Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Encyclopedia
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a 1988 slasher film
and the fourth installment of the Halloween film series
, directed by Dwight H. Little
and written by Alan B. McElroy
. The central plot focuses on Michael Myers
returning home to kill his niece Jamie Lloyd
(Danielle Harris
), the daughter of Laurie Strode
, with Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence
) once more pursuing him.
As the title suggests, this film marks the return of Michael Myers, the central villain of Halloween
(1978) and Halloween II
(1981), due to his absence in Halloween III: Season of the Witch
(1982). Initially, John Carpenter and co-producer Debra Hill retired the Myers plot outline after the second installment of the series, intending to feature a new Halloween-season related plot every sequel, of which Halloween III would be the first. However, due to the lack of success of the third film, Halloween 4 reintroduced a Myers-related plot.
and has been in a coma since, escapes while being transferred from one sanitarium to another, killing the driver and paramedics inside the ambulance in which he is riding. Prior to escaping, Michael learns that his niece, Jamie Lloyd is still alive in Haddonfield, Illinois. Dr. Samuel Loomis, Michael's old psychiatrist, who also survived the explosion 10 years earlier, learns of Michael's escape and resumes his pursuit to try to stop his murderous patient. He follows Michael to a small gas station and eatery, where Loomis learns Michael has killed a mechanic for his clothes, along with a clerk. Michael then escapes in a tow truck and causes a small explosion, destroying Loomis's car in the process. Loomis is then forced to hitchhike to Haddonfield.
Meanwhile, in the town of Haddonfield, Illinois, 7-year old Jamie Lloyd is living with her foster family - The Carruthers - with her foster mother and father and her teenage foster sister Rachel. It is Halloween and Jamie's foster parents, Richard and Darlene, are heading out for the night and Rachel is forced to babysit - causing her to miss her date with her boyfriend Brady. Jamie does not know about her uncle, Michael Myers, and also is unaware her uncle is the strange man she has been having nightmares about. After school, Rachel takes Jamie to buy a Halloween costume and Michael has already arrived to Haddonfield, and almost attacks Jamie in the costume store. That night, Rachel and Jamie go trick-or-treating and Michael goes to the power plant and murders a worker by throwing him onto the electrical box, plunging the town into darkness. Dr. Loomis arrives in town and joins forces with the Sheriff of Haddonfield, Sheriff Meeker. Michael single-handedly takes down a police station and slaughters the police force; later, a group of men form a lynch mob to hunt down Myers.
Rachel discovers her boyfriend Brady cheating on her with the Sheriff's daughter, Kelly, and loses Jamie. After being chased by Myers, Rachel meets up with Jamie and both are found by the Sheriff and Dr. Loomis who warns them about Michael. They take Rachel and Jamie to Sheriff Meeker's house with Kelly and Brady, and a deputy. They lock and board up the house, and Loomis departs to look for Michael. With Meeker in the basement awaiting the arrival of the state police, Michael enters the house quietly, undetected by everyone in it and begins to murder everyone. He kills a deputy off-screen, and then murders Kelly by impaling her with a shotgun. Rachel discovers the carnage, and races upstairs to get Jamie, but she is gone. Brady and Rachel realize they are trapped in the house, and Rachel finds Jamie. Michael appears and struggles with Brady, before breaking his neck and killing him. Michael then chases Rachel and Jamie up to the attic. They climb through a window onto the roof and Jamie is lowered down safely, but Michael attacks Rachel and knocks her off the roof. Jamie has little time to mourn, because Michael begins pursuing Jamie. She runs down the street, screaming for help and runs into Dr. Loomis; they take shelter in the school. Michael follows them, throws Loomis through a glass door, and then goes after Jamie. He chases her through the school and running in a panic, Jamie trips and falls down a flight of stairs. Michael is just about to kill his helpless niece, when Rachel appears, alive, and sprays Michael in the face with a fire extinguisher.
The lynch mob and the state police arrive at the school after hearing the alarm and four men from the mob agree to take Jamie and Rachel over to the next town in a pick-up truck. Michael has hidden on the underside of the truck; he climbs into the bed of the truck and kills the men, including the driver. Rachel is forced to drive, continuously attempting to throw the killer off. She succeeds in doing so, and finally rams him with the truck, sending him flying into a ditch near an abandoned mine. The police arrive and as Jamie approaches Michael and touches his hand, he rises. The police shoot Michael until he falls down the abandoned mine and is presumed dead.
Jamie and Rachel are taken home and Darlene and Richard - who have arrived home - console their traumatized children. Darlene goes upstairs to run Jamie a bath, and Jamie dons a clown mask and stabs her foster mother with a pair of scissors (much like young Michael Myers). Jamie apparently was possessed by Michael when she touched his hand. The film ends with Jamie standing at the top of the stairs with the scissors in her hand, covered in blood, with Dr. Loomis screaming "NO!" as Richard, Rachel and Sheriff Meeker stare in terror.
, Moustapha Akkad
wanted to move further with the franchise and bring back Michael Myers. According to producer Paul Freeman, a friend of Akkad with a long list of credits to his name, explained to Fangoria
magazine in 1988, everybody came out of Halloween III saying, "Where's Michael?" John Carpenter was approached by Cannon Films, who had just finished 1986's release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, to write and direct Halloween 4. Debra Hill planned to produce the film, while Carpenter teamed up with Dennis Etchison
who, under the pseudonym Jack Martin, had written novelizations of both Halloween II
(1981) and Halloween III: Season of the Witch
(1982) to write a script to Halloween 4.
However, Akkad rejected the Etchison script, calling it "too cerebral" and insisting that any new Halloween sequel must feature Myers as a flesh and blood killer. In an interview, Etchison explained how he received the phone call informing him of the rejection of his script. Etchison said, "I received a call from Debra Hill and she said, 'Dennis, I just wanted you to know that John and I have sold our interest in the title 'Halloween' and unfortunately, your script was not part of the deal."
Carpenter and Hill had signed all of their rights away to Akkad, who gained ownership. Akkad says, "I just went back to the basics of Halloween on Halloween 4 and it was the most
successful." As Carpenter refused to continue his involvement with the series, a new director was sought out. Dwight H. Little
, a native from Ohio, replaced Carpenter. Little had previously directed episodes for Freddy's Nightmares
and the film Bloodstone
.
, a native from Cleveland, Ohio
—was brought in to the write the script for Halloween 4. The writer's strike
was to begin on March 7, 1988. This forced McElroy to develop a concept, pitch the story, and send in the final draft in under eleven days. McElroy came up with the idea of Brittany "Britti" Lloyd, Laurie Strode's daughter, to be chased by her uncle, who has escaped from Ridgemont after being in a coma for ten years. Dr. Samuel Loomis, who has also survived the fiery explosion at the end of Halloween II
, goes looking for Michael with Sheriff Meeker. The setting of the place was once again Haddonfield, Illinois. The character of Laurie Strode was revealed to have died in a car accident, leaving Britti with the Carruthers family, which included Rachel, the family's seventeen-year-old daughter. Britti's name was later changed to Jamie, an homage to Laurie Strode actress Jamie Lee Curtis
.
McElroy told Fangoria
: ""When I first saw the original, I was dating a girl and took her to a theater in Boston to see it. We were the only ones in the place, but she was climbing all over me. When Halloween II came out, a group of friends and I got completely blitzed and saw it, and we had the best time. So when the director, Dwight Little, asked me to write the script, I jumped at the chance. Here I was going to bring the Shape — Michael Myers — back to life. It's a piece of film history. He's truly an icon."
In the original draft, Sheriff Ben Meeker was to be killed during the Shape's attack on the Meeker house. A fire would have started in the basement and burnt down the entire house. The scene on top of the roof with the Shape, Rachel, and Jamie was supposed to be engulfed in flames. This was cut due to budget issues. A more "soap opera" feel was added to the film, which included the triangle of the teenagers and their relationship situations. Rachel is dating Brady, who is also having sex with the buxom blonde Kelly Meeker. In addition, in the finale, Jamie was originally intended to have murdered her stepmother, Darlene Carruthers while drawing the bath, and become evil. This idea was rejected for Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
(1989).
, who reprised his role as Samuel Loomis, Michael Myers' psychiatrist
. Before McElroy's script was chosen, the producers asked Jamie Lee Curtis
to reprise her role as Laurie Strode, the original's heroine. Curtis had become a success in the film industry and had established a career with her roles in films like Trading Places
(1983) and A Fish Called Wanda
(1988). Curtis declined and did not want to continue her participation in the film, although she did return for Halloween: H20 (1998). As a result, her character was written out and supposedly died in a car accident, which is briefly explained in the film.
The script introduced Laurie Strode's seven-year-old daughter, Jamie Lloyd. Melissa Joan Hart
had auditioned for the role, among various other girls. Up against her was Danielle Harris, who had previously starred in One Life to Live
as Samantha Garretson. Rebecca Shaeffer had auditioned for the role of Rachel Carruthers, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Twenty-four-year-old Ellie Cornell
had also auditioned. Cornell had chosen to audition for Halloween 4 and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
(1988) as the role of Kristen Parker, after Patricia Arquette
had declined to return as Kristen. Cornell chose Halloween 4 and had successfully landed the role of Rachel. Beau Starr
was cast as the new Sheriff, Ben Meeker, replacing Sheriff Lee Brackett (Charles Cyphers
), and Kathleen Kinmont
was cast as the Sheriff's daughter, Kelly. George P. Wilbur
was cast to play Michael Myers.
began on April 11, 1988. Instead of filming in Pasadena, California
(the original filming location and stand in for Haddonfield) due to high-rising costs, filming took place in Salt Lake City, Utah
. As filming was taking place in March, during springtime, the producers were forced to import leaves and big squash, which they would use to create pumpkins by painting them orange, which was also done during the filming of the original Halloween. "One of the obvious challenges in making a part four of anything is to interest a contemporary audience in old characters and themes" said director Dwight H. Little
. "What I'm trying to do is capture the mood of the original Halloween and yet take a lot of new chances. What we're attempting to do is walk a fine line between horror and mystery. Halloween 4 will not be an ax-in-the-forehead kind of movie." Paul Freeman agreed. "This film does contain some humorous moments, but it's not of the spoof or send-up variety. It's humor that rises out of the film's situations and quickly turns back into terror."
George P. Wilbur
, who was cast as Michael Myers for this film, wore hockey pads under the costume to make himself look more physically imposing. During filming, the cast and crew made it a point to take it easy on Danielle Harris, as she was only a young child at the time, and made sure that she was not scared too badly and knew that none of it was real; to this end, Wilbur regularly removed the mask in front of her in order to remind her that it was just a movie and he was not going to hurt her.
The late night scenes caused issues with the cast. Garlan Wilde, a gaffer for the film, was injured during the scene between Brady and the Shape when he dropped a light and accidentally slit his wrists. He was rushed to the hospital. In addition, while filming the rooftop scene, Ellie Cornell cut her stomach open on a large nail while sliding down the roof, though she continued filming the scene despite losing a sizable amount of blood. During most of the night scenes, Donald Pleasence became so cold that he wore a hat for most of the scenes, unbeknownst to the crew. This caused over six hours of footage to be re-shot. The shoot lasted about 41 days and Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harris were required to be on set for 36 of those days.
During filming it was considered that the customized 1975 Captain Kirk
mask be reused for this film. However, the mask was long gone and a new one was purchased from a local costume shop. The producers wanted to test and see what it would look like without the edits. The school scene was filmed and when reviewing the producers did not like how the mask turned out. It was allegedly customized again but did not live up to the original and the producers felt it was too old and went for a new mask. Some scenes had to be re-shot with the new mask. The only scene left in is when Loomis is thrown through a glass door; as Michael comes up behind him, the unaltered face and blonde hair is visible.
After viewing the film's rough cut
, director Dwight H. Little and producer Moustapha Akkad
decided that the film's violence was too soft, and so an extra day of "blood filming" commenced. Special effects makeup artist
John Carl Buechler was brought in to create the thumb in the forehead kill and neck-twisting of the redneck
seen in the film's final cut.
twist. Howarth also included new tracks such as "Jamie's Nightmare", "Return of the Shape", and "Police Station."
, becoming the fifth best performing film in the Halloween series. The film has received a mixed to negative critical reception. It currently has a score of 43 on Metacritic
, which indicates mixed or average reviews, placing it higher than Halloween II
; on Rotten Tomatoes
, the film has a "rotten" score with only 23%.
Halloween 4 was nominated for two Saturn Awards by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for Best Horror Film and Best Writing in 1990.
. In 1999, Anchor Bay's
company, Divimax, released transferred, better-quality editions of this film and its sequel for DVD. Supplements include the Halloween 4/5 Panel at the Return to Haddonfield convention, theatrical trailer, Halloween 4 Final Cut – a "behind-the-scenes" documentary, a commentary with Danielle Harris and Ellie Cornell, and another commentary by Alan B. McElroy and Anthony Masi. Halloween 4, along with Halloween 5, and Halloween
, was released with the documentary, Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, and The Shape's mask in 2008 in the limited 30th anniversary box set of the first film.
was published, containing 224 pages. The novel closely follows the film's events, with a few alterations. In 2003, the novel was re-issued with new material and cover art, titled "Halloween IV: the Special Limited Edition".
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
and the fourth installment of the Halloween film series
Halloween (franchise)
Halloween is an American horror franchise that consists of ten slasher films, novels, and comic books. The franchise focuses on the fictional character of Michael Myers who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his older sister, Judith Myers...
, directed by Dwight H. Little
Dwight H. Little
Dwight Hubbard Little is an American film director, known for directing the films Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, The Phantom of the Opera, Marked for Death, Rapid Fire and Murder at 1600...
and written by Alan B. McElroy
Alan B. McElroy
Alan B. McElroy is an American writer, film director and producer.McElroy was born in Cleveland, Ohio and is a graduate of Miami University with a degree in Psychology.He is the creator of Wrong Turn.- External links :...
. The central plot focuses on Michael Myers
Michael Myers (Halloween)
Michael Myers is a fictional character from the Halloween series of slasher films. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween as a young boy who murders his older sister, then fifteen years later returns home to murder more teenagers...
returning home to kill his niece Jamie Lloyd
Jamie Lloyd
Jamie Lloyd is a fictional character in the Halloween film series, serving as the series protagonist in Halloween 4 and 5. The character also makes a brief appearance in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers....
(Danielle Harris
Danielle Harris
Danielle Andrea Harris is an American film and television actress, best known as a scream queen for her roles in several horror films, four of them in the Halloween series: in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers as Jamie Lloyd and in Halloween and...
), the daughter of Laurie Strode
Laurie Strode
Laurie Strode is a fictional character in the Halloween horror film series, portrayed by actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Scout Taylor-Compton. She appears in six of the present ten Halloween installments, first appearing in John Carpenter's original 1978 film...
, with Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
) once more pursuing him.
As the title suggests, this film marks the return of Michael Myers, the central villain of Halloween
Halloween (1978 film)
Halloween is a 1978 American independent horror film directed, produced, and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut and the first installment in the Halloween franchise. The film is set in the fictional midwestern...
(1978) and Halloween II
Halloween II
Halloween II is a 1981 slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal, and written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. It is the second installment in the Halloween series and is a direct sequel to the Halloween set on the same night of October 31, 1978 as the seemingly unkillable Michael Myers continues to...
(1981), due to his absence in Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 science fiction horror film and the third installment in the Halloween film series. It is the only Halloween where the story does not revolve around Michael Myers. Directed and written by Tommy Lee Wallace, the film stars Tom Atkins as Dr. Dan Challis,...
(1982). Initially, John Carpenter and co-producer Debra Hill retired the Myers plot outline after the second installment of the series, intending to feature a new Halloween-season related plot every sequel, of which Halloween III would be the first. However, due to the lack of success of the third film, Halloween 4 reintroduced a Myers-related plot.
Plot
Michael Myers, who survived the explosion at the end of Halloween IIHalloween II
Halloween II is a 1981 slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal, and written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. It is the second installment in the Halloween series and is a direct sequel to the Halloween set on the same night of October 31, 1978 as the seemingly unkillable Michael Myers continues to...
and has been in a coma since, escapes while being transferred from one sanitarium to another, killing the driver and paramedics inside the ambulance in which he is riding. Prior to escaping, Michael learns that his niece, Jamie Lloyd is still alive in Haddonfield, Illinois. Dr. Samuel Loomis, Michael's old psychiatrist, who also survived the explosion 10 years earlier, learns of Michael's escape and resumes his pursuit to try to stop his murderous patient. He follows Michael to a small gas station and eatery, where Loomis learns Michael has killed a mechanic for his clothes, along with a clerk. Michael then escapes in a tow truck and causes a small explosion, destroying Loomis's car in the process. Loomis is then forced to hitchhike to Haddonfield.
Meanwhile, in the town of Haddonfield, Illinois, 7-year old Jamie Lloyd is living with her foster family - The Carruthers - with her foster mother and father and her teenage foster sister Rachel. It is Halloween and Jamie's foster parents, Richard and Darlene, are heading out for the night and Rachel is forced to babysit - causing her to miss her date with her boyfriend Brady. Jamie does not know about her uncle, Michael Myers, and also is unaware her uncle is the strange man she has been having nightmares about. After school, Rachel takes Jamie to buy a Halloween costume and Michael has already arrived to Haddonfield, and almost attacks Jamie in the costume store. That night, Rachel and Jamie go trick-or-treating and Michael goes to the power plant and murders a worker by throwing him onto the electrical box, plunging the town into darkness. Dr. Loomis arrives in town and joins forces with the Sheriff of Haddonfield, Sheriff Meeker. Michael single-handedly takes down a police station and slaughters the police force; later, a group of men form a lynch mob to hunt down Myers.
Rachel discovers her boyfriend Brady cheating on her with the Sheriff's daughter, Kelly, and loses Jamie. After being chased by Myers, Rachel meets up with Jamie and both are found by the Sheriff and Dr. Loomis who warns them about Michael. They take Rachel and Jamie to Sheriff Meeker's house with Kelly and Brady, and a deputy. They lock and board up the house, and Loomis departs to look for Michael. With Meeker in the basement awaiting the arrival of the state police, Michael enters the house quietly, undetected by everyone in it and begins to murder everyone. He kills a deputy off-screen, and then murders Kelly by impaling her with a shotgun. Rachel discovers the carnage, and races upstairs to get Jamie, but she is gone. Brady and Rachel realize they are trapped in the house, and Rachel finds Jamie. Michael appears and struggles with Brady, before breaking his neck and killing him. Michael then chases Rachel and Jamie up to the attic. They climb through a window onto the roof and Jamie is lowered down safely, but Michael attacks Rachel and knocks her off the roof. Jamie has little time to mourn, because Michael begins pursuing Jamie. She runs down the street, screaming for help and runs into Dr. Loomis; they take shelter in the school. Michael follows them, throws Loomis through a glass door, and then goes after Jamie. He chases her through the school and running in a panic, Jamie trips and falls down a flight of stairs. Michael is just about to kill his helpless niece, when Rachel appears, alive, and sprays Michael in the face with a fire extinguisher.
The lynch mob and the state police arrive at the school after hearing the alarm and four men from the mob agree to take Jamie and Rachel over to the next town in a pick-up truck. Michael has hidden on the underside of the truck; he climbs into the bed of the truck and kills the men, including the driver. Rachel is forced to drive, continuously attempting to throw the killer off. She succeeds in doing so, and finally rams him with the truck, sending him flying into a ditch near an abandoned mine. The police arrive and as Jamie approaches Michael and touches his hand, he rises. The police shoot Michael until he falls down the abandoned mine and is presumed dead.
Jamie and Rachel are taken home and Darlene and Richard - who have arrived home - console their traumatized children. Darlene goes upstairs to run Jamie a bath, and Jamie dons a clown mask and stabs her foster mother with a pair of scissors (much like young Michael Myers). Jamie apparently was possessed by Michael when she touched his hand. The film ends with Jamie standing at the top of the stairs with the scissors in her hand, covered in blood, with Dr. Loomis screaming "NO!" as Richard, Rachel and Sheriff Meeker stare in terror.
Movie Production
After the movie Halloween III: Season of the WitchHalloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 science fiction horror film and the third installment in the Halloween film series. It is the only Halloween where the story does not revolve around Michael Myers. Directed and written by Tommy Lee Wallace, the film stars Tom Atkins as Dr. Dan Challis,...
, Moustapha Akkad
Moustapha Akkad
Moustapha Akkad was a Syrian American film producer and director, best known for producing the series of Halloween films and directing Mohammad, Messenger of God and Lion of the Desert. He was killed along with his daughter Rima Akkad Monla in 2005 in Amman, Jordan by a suicide bomber.-Early life...
wanted to move further with the franchise and bring back Michael Myers. According to producer Paul Freeman, a friend of Akkad with a long list of credits to his name, explained to Fangoria
Fangoria
Fangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...
magazine in 1988, everybody came out of Halloween III saying, "Where's Michael?" John Carpenter was approached by Cannon Films, who had just finished 1986's release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, to write and direct Halloween 4. Debra Hill planned to produce the film, while Carpenter teamed up with Dennis Etchison
Dennis Etchison
Dennis William Etchison , is an American writer and editor of fantasy and horror fiction. Etchison refers to his own work as “rather dark, depressing, almost pathologically inward fiction about the individual in relation to the world.”Stephen King has called Dennis Etchison “one hell of a fiction...
who, under the pseudonym Jack Martin, had written novelizations of both Halloween II
Halloween II
Halloween II is a 1981 slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal, and written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. It is the second installment in the Halloween series and is a direct sequel to the Halloween set on the same night of October 31, 1978 as the seemingly unkillable Michael Myers continues to...
(1981) and Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a 1982 science fiction horror film and the third installment in the Halloween film series. It is the only Halloween where the story does not revolve around Michael Myers. Directed and written by Tommy Lee Wallace, the film stars Tom Atkins as Dr. Dan Challis,...
(1982) to write a script to Halloween 4.
| "Halloween was banned in Haddonfield and I think that the basic idea was that if you tried to suppress something, it would only rear its head more strongly. By the very [attempt] of trying to erase the memory of Michael Myers, [the teenagers] were going to ironically bring him back into existence." |
| — Dennis Etchison on his idea for Halloween 4 . |
However, Akkad rejected the Etchison script, calling it "too cerebral" and insisting that any new Halloween sequel must feature Myers as a flesh and blood killer. In an interview, Etchison explained how he received the phone call informing him of the rejection of his script. Etchison said, "I received a call from Debra Hill and she said, 'Dennis, I just wanted you to know that John and I have sold our interest in the title 'Halloween' and unfortunately, your script was not part of the deal."
Carpenter and Hill had signed all of their rights away to Akkad, who gained ownership. Akkad says, "I just went back to the basics of Halloween on Halloween 4 and it was the most
successful." As Carpenter refused to continue his involvement with the series, a new director was sought out. Dwight H. Little
Dwight H. Little
Dwight Hubbard Little is an American film director, known for directing the films Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, The Phantom of the Opera, Marked for Death, Rapid Fire and Murder at 1600...
, a native from Ohio, replaced Carpenter. Little had previously directed episodes for Freddy's Nightmares
Freddy's Nightmares
Freddy's Nightmares is an American horror anthology series, which aired in syndication from October 1988 until March 1990. A spin-off from the Nightmare on Elm Street series, each story was introduced by Freddy Krueger...
and the film Bloodstone
Bloodstone
Bloodstone may refer to:*Bloodstone , an R&B, soul and funk band**Bloodstone, a 1972 album of Bloodstone*James Bond 007: Blood Stone, a 2010 James Bond video game*Ulysses Bloodstone, fictional comic character...
.
Writing
On February 25, 1988, a writer—Alan B. McElroyAlan B. McElroy
Alan B. McElroy is an American writer, film director and producer.McElroy was born in Cleveland, Ohio and is a graduate of Miami University with a degree in Psychology.He is the creator of Wrong Turn.- External links :...
, a native from Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
—was brought in to the write the script for Halloween 4. The writer's strike
1988 Writers Guild of America strike
The 1988 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action taken by members of both the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West against major United States television and film studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers...
was to begin on March 7, 1988. This forced McElroy to develop a concept, pitch the story, and send in the final draft in under eleven days. McElroy came up with the idea of Brittany "Britti" Lloyd, Laurie Strode's daughter, to be chased by her uncle, who has escaped from Ridgemont after being in a coma for ten years. Dr. Samuel Loomis, who has also survived the fiery explosion at the end of Halloween II
Halloween II
Halloween II is a 1981 slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal, and written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. It is the second installment in the Halloween series and is a direct sequel to the Halloween set on the same night of October 31, 1978 as the seemingly unkillable Michael Myers continues to...
, goes looking for Michael with Sheriff Meeker. The setting of the place was once again Haddonfield, Illinois. The character of Laurie Strode was revealed to have died in a car accident, leaving Britti with the Carruthers family, which included Rachel, the family's seventeen-year-old daughter. Britti's name was later changed to Jamie, an homage to Laurie Strode actress Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
.
McElroy told Fangoria
Fangoria
Fangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...
: ""When I first saw the original, I was dating a girl and took her to a theater in Boston to see it. We were the only ones in the place, but she was climbing all over me. When Halloween II came out, a group of friends and I got completely blitzed and saw it, and we had the best time. So when the director, Dwight Little, asked me to write the script, I jumped at the chance. Here I was going to bring the Shape — Michael Myers — back to life. It's a piece of film history. He's truly an icon."
In the original draft, Sheriff Ben Meeker was to be killed during the Shape's attack on the Meeker house. A fire would have started in the basement and burnt down the entire house. The scene on top of the roof with the Shape, Rachel, and Jamie was supposed to be engulfed in flames. This was cut due to budget issues. A more "soap opera" feel was added to the film, which included the triangle of the teenagers and their relationship situations. Rachel is dating Brady, who is also having sex with the buxom blonde Kelly Meeker. In addition, in the finale, Jamie was originally intended to have murdered her stepmother, Darlene Carruthers while drawing the bath, and become evil. This idea was rejected for Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is a 1989 American slasher film and the fifth installment in the Halloween film series. It was directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard and starred Donald Pleasence, who again portrayed Dr. Sam Loomis and Danielle Harris, who returned to play Jamie Lloyd...
(1989).
Casting
The cast of Halloween 4 only included one veteran actor from the original film and its sequel; Donald PleasenceDonald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
, who reprised his role as Samuel Loomis, Michael Myers' psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
. Before McElroy's script was chosen, the producers asked Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
to reprise her role as Laurie Strode, the original's heroine. Curtis had become a success in the film industry and had established a career with her roles in films like Trading Places
Trading Places
Trading Places is a 1983 American comedy film, of the satire genre, directed by John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. It tells the story of an upper class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler whose lives cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet...
(1983) and A Fish Called Wanda
A Fish Called Wanda
A Fish Called Wanda is a 1988 crime-comedy film written by John Cleese and Charles Crichton. It was directed by Crichton and an uncredited Cleese, and stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin. The film is about a jewel heist and its aftermath...
(1988). Curtis declined and did not want to continue her participation in the film, although she did return for Halloween: H20 (1998). As a result, her character was written out and supposedly died in a car accident, which is briefly explained in the film.
The script introduced Laurie Strode's seven-year-old daughter, Jamie Lloyd. Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Catherine Hart is an American actress, writer, television director, television producer, singer and businesswoman...
had auditioned for the role, among various other girls. Up against her was Danielle Harris, who had previously starred in One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
as Samantha Garretson. Rebecca Shaeffer had auditioned for the role of Rachel Carruthers, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Twenty-four-year-old Ellie Cornell
Ellie Cornell
Ellie Cornell is an American actress and movie producer, known primarily for her roles in horror films. After her marriage to producer Mark Gottwald, she is sometimes credited as Ellie Gottwald.-Career:...
had also auditioned. Cornell had chosen to audition for Halloween 4 and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master is a 1988 American slasher film and the fourth film in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin.-Plot:...
(1988) as the role of Kristen Parker, after Patricia Arquette
Patricia Arquette
Patricia T. Arquette is an American actress and director. She played the lead character in the supernatural drama series Medium for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series....
had declined to return as Kristen. Cornell chose Halloween 4 and had successfully landed the role of Rachel. Beau Starr
Beau Starr
Beau Starr is an American actor who has starred in movies and on television. He is known for his film role as Sheriff Ben Meeker in the 1988 hit horror movie Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers; he reprised his role in the 1989 sequel Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.Starr was born...
was cast as the new Sheriff, Ben Meeker, replacing Sheriff Lee Brackett (Charles Cyphers
Charles Cyphers
Charles Cyphers is an American actor who has starred in many films and on television. He is known in the horror movie community for his work in the films of John Carpenter, especially his role as Sheriff Leigh Brackett in Carpenter's 1978 hit horror movie Halloween. He reprised this role in the...
), and Kathleen Kinmont
Kathleen Kinmont
Kathleen Kinmont is an American actress who starred in film and on television. Kinmont is perhaps best known for starring in horror movies.-Career:...
was cast as the Sheriff's daughter, Kelly. George P. Wilbur
George P. Wilbur
-Biography:Wilbur played Michael Myers in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, the fourth and sixth films of the Halloween film series. He was the first actor to portray Michael Myers more than once during the film series...
was cast to play Michael Myers.
Filming
Principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
began on April 11, 1988. Instead of filming in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
(the original filming location and stand in for Haddonfield) due to high-rising costs, filming took place in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. As filming was taking place in March, during springtime, the producers were forced to import leaves and big squash, which they would use to create pumpkins by painting them orange, which was also done during the filming of the original Halloween. "One of the obvious challenges in making a part four of anything is to interest a contemporary audience in old characters and themes" said director Dwight H. Little
Dwight H. Little
Dwight Hubbard Little is an American film director, known for directing the films Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, The Phantom of the Opera, Marked for Death, Rapid Fire and Murder at 1600...
. "What I'm trying to do is capture the mood of the original Halloween and yet take a lot of new chances. What we're attempting to do is walk a fine line between horror and mystery. Halloween 4 will not be an ax-in-the-forehead kind of movie." Paul Freeman agreed. "This film does contain some humorous moments, but it's not of the spoof or send-up variety. It's humor that rises out of the film's situations and quickly turns back into terror."
George P. Wilbur
George P. Wilbur
-Biography:Wilbur played Michael Myers in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, the fourth and sixth films of the Halloween film series. He was the first actor to portray Michael Myers more than once during the film series...
, who was cast as Michael Myers for this film, wore hockey pads under the costume to make himself look more physically imposing. During filming, the cast and crew made it a point to take it easy on Danielle Harris, as she was only a young child at the time, and made sure that she was not scared too badly and knew that none of it was real; to this end, Wilbur regularly removed the mask in front of her in order to remind her that it was just a movie and he was not going to hurt her.
The late night scenes caused issues with the cast. Garlan Wilde, a gaffer for the film, was injured during the scene between Brady and the Shape when he dropped a light and accidentally slit his wrists. He was rushed to the hospital. In addition, while filming the rooftop scene, Ellie Cornell cut her stomach open on a large nail while sliding down the roof, though she continued filming the scene despite losing a sizable amount of blood. During most of the night scenes, Donald Pleasence became so cold that he wore a hat for most of the scenes, unbeknownst to the crew. This caused over six hours of footage to be re-shot. The shoot lasted about 41 days and Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harris were required to be on set for 36 of those days.
During filming it was considered that the customized 1975 Captain Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
mask be reused for this film. However, the mask was long gone and a new one was purchased from a local costume shop. The producers wanted to test and see what it would look like without the edits. The school scene was filmed and when reviewing the producers did not like how the mask turned out. It was allegedly customized again but did not live up to the original and the producers felt it was too old and went for a new mask. Some scenes had to be re-shot with the new mask. The only scene left in is when Loomis is thrown through a glass door; as Michael comes up behind him, the unaltered face and blonde hair is visible.
After viewing the film's rough cut
Rough cut
In filmmaking, the rough cut is the second of three stages of offline editing. The rough cut is the first stage in which the film begins to resemble its final product...
, director Dwight H. Little and producer Moustapha Akkad
Moustapha Akkad
Moustapha Akkad was a Syrian American film producer and director, best known for producing the series of Halloween films and directing Mohammad, Messenger of God and Lion of the Desert. He was killed along with his daughter Rima Akkad Monla in 2005 in Amman, Jordan by a suicide bomber.-Early life...
decided that the film's violence was too soft, and so an extra day of "blood filming" commenced. Special effects makeup artist
Makeup artist
thumb|[[Michelle Camaclang]], an international-certified professional makeup artistthumb|Special effects makeup techniquesA Make-up artist is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics for theatrical, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions...
John Carl Buechler was brought in to create the thumb in the forehead kill and neck-twisting of the redneck
Redneck
Redneck is a historically derogatory slang term used in reference to poor, uneducated white farmers, especially from the southern United States...
seen in the film's final cut.
Music
The score was performed by Alan Howarth, who had assisted John Carpenter on Halloween II and Halloween III. Howarth gained approval from Dwight H. Little before he could accept the offer, creating a new score that referenced the original's but with a synthesizerSynthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
twist. Howarth also included new tracks such as "Jamie's Nightmare", "Return of the Shape", and "Police Station."
Reception
Halloween 4 opened in 1,679 theaters on October 21, 1988, and grossed $6,831,250 in its opening weekend achieving a total domestic gross of $17,768,757 in the United StatesCinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
, becoming the fifth best performing film in the Halloween series. The film has received a mixed to negative critical reception. It currently has a score of 43 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which indicates mixed or average reviews, placing it higher than Halloween II
Halloween II
Halloween II is a 1981 slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal, and written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. It is the second installment in the Halloween series and is a direct sequel to the Halloween set on the same night of October 31, 1978 as the seemingly unkillable Michael Myers continues to...
; on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the film has a "rotten" score with only 23%.
Halloween 4 was nominated for two Saturn Awards by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for Best Horror Film and Best Writing in 1990.
Home video
The film was first released on VHS in May, 1989 as a rental title. It became for "SALE" in October 1989 to coincide with the release of Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael MyersHalloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is a 1989 American slasher film and the fifth installment in the Halloween film series. It was directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard and starred Donald Pleasence, who again portrayed Dr. Sam Loomis and Danielle Harris, who returned to play Jamie Lloyd...
. In 1999, Anchor Bay's
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is a U.S. based home entertainment and production company and is a division of Starz Media, which is a unit of Starz, LLC. It was previously owned by IDT Entertainment until 2006 when IDT was purchased by Starz Media. Anchor Bay markets and sells feature films, series,...
company, Divimax, released transferred, better-quality editions of this film and its sequel for DVD. Supplements include the Halloween 4/5 Panel at the Return to Haddonfield convention, theatrical trailer, Halloween 4 Final Cut – a "behind-the-scenes" documentary, a commentary with Danielle Harris and Ellie Cornell, and another commentary by Alan B. McElroy and Anthony Masi. Halloween 4, along with Halloween 5, and Halloween
Halloween (1978 film)
Halloween is a 1978 American independent horror film directed, produced, and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut and the first installment in the Halloween franchise. The film is set in the fictional midwestern...
, was released with the documentary, Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, and The Shape's mask in 2008 in the limited 30th anniversary box set of the first film.
Novelization
To tie in with the film's release, a novelization by Nicholas GrabowskyNicholas Grabowsky
Nicholas Grabowsky is a horror/fantasy author and screenwriter.- Biography :Personal LifeNicholas Grabowsky was born Nicholas John Grabowsky in Norwalk, California on May 7, 1966, to parents Arthur J. Grabowsky and Doris Ruth Moreno...
was published, containing 224 pages. The novel closely follows the film's events, with a few alterations. In 2003, the novel was re-issued with new material and cover art, titled "Halloween IV: the Special Limited Edition".