John Chard
Oct 26, 2015
5/10
You've got to help me Jamie. You've got to help me find him. We both know he's alive.
Halloween 5: The Return of Michael Myers picks up where part 4 left off, only Michael is not dead, obviously! He's come back to Haddonfield intent on finally killing his niece, Jamie (Danielle Harris), who due to trauma has lost the ability to speak and now has a psychic link with mad uncle Michael. Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is once again on hand to be nutty and spout ominous warnings, while all other folk in Myers' way are doomed.
It starts off quite promising, with shades of Frankenstein (1931) offering hope that maybe this wont be a sequel reeking of cash cow formula. Unfortunately it proves to be a false dawn, evidence that the writers were out of ideas, it lacks scares or a narrative spark to ignite suspense sequences. Harris is once again superb, Pleasence good fun as usual as he hams for all he is worth, while an extended sequence in a barn keeps fans of the series happy. It's passable fun for the slasher crowd, but ultimately it's unimaginative and a low point for the Halloween franchise. 5/10