar opposite and, again, needs more developing to work. The teenagers and the other Myers fodder do their job but none are especially striking and you wont find yourself caring how they die. This film is notable for being Donald Pleasance’s last performance was Loomis as he died shortly after filming. He was 76 at the time and looks it but he adds so much to the film and he really has become a true asset to the series. It is a shame, then, that we see him relatively few times in the film as many of his scenes are cut though remain in the producers cut.

So the famous producers cut. It is, without a doubt, better than the one on common release. We get to know what happened to Jamie and Michael, as it starts straight from Halloween 5. The 'Man In Black' also gets a bit more of a mention. We see a lot more of the cult in the film. A whole lot of explanations are left in and also a great deal more Pleasance, which can only be a good thing. The ending, though, remains a sole reason to see it. It is far more satisfying than the ending we have and does give a lot more scope than the theatrical cut. The reason why it was cut, more than likely, was because of Loomis’ death after filming but it is testimony that the film had the potential to end on a powerful note. After seeing the producers cut it puts the Curse as you know it firmly in the shade.

The film as a whole, as said, is okay enough. Despite the ridiculous story it is interesting and it should make you at least half interested in what is going on. Unfortunately the scares and tension are quite small. There are a few moments of terror and build up but they are rare and it really goes for schlock instead of shock and at times the bold direction is unfavourable. Although it has more story and dialogue than Halloween 5 it does suffer from the eleven redrafts in went through and it does show sometimes in the film and also shows when watching the theatrical cut unfortunately. It also could have been worth trimming the character list down and focussing more on the Tommy/Loomis/Kara and Danny route.

The Curse of Michael Myers isn’t the best sequel of the series and never will be. It is a fun part to the series though and does at least try to do something with the Myers saga, even if it did ruin it for a number of people. It looks cheap and tacky but that’s what it’s meant to look like its not going for any style points. Watch this film to lose yourself in a world of blood and silly plots but don’t watch it expecting a valuable addition to the series or horror genre.

HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS IS

Violent
Complete with ludicrous story
The last we shall see of Loomis

HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS IS NOT

The best Halloween sequel
Going to win any awards
Subtle

Written for the HALLOWEEN SEASON 2002. 

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