Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

"Ten years ago he changed the face of Halloween. Tonight, HE'S BACK."

Director: Dwight H. Little Year: 1988 Runtime: 88 min IMDb: ⭐ 6.2
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Synopsis

Michael returns to Haddonfield for Jamie Lloyd – the orphaned daughter of Laurie Strode – and her babysitter Rachel. Can Dr. Loomis stop him before the unholy slaughter reaches his innocent young niece?

On October 30, 1988, Michael Myers, who has been comatose for ten years since the explosion at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, is being transferred from Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium to Smith's Grove Sanitarium. During the transfer, when Michael overhears that he has a niece living in Haddonfield, he awakens, kills the ambulance personnel and heads back to his hometown to kill her. In Haddonfield, Laurie Strode's orphaned daughter Jamie Lloyd suffers from nightmares about The Shape and is bullied at school for being the niece of "the boogeyman". On Halloween night, her foster parents Richard and Darlene Carruthers plan to go to a business meeting and leave their teenage daughter Rachel to babysit, forcing her to cancel a date with her boyfriend Brady. Rachel makes plans to take Jamie trick-or-treating, but she declines and they instead settle on buying ice cream after school. Back at Ridgemont, a now aged and scarred Dr. Loomis, who also survived the explosion, learns of Michael's escape and gives chase back to Haddonfield once again. While driving to Haddonfield, Loomis stops at a gas station and diner, where Michael has killed a mechanic for his coveralls, along with a female clerk. After Loomis discovers and fails to negotiate with Michael, a gunfight erupts and Michael escapes in a tow truck, igniting the gas pumps causing an explosion, destroying Loomis's car given by Ridgemont in the process and disabling the phone lines. Loomis continues to pursue Michael on foot. Rachel and her friend Lindsey pick Jamie up after school where Jamie changes her mind and decides to go trick-or-treating that night. Jamie decides on a clown costume when Michael suddenly appears to steal a new mask. He goes after his niece but flees when she screams in horror. Meanwhile, Loomis hitches a ride with an eccentric priest named Reverend Jackson P. Sayer in a pickup truck. That night, as Rachel and Jamie are trick-or-treating, Michael breaks into the Carruthers' house, kills the family dog, and finds out Jamie's identity after finding several photos of Laurie in the house. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield and warns the new sheriff, Ben Meeker, that Michael has returned. They immediately go out to search for the girls. At a power plant, Michael throws an electrician into a transformer, plunging the entire town into darkness. He proceeds to kill most of the town's police force, prompting the locals to form a lynch mob. Meeker and Loomis find Rachel and Jamie and take them to the sheriff's house, where Brady is having an affair with Meeker's daughter Kelly. They barricade the premises as Deputy Logan arrives and Loomis departs to find Michael, who has already snuck into the house. While searching for Michael, the lynch mob accidentally shoots and kills an innocent civilian. After Meeker leaves to respond to the shooting, Michael kills Deputy Logan, Kelly, and Brady as Rachel and Jamie flee to the attic and onto the roof while Michael steals a kitchen knife in the attic. Rachel lowers Jamie down to safety but is attacked by Michael, falling to the ground and losing consciousness. Pursued by Michael, Jamie runs down the street and runs into Loomis. They seek shelter at the school, but Michael finds them and tosses Loomis through a glass door. He chases Jamie through the school, until she falls down a flight of stairs. Michael prepares to kill her when Rachel reappears and subdues him with a fire extinguisher. The lynch mob arrives and agrees to help the girls get out of Haddonfield. Along the way they meet a lone trooper who tells them there is a substation up the road where they will be safe. Michael, who has been hidden underneath their truck, climbs aboard and kills the men, including Earl. Rachel takes the wheel, throws Michael off the truck, and rams into him. Meeker and Loomis arrive with the rest of the lynch mob and the state police, while Jamie approaches her uncle and touches his hand. As he rises, Meeker and the others shoot him until he falls down an abandoned mine. Back at the Carruthers' house, Darlene goes upstairs to run a bath for Jamie when she is suddenly attacked. Loomis hears her cries and sees Jamie, now silent and emotionless, in her clown costume holding a pair of bloody scissors, reminiscent of when Michael killed his older sister. Loomis screams in despair and raises his gun to shoot Jamie, but is disarmed by Meeker. Rachel, Richard, and Meeker look on in horror as Loomis sobs, realizing that the evil inside of Michael has infected Jamie.

Summary adapted from TMDb and Wikipedia sources.

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Content Warnings

⭐ IMDb Parents Guide 🛡️ Common Sense Media

a dog dies
spoiler 41 minutes into the film, the dog is shown lying on the floor. No blood.
an animal dies
Yes
there's a dead animal
spoiler Dog
a horse dies
Yes
a pet dies
Yes
there are snakes
Yes
there's child abuse
spoiler This is a tricky one. A child character is “hunted” by the antagonist but I wouldn’t necessarily consider it abuse.
a woman is brutalized for spectacle
spoiler No.
there's domestic violence
Yes
someone gets gaslighted
Yes
someone is stalked
Yes
someone is restrained
Yes
someone's mouth is covered
Yes
someone is beaten up by a bully
spoiler No, but a kid is taunted by bullies
there's body horror
Yes
heads get squashed
Yes
someone's throat is mutilated
Yes
someone is crushed to death
spoiler A person’s head is slowly crushed by Michael.
there's amputation
Yes
someone struggles to breathe
Yes
someone breaks a bone
Yes
someone has a seizure
spoiler No one has a seizure they're confusing it with Halloween 5.
Someone becomes unconscious
Yes
there are hangings
Yes
there's shaving/cutting
Yes
there's excessive gore
spoiler Throat ripped out and you see an arm without a hand, some very gruesome kills but some bloodless.
someone falls to their death
spoiler There is a graphic falling scene, though she doesn't die it's still tense.
someone is burned alive
spoiler Actually happens in Halloween II but is graphically mentioned.
someone is stabbed
Yes
someone falls down stairs
Yes
a minor is sexualized
Yes
someone dies
Yes
a non-human character dies
Yes
a parent dies
spoiler Technically, it's revealed she's alive in the next movie, but this movie makes it look like she died
a family member dies
Yes
someone cheats
Yes
there are jump scares
Yes
someone is possessed
spoiler It's implied towards the end
there are clowns
spoiler Jamie wears a clown costume throughout the end of the movie, if that counts.
There's audio gore
spoiler There is audio gore when bones are broken and people get stabbed.
there's spitting
spoiler Blood is spat out as he is being strangled
there is copaganda
Yes
there's incarceration
Yes
there's a mental institution scene
Yes
there's a hospital scene
Yes
Someone attempts suicide
Yes
someone has an eating disorder
Yes
someone suffers from PTSD
Yes
someone has a meltdown
Yes
a mentally ill person is violent
spoiler Michael Myers isn't mentally ill. hell in the thorn trilogy (this film, 5 and 6) he's possessed by a curse.
someone has an anxiety attack
Yes
shaky cam is used
Yes
there's flashing lights or images
spoiler Someone gets electrocuted around the middle of the movie, which causes some flashing
there are sudden loud noises
Yes
there's screaming
Yes
there is obscene language/gestures
Yes
someone is watched without knowing
Yes
there's fat jokes
Yes
there's ableist language or behavior
spoiler Michael is referred to as an inv*lid.
there is sexual content
spoiler Two people makeout. There is fondling, but no explicit nudity or sex.
someone is sexually objectified
Yes
the ending is sad
Yes
a car honks or tires screech
Yes
a car crashes
Yes
a person is hit by a car
Yes
there's gun violence
Yes
there's blood/gore
Yes

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