10 Things You Learn Rewatching Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers (1989)
1. In Summary
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is a mixed bag. When it works, it really works. It has a great sense of character and conflict, especially when it comes to Jamie, Loomis, and Michael. Othenin-Girard stages some of the best Michael-centric set pieces since Halloween II, and the finale is genuinely great.
However, when it doesn't work, it can feel like the whole thing might fall apart at any moment. Howarth's score is painful to drudge through, as are any of the scenes featuring new characters like Tina, the goofy cops, or the Man in Black. The result is a film with high highs and low lows, but a surprisingly solid Halloween film for those who can stomach the more egregious flaws.
Haddonfield High Superlatives:
Best Kill: Michael using a scythe to cut Samantha's screen-time mercifully short.
Funniest Scene: Loomis hilariously attempting to understand one of Jamie's visions, repeatedly asking "cookie woman?".
Biggest Dick of a Character: A tie between Mike and Mike's Mustang.
How Awful of a Town Is Haddonfield?: 6 out of 10 (laughable police force, annoying teenagers, but they've got a gas station with a "cookie woman" as it's mascot so it's not all bad)
Scream Queen Award: Danielle Harris as Jamie Lloyd. Her performance here is leaps-and-bounds beyond the work she did in Halloween 4. The whole narrative and pathos of the film rest on her shoulders and she genuinely pulls it off.
Ranking of the Films Revisited Thus Far From Best to Worst: Halloween (1978), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), Halloween II (1981), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Check out our previous Halloween Retrospectives below:
http://whatculture.com/film/10-things-you-learn-rewatching-halloween-1978
http://whatculture.com/film/10-things-you-learn-rewatching-halloween-ii-1981
http://whatculture.com/film/10-things-you-learn-rewatching-halloween-iii-season-of-the-witch-1982
http://whatculture.com/film/10-things-you-learn-rewatching-halloween-4-the-return-of-michael-myers-1988