All Hallow's Eve is a day for family! Today's film is the fifth film in the Halloween series. Bucking conventions (as usual), I've covered this series pretty much backwards. I've done Resurrection, skipped H2O (since it doesn't suck) and done Part 6. It's only natural that this film would come up then. The tricky part here is that this film ties together very tightly with Part 4 (future review, no doubt) and, to a certain extent, it's sequel. Of course, the connection also gets a bit silly when you consider certain things that happen. Plus, the films are always set during the same time of the year, so this film has to kind of cheat a little. On the plus side, Donald Pleasance is here to continually class up this series and there's no Paul (Stephen) Rudd this time. Will this film turn the tide in the series' favor and actually make it good? Probably not, but I'm game to find out. If you are too, then read on...
Halloween 4 ends with Michael Meyers being shot, dropped into a well and having dynamite tossed in after him. Naturally, for this sequel to exist, he has to escape in an improbable way...
After finding a Hermit, Meyers heals up for a whole year to prepare for another round of random stalking and killing...
Using the rule of slasher films, this Strode family member has to die this time, as she survived the last time. Damn you, recurring roles!
Meyers' whole 'standing around and nobody seeing him' shtick reaches a climax of silliness here as he is standing next to a tree by a main road. How do they not see you when they drive by?!?
Speaking of silly, he finds his way towards his victim- the Strode niece with a psychic connection- by killing one girl's boyfriend, putting on his mask (over his own, mind you) and driving to where she'll be. Wouldn't that be really uncomfortable?
Since we're 5 films in, we were due for the 'People dress up like the killer for a joke' trope. It's really, really obvious and just sets up more kills later. Hey jerks, not only do you get killed, but you get two cops killed too!
During the film's climax back at the old Meyers home, the psychic girl actually gets Meyers' mask off. It's not the first time, but it is notable that you see so much here.
Ultimately, Meyers gets a metal net dropped on him, shot up with tranquilizers and beaten with a bat. Enjoy your victory, Loomis, because...
...that random person in the black shoes shows up, shoots up the police station and frees Meyers, thus setting up Part 6. The Cult of Thorn cannot be ignored, no matter how much we try! The End.
The fifth time is not the charm. The plot of this movie is certainly decent, but never does enough to make itself seem special. All of the elements are there, but it has no soul. The big problem is that this is the second part of a story. It only serves to continue what was already put in place before. There's nothing wrong with connecting your films, in fact, I encourage it. This film just can't stand on its own though. Putting those complaints aside, there is some good tension and fresh batch of 'murder bait' on display. I would love if they weren't so stock and predictable though. Is it too much to ask for real people in a slasher film? If you're a fan of the series, you'll like this movie. If you aren't, it's pretty dry and predictable. By the way, what happened to Loomis' scar between this film and Part 6? People want to know!
Next up, I celebrate Halloween with not one, but two films. The first one comes to us from Mexico via some cheap Subtitle work. Stay tuned...
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