10 Things You Learn Rewatching Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988)
2. That Killer Twist
The Halloween franchise isn't exactly known for its twist endings and that's exactly what makes Halloween 4's final moment so affecting.
Once Michael has seemingly been defeated and the entire main cast returns to the Carruthers' house, the camera takes on a distinctly unstable POV. It harkens back to earlier shots in this film, but also more specifically, the opening sequence of Carpenter's original film. The figure walks slowly through the halls, picking up a pair of scissors and donning a mask.
With the shot now being an exact replica of Michael's masked POV shots from the first film's opening, the assumption seems pretty clear: Michael's in the house. But then, the rug is completely pulled out from under us. Loomis rushes to see what is causing Mrs. Carruthers' screams to see a blood-drenched Jamie standing at the top of the stairs.
Not only does this work on a basic level of surprising the audience, it also immediately and violently recontextualizes the similarities to the first film's opening. Rather than just fan-service signaling Michael's POV, it's actually drawing a direct parallel between Michael and Jamie. And positioning viewers with Loomis for the actual reveal makes it that much more powerful because he understands the parallels and just how tragic they are.
It subverts audience expectations and ends the film on a high note.