Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Director:

Dwight H. Little

Writers (WGA):

Danny Lipsius (story) &
Larry Rattner (story) ...

Release Date:

21 October 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Ten Years Ago HE Changed The Face Of Halloween. Tonight HE'S BACK!

Plot:

Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece on Halloween. Can Dr. Loomis stop him?

Plot Keywords:

Michael Myers | Halloween | Murder | Ambulance | Knife

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Donald Pleasence	...	Dr. Sam Loomis
Ellie Cornell	...	Rachel Carruthers
Danielle Harris	...	Jamie Lloyd
George P. Wilbur	...	Michael Myers
Michael Pataki	...	Dr. Hoffman
Beau Starr	...	Sheriff Ben Meeker
Kathleen Kinmont	...	Kelly Meeker
Sasha Jenson	...	Brady
Gene Ross	...	Earl
Carmen Filpi	...	Rev. Jackson P. Sayer
Raymond O'Connor	...	Security Guard
Jeff Olson	...	Richard Carruthers
Karen Alston	...	Darlene Carruthers
Nancy Borgenicht	...	Woman Attendant
David Jensen	...	Man Attendant

Also Known As:

Halloween 4 (Philippines: English title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | New Zealand:R13 | Finland:K-16 | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG (cut) | France:-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Midvale, Utah, USA

Company:

Trancas International Films

Trivia:

The girl who drove Rachel and Jamie to the costume store was named Lindsey and is approximately 17 years old. In Halloween (1978), Jamie Lee Curtis babysat a seven year old named Lindsey.

Goofs:

Continuity: The blue sedan Dr. Loomis parks at the pumps outside the gas station is different than the one that blows up minutes later in the same location during a fire. The vehicle he parks is a 1982-1983 Chevy Malibu with four headlamps and one kind of grille. The vehicle that explodes in the fire is a 1980-1981 Malibu with two headlamps and a different grille.

Quotes:

Sheriff Ben Meeker: Oh yeah... I catch you, gropin' my daughter, I'll use that shotgun on you. Understand?
Brady: [Brady nods "yes"]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fear in the Dark (1991) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Halloween Theme

what a return it is

After a seven year absence from the screen, Michael Myers returns. Set ten years after the first two films (#2 was filmed in 1981, but set immediately after #1 in 1978), THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS opens with the infamous killer being transfered between psyhiciatric hospitals. Naturally, he escapes, and, tipped off that he has a niece (daugther of the now-deceased Jamie Lee Curtis character) living in Haddonfield, sets out to find her. Hot on his trail, as always, is Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence). After some were turned off by the more-gruesome deaths in HALLOWEEN 2, this film is more in-line with the original, relying more heavily on suspense and honest scares than blood and gore. For a nine-year-old, Harris delivers a good performance, and Donald Pleasence (as usual) is also good, with a performance that lets you know this is a been-there-don't-want-to-go-through-that-again character. Director Dwight H. Little brings a sense of atmosphere to the film and creates a number of suspenseful scenes. Thankfully, the make-shirt mob of gun-toting beer-guzzlers isn't as bad as it could have been. HALLOWEEN 4 is one of the best of the series.