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Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers poster

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

year 1988decade 80sdirector Dwight H. Littlegenre Horror

88 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Donald Pleasence Dr. Sam Loomis
Ellie Cornell Rachel Carruthers
Danielle Harris Jamie Lloyd
Tom Morga Michael Myers
George P. Wilbur Michael Myers
Michael Pataki Dr. Hoffman
Beau Starr Sheriff Ben Meeker
Kathleen Kinmont Kelly Meeker

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Van Lathanproducer Craig Horlbeck theme Scary Month
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Roger Ebert's review

Rating not yet verified
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:19Read transcript
  • No Ebert review could initially be found.
  • A chatbot supplies an alleged cynical-retread assessment, but cohosts challenge reliance on it; the review’s existence remains unverified.
  • The chatbot discussion turns into jokes about replacement podcast hosts and an explicitly rejected attraction claim.

Half-Assed Internet Research

The script is said to have been rushed in13 days before a strike, explaining thin family-story decisions.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:16Read transcript
  • The script is said to have been rushed in13 days before a strike, explaining thin family-story decisions.
  • A19-death count including the dog is reported as exceeding the first two films combined; police-station deaths occur offscreen.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Pleasence is reported to have four marriages and five daughters, to drink two bottles of wine before a scene, and to be described as impaired in the S&L oral history (observed transcription); these allegations are unverified.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:03Read transcript
  • Pleasence is reported to have four marriages and five daughters, to drink two bottles of wine before a scene, and to be described as impaired in the S&L oral history (observed transcription); these allegations are unverified.

Casting What-Ifs

Carpenter’s script with Joe Dante attached was reportedly rejected; Carpenter and Hill sold their ownership, with later involvement and payment uncertain.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:27Read transcript
  • Carpenter’s script with Joe Dante attached was reportedly rejected; Carpenter and Hill sold their ownership, with later involvement and payment uncertain.
  • The writer observed as Alan B B McElroy reportedly had11 days to write, differing from the earlier13-day account.
  • Melissa Joan Hart and Rebecca Schaefer are reported audition candidates; Ellie Cornell reportedly chose this over Nightmare4.

Recasting Couch

Jennifer Connolly is suggested as a more famous replacement for Ellie Cornell.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:56Read transcript
  • Jennifer Connolly is suggested as a more famous replacement for Ellie Cornell.
  • Justine Baitman is suggested with an objection that she is slightly too old.
  • Jennifer Anderson is recalled from Leprechaun; Courtney Cox is suggested with uncertainty about age.
  • Shannon Doherty draws a too-young concern; Winona Ryder is proposed for a more prestigious version.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Salt Lake City replaced Pasadena, imported leaves and squash supplied autumn, and George P Wilbur wore hockey pads.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:21Read transcript
  • Salt Lake City replaced Pasadena, imported leaves and squash supplied autumn, and George P Wilbur wore hockey pads.
  • An unused script about traumatized Lindsay and Tommy is described and preferred; a retained Lindsay reference may be a remnant.
  • Cornell reportedly cut her stomach on a nail during the roof stunt; Wilbur removed his mask between takes to reassure Harris.
  • The costume drugstore is identified as a location later seen in The Sandlot.
  • The first schoolhouse scene kept the rejected blond mask instead of being reshot.
  • An extra day of blood filming reportedly added extreme kills because the initial cut lacked violence; the decision is endorsed.

Picking Nits

Children knowing Jamie’s uncle, local adoptions and undeveloped town dysfunction

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:50Read transcript
  • Children knowing Jamie’s uncle, local adoptions and undeveloped town dysfunction are questioned.
  • The parents’ dinner consumes most of the film; leaving children on the anniversary of the killings is criticized.
  • Selling Myers masks and moving from suburban Haddonfield to farmland are questioned; a tourist-attraction explanation is floated.
  • Myers finding his niece at the drugstore, going unseen, driving a conspicuous stolen truck and fitting a mask over bandages strain credibility.
  • His knowledge of the power grid is implausible, with supernatural guidance jokingly offered.
  • Hoffman’s urgency to transfer Myers, hostility to Loomis, institutional hierarchy and federal-prisoner description are unclear.
  • Sending only two middle-aged paramedics after16 earlier murders is criticized.
  • Claims of Myers’s wasted muscles should have been checked rather than assumed.
  • The protective sheriff lets his daughter remain without pants or a bra around everyone during the emergency.
  • Myers knows the cemetery, power station and police station despite confinement since childhood.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Why Jamie was not made the fifth film’s killer is questioned, with New Nightmare and Scream3 as later experiments.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:14Read transcript
  • Why Jamie was not made the fifth film’s killer is questioned, with New Nightmare and Scream3 as later experiments.
  • Loomis’s authority over police and hospital staff, coupled with his gun, is questioned.
  • The sheriff may have knowingly sent Brady to his death after learning about his daughter.
  • The shotgun impalement’s anatomical location and possible editing for graphic content remain uncertain.

Producer review

The invited producer finds this a natural follow-up to Halloween1 and enjoys the holiday-horror atmosphere and approachable kitsch.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:32:33Read transcript
  • The invited producer finds this a natural follow-up to Halloween1 and enjoys the holiday-horror atmosphere and approachable kitsch.
  • Stranger Things is compared through cursed towns, music and80s suburban atmosphere.
  • The producer enjoys the fun, comparatively restrained gore and music, ultimately saying music wins.
  • Poltergeist is the favorite of the month, while Hereditary is strongly disliked.