Rushed into production following the success of HALLOWEEN 4, Dominique Othenin-Girard’s fifth entry in the series was, at least until the embarrassing HALLOWEEN : RESURRECTION, arguably the least liked of the franchise. Admittedly, following a simple but unnerving title sequence (a pumpkin carved, Myers-style), part 5 settles into a lazily by-the-numbers retread of past HALLOWEEN scenarios and 4’s little-girl-in-peril shenanigans. It’s a long, long way from the intelligence and craftsmanship of Carpenter’s original…and, yet, the movie is far from a total loss.
At the outset, fans of the preceding film are given short shrift when this film’s script swiftly undermines the impact of its potent twist ending. Jamie’s sudden murderous behavior at that film’s close is glossed over : her step mom survived the stabbing, and she’s now a traumatized mute patient at a kid’s clinic with an unexplained psychic connection to her uncle Michael (played by Donald L Shanks, replacing George P Wilbur from 4). Rather than deal with the hefty and grim story of a homicidal pre-pubescent, part 5 decides to simply bring back Myers again to stalk Danille Harris’ Jamie…again.
Given that Myers survived being burnt to a crisp in HALLOWEEN II, it’s no surprise that he survived his relatively mild fate at the end of part 4. At the start of part 5, in a peculiar homage to BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, the indestructible killer takes refuge in an old hermit’s cabin, where he is presumably nursed back to health (!) and remains until the next Halloween comes round (!!).
“They should ban Halloween in this town…” a wise person says back in Haddonfield but, despite over a decade of All Hallows Eve fatalities, the much-decimated town persists with costume parties while the Sheriff (Beau Starr, returning from 4) fails again to pay much attention to the crazier-than-ever warnings of Dr Loomis (Pleasence). You’d think he might listen to the scarred, scared old guy given that much of his town, and his own daughter, were slaughtered the previous Halloween. Though, then again, the old doctor is prone to saying things like “I prayed he would burn in Hell but in my heart I knew Hell would not have him!”…
Daylight sequences of Michael lurking in houses and behind bushes alternate with Loomis obsessively (and, it has to be said, creepily) badgering Jamie at the clinic, using her and pestering her endlessly for information on Michael’s whereabouts. It’s a nice move to follow HALLOWEEN’s paranoid doctor to the natural extreme of being a irrepressible madman but many fans were alienated by the decision to callously kill off Ellie Cornell, plucky and sympathetic survivor of 4 in the first of the film’s protracted stalk-and-murder sequences. It’s a shame to see her go, but the flick is merely following the pattern set by the likes of FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 in its extermination of the previous film’s leading lady before it introduces fresh meat – er, characters.
Whereas 4 strived for a convincing Haddonfield with characters to root for, this one takes on the feel of one of the shoddier FRIDAY THE 13TH entries by cynically setting up a lousy bunch of new archetypes who exist only to be murdered. Proving to be the nadir of the entire HALLOWEEN franchise are a pair of unbelievably dumb comedy cops : the intensity this film genuinely generates is torpedoed whenever these two bozos are onscreen, usually accompanied by cartoonish sound effects.
Almost as annoying are an awesomely shrill, hyperactive semi-heroine played in a horribly abrasive fashion by Wendy Kaplan; an obnoxious Fonz-like narcissist and a stupid horny couple whose only purpose is to endure BAY OF BLOOD-style coitus interruptus courtesy of a pitchfork. (In the film’s ironic tip of the hat to slasher movie convention, the couple perish despite it being a safe sex session). The best we can say about this bunch is that blonde beauty Tamara Glynn, playing one half of that horny couple, is arguably the hottest female character in any HALLOWEEN sequel. (The debate starts here).
So what else is wrong with HALLOWEEN 5? Well, there are many tired, obligatory scenes of harmless characters appearing suddenly in a shot just for the sake of a cheap shock, not to mention the many expected scenes of young Jamie persistently and narrowly escaping death. Also reprised from past HALLOWEEN movies are the obligatory moments of cops shooting pointlessly at the unkillable killer and the equally unkillable Loomis getting stabbed, thrown around by Michael and somehow surviving.
Director Othenin-Girard borrows one whole sequence from the original : the “See anything you like?” scene is reworked without P.J. Soles’ boobies when Myers kills Kaplan’s boyfriend and masquerades as him via a fright mask while Kaplan is blissfully unaware (“I just love barbaric men!”). The scene, sadly, goes nowhere, much like part 5’s low point : an endless set piece in a barn in which cats leap out of the darkness and characters insensitively scare each other for what seems like an eternity (before Myers FINALLY turns up, a guy attacks his girlfriend with a fake knife in full Michael Myers regalia as a JOKE! In frickin’ Haddonfield!!).
There are, however, moments and scenes where HALLOWEEN 5 fails to live down to its reputation as a franchise-killer. Providing much intrigue is the introduction of an enigmatic man in black, boasting the same Druid wrist symbol now seen on Myers. This mystery man is admittedly a walking plot device forgotten about for most of the movie (and explained to tedious effect in the ho-hum HALLOWEEN 6) but he is at the centre of a creepy, resonant ending that’s only marred by the fact that it features the second police massacre in two films.
Also on the good side of the force is an eerily shot woodland chase sequence featuring Jamie, her young boyfriend and Loomis shouting unsettlingly into the darkness (“It will destroy you one day, Michael…this rage that drives you…”). The finale at the old Myers house sustains considerable tension and showcases a fine suspense bit involving Harris trapped in a laundry chute. There’s an unnerving moment in which Harris calmly lies in a child’s coffin that Michael has stolen from the local cemetery and tries to reason with her deranged Uncle by persuading him to take off his mask. In a rare attempt to (briefly) humanize the series’ monster, Harris sadly notes “You’re just like me” as the camera picks up a solitary tear rolling down the killer’s cheek.
There’s a lot of fun to be had from watching the now-ultra-hammy Pleasence playing it to the hilt during the big finale, in which the script comically requires him to bash a cornered Myers repeatedly with a 2” by 4” yelling “Die Michael Die!”. This foolishness is somewhat balanced by the fact that Harris – terrorized, catatonic, assaulted and otherwise suffering for the entire duration – gives a sincere and remarkable performance. For all its flaws and awkward missteps, HALLOWEEN 5 occasionally pulls something impressive out of its bag of tricks. The final scenes of Harris (who would reappear in the franchise for Rob Zombie almost two decades later) wandering around a decimated police station, resigning herself to a horrible fate after two films of escaping such a fate, are well done and powerful.
– Steven West
BLU-Ray Special Features:
- Audo Commentary with Actors Don Shanks and Danielle Harris and Jeffrey Landman
- Audio Commentary with Director Dominique Othenin-Girard and Author Justin Beahm
- HALLOWEEN 5: On The Set
- HALLOWEEN 5: Original Promo
- Theatrical Trailer
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
