On the heels of the success of Halloween 4, which had successfully revitalized the dormant franchise, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers hit theaters just one year later. Unfortunately though, it was a huge step down in quality, delivering a very subpar and frustrating installment of the series.
Where Halloween 4 had managed to get the elements right for a crowd-pleasing entry in the series that didn't insult the audience, Revenge was not nearly as satisfying. First off was the decision to essentially undo the wonderful twist ending to the fourth film: while these events are not ignored, they are quickly made to be far less severe than they appeared and their ramifications are ultimately not dealt with. It was a real copout and letdown for audiences who were very excited to see where the series was going to go, after 4 seemed to strongly hint that some big changes were in store.
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Once again, Michael is pursuing his young niece, Jamie (Danielle Harris) and Harris is easily the best thing about Halloween 5. In an unnecessary move, Jamie has been rendered mute as the film begins, but Harris again brings a lot of gravity and seriousness to her role as this very traumatized little girl, who once again finds Uncle Michael trying to kill her on a night most kids have a ton of fun on. Also back again is Dr. Loomis (the late Donald Pleasance), here perhaps at his most manic and unhinged; in a few scenes, Jamie seems in danger from Loomis too, who seems like he's finally really lost it a bit, having pursued Michael all these years.
On the other hand, the film is a total mess when it comes to introducing new characters. Tina (Wendy Kaplan) takes up a ton of screen time - a flighty friend of Jamie's family who finds herself in the midst of Michael's new killing spree. The character is meant to be a funky, offbeat girl who dances to the beat of her own drum, in her own, lovable way. However, she comes off as insufferably annoying, with her little noises and forced quirks. And then there are the "comic relief" cops, who seem to have been transplanted in from Police Academy, and come complete with nauseating sound effects and wacky music.
Where Halloween 4 (mostly) had characters behave more appropriately and proactively, Halloween 5 is firmly entrenched in the cliché horror movie realm where the characters do everything movies like this are mocked for, continually putting themselves in needless danger. Meanwhile, a well-liked returning character is dispatched early on here, and not only does it feel like a questionable decision, but then it's not used in any interesting way, nor even mentioned or discovered by anyone else for the next hour of the film.
Then there's the incredibly random and out of nowhere inclusion of the Man in Black, a mysterious stranger who watches from afar throughout the film, clearly having a connection to Michael that raises many questions the film gives no answers to. Halloween 5 features a huge cliffhanger, which while nowhere near as powerful as Halloween 4's conclusion, definitely left the fans anxiously awaiting what would happen next. Sadly the answers Halloween 6 delivered six year later were some of the worst, most laughable decisions possible. Of course, you don't want to hold another film against it, but Halloween 5 is a poor film by itself.
There are a couple of nicely done sequences, most notably a rather scary and claustrophobic scene in which Jamie is trapped inside a laundry chute, with Michael doing everything he can to pull or stab her out of it. But more often, the film just doesn't hit the mark and coming off of Halloween 4, it's easy to note how little the film works by comparison.
Halloween 5, for all its faults, was always a rather well-shot and often “pretty” example of a slasher movie, and the new, first-ever Blu-ray release of The Revenge of Michael Myers definitely delivers a strong transfer. Even better looking than the already-impressive 2006 DVD, Halloween 5’s transfer is very clean and clear and the best this movie has ever been, visually. The audio isn’t as impressive, but is serviceable.
The one brand new extra feature is a new commentary track from Don Shanks, who played Michael Myers in the film, and Justin Beahm (editor-in-chief of halloweenmovies.com and author of the upcoming Halloween: The Complete Authorized History). Beahm’s presence helps the commentary immensely, as he asks Shanks a lot of questions about his time on the set, although there are moments where the actor’s memory and/or area of expertise can’t fully answer a question. Still, it’s an informative commentary. [Note: The packaging incorrectly says the new commentary is with Dominique Othenin-Girard and Beahm.]
Ported over from the 2006 DVD is an earlier commentary from Danielle Harris, Jeffrey Landman (he played Jamie’s young friend, Billy) and director Dominique Othenin-Girard. As weak as a film as Halloween 5 is, this is a great commentary track, with Landman providing plenty of great stories (this guy has an impressive memory) and Harris and Othenin-Girard engaging in a friendly but in-depth conversation, as she asks him some rather pointed questions about some of his decisions on the film that it’s clear she wasn’t quite thrilled with.
Also ported over from the 2006 DVD is a rather random assortment of behind-the-scenes footage, though the “Inside Halloween 5” featurette from both the 2001 and 2006 DVDs is not on this release. However, the two commentaries provided are more than sufficient when it comes to discussing the making of this film from several key players.
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers will be released on Blu-ray on Tuesday, August 21st.
Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.
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