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Halloween 5- Limited Edition TinRating:
Release Date: 05 September, 2000 Retail Price: $39.98 OUR Price: $35.98 You SAVE: $4.00! Cast: Complete Cast (7 total) |
Halloween 5- Limited Edition Tin Reviews
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Beginning with H20, the Halloween series now completely ignores the events of Halloween 4, 5, and the Curse of Michael Myers, so these films fall into limbo.
Since they couldn't get Jamie Lee Curtis to commit to the middle films, they tried to follow the story of Michael killing off members of his family. Halloween 4 is the best of the bunch, 5 is a step down, and the whole house collapsed with the appalling Curse of Michael Myers.
The redeeming features of 4 and 5 are clearly Donald Pleasance and Danielle Harris. Pleasance is totally game as the obsessed Dr. Loomis, and indeed, in this version he seems ready for the loony bin himself as Michael Myers once again returns from death to stalk the hapless citizens of Haddonfield. If you recall, Michael was hit by a truck and shot about 100 times at the end of 4, but nothing can stop Halloween financier Mustapha Akkad from resurrecting his favorite son for some more trick or treating. You'll also recall a bold move at the end of 4 to send the series on a different path and make Michael's niece Jamie take over the family business of butchering. Once again, the producers went safe and dropped that idea, preferring to let Mike do the slaughtering.
Danielle Harris once again plays Jamie (the daughter of Jamie Lee's character). She gives an impressive performance for a child actor in this one and is completely convincing as a terrorized 11 year-old that is now psychically linked with Michael. I also liked the completely inept and moronic cops who exist to, well, die. A shame they kill of Ellie Cornell, but the laws of slasherdom state that survivors of the previous film generally must die in the next installment just to show that like an elephant, Michael (or Jason, or Freddy) never forgets.
The ideas are definitely there, and people are game, but the execution is so-so. The look of the film is good--it has a real Halloween, autumn feel to it and was filmed in Salt Lake City, Utah. There is a subplot involving a mysterious man who is following the action and makes for an ultra violent ending. (He and Michael share strange symbolic markings.) By the end of 5 we get the bizarre image of Michael in a jail cell (with the mask still on!) before we get the cliffhanger ending. Sad that it would take six years for a sequel to explain what happened. The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) is terrible, an example of trying to over engineer a slasher series to embarrassing ends. The score is by Alan Howarth and is not as good as the subtle soundscapes he contributed to 4, but he tries to inject some life into the famous themes and cues.
Part 5 is weaker than Part 4 and boils down to pretty much by-the-numbers slasher material, done with a bit more style and with some good acting. Once again, it seems that they can't get the Michael Myers mask right, and this version is terrible. Perhaps they try something different every time, but really, can they not just get a decent reproduction of the masks in Part I or II?
I like the approach they took on with H20 and Resurrection, but these middle parts have Loomis, whose obsession and pronouncements of 'pure evil' define Michael as much as the mask and the kitchen knife.
Definitely far from the series' finest hour, but recommended for die-hard fans, of course. The DVD now includes a short making of featurette as well.
Very good sequel...
"I don't get mad... I get stabby." -- Fat Tony (the Simpsons)
Unfortunately for the residents of Haddonfield, Michael Myers also shares Fat Tony's terrible habit. Here we are now one year after the events of the stylish Halloween 4. Michael Myers manages to just barely escape from an explosion after a shoot-out with the police and finds shelter in the care of an old hermit. He wakes up, kills the hermit, gets a taco and heads to Haddonfield to find and kill his 9 year old niece, Jamie. Naturally, that wacko Dr. Loomis suspects there is something afoot since it's the whatever-anniversary of the day Michael came home. Sure enough, carnage ensues, people have sex, teens are slaughtered and it's up to Loomis to save the day yet again.
A lot of people, including die hard Halloween fans, are down on this movie because of it's different look. It doesn't really FEEL like a Halloween movie in the traditional sense, but it is stylish and sometimes nail-bitingly suspenseful (i.e. the laundry chute scene, Michael trying to run Jamie down with his car, etc.) Some people even hate this movie because they think Michael's mask is simply not scary enough. Seriously, guys, think about it. You're walking down the street in the middle of the night and you see a guy wearing a black jumpsuit and the mask featured in this movie. What would you do? Of course you'd run, you knuckleheads.
After seeing the Halloween movies so many times, I'm convinced that one of the main reasons people like this series so much is because of Donald Pleasence. He pulls the mad doctor bit so splendidly in each movie and his performances never come off as "just another paycheck." He really becomes the character. And the single most interesting thing about the Halloween franchise (besides Michael going on the warpath, of course) is witnessing Loomis' disintegration into near madness as the series progresses. If Halloween Resurrection was any indication, I'll state the obvious here: Donald Pleasence, the fans love and miss you.
Danielle Harris is another scene stealer. A remarkably talented child actor of the 80's, she should be mentioned whenever the name "Corey Feldman" or "Drew Barrymore" pops up, because when it comes time for her character to be hysterical and scared, well... eat your heart out, Marilyn Burns. The rest of the cast is pretty good as well, with the possible exception of Wendy Kaplan, who plays Tina. You want to talk about annoying characters? You ain't seen nothing yet.
Donald Shanks plays a very menacing Michael Myers. If Nick Castle is the Kane Hodder of Michael performers, then I think I'd place Donald Shanks in a respectable 2nd or 3rd; almost tied with George P. Wilbur.
As always, Anchor Bay delivers with a sharp picture, great sound, an interesting documentary and the standard theatrical trailer. A great DVD to add to your horror collection since it holds up so well after repeated viewings. Don't rent; BUY.
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