"Apocalypse. End of the World. Armageddon. It always has a face and a name."
Let's get the basics out of the way: On Halloween Night 1978, Michael Myers returned to Haddonfield to kill his sister Laurie Strode. He was ultimately stopped by Dr. Loomis and he slipped into a coma. When he is being transferred from the Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium back to Smith's Grove 10 years later, he wakes up when he hears he has a niece in Haddonfield. After killing the transfer crew he escapes and makes his way to there. Dr. Loomis soon learns Michael is awake and follows him. Meanwhile, his niece, Jamie Lloyd, has nightmares about "The Boogeyman", and on Halloween night Jamie goes out trick-or-treating with no knowledge that Michael is out there looking for her. With the help of Sheriff Meeker, Dr. Loomis searches the town for Jamie and Michael. What ensues is a fight for survival that (seemingly) ends in the abandoned mine outside of town.
This entry into the series is a better sequel than part II. But with part II taking place on the same night as the first (thus being more integral to the plot of the original) it has the slight edge. Much like part II, part 4 jumps right in and doesn't make any bones about getting the story going. But it also doesn't make any bones about getting around to irking me.
First of all, there's the lame backstory of Laurie and Jamie's father dying in a car wreck 11 months before the start of the movie. Then there's the picture of Laurie that Jamie has in her shoebox: there is no way that picture could exist because it is a still from the scene in the original when Laurie is waiting on the street corner for Annie to pick her up. Now, let's move on to the horrible incompetence of good ol' Dr. Hoffman (Michael Pataki): when typing the reports of Michael's transfer back to Smith's Grove, he puts down Michael's middle initial as "M." Every proper Halloween fan knows that it's "A." for Audrey! UGH!!! Oh, and remember the O.R. explosion from part II? Well, it looks like Dr. Loomis had a protective shield around him when it happened, 'cause all he got out of it was a scar and slight limp.
But despite all of the minor (albeit very stupid) mistakes and shortcomings, let's not forget the good things. Michael, played by George Wilbur, is a much, much more convincing menace in this incarnation (Wilbur would go on to play Mikey again in part 6--the only repeat performance by an actor in that role). The death scenes are right on par in the "imagination department" with those of part II, with the best being redneck Earl's demise. Mr. Pleasance, of course, puts in another masterful performance as Dr. Loomis.
The Return of Michael Myers is, all in all, a good film...if you can overlook the continuity problems.
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