Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Director: Dwight H Little
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Ten years after his incarceration in a maximum security prison, catatonic ex-knife-wielder Michael Myers (Wilbur) finds himself transferred to a 'normal' hospital. In no time at all our boy snaps out of his decade-long coma, stiffs a few ambulance men, and trudges off to his old haunting ground of Haddonfield, intent upon introducing his cutesy-pop little niece (Harris) to the cutting edge of his eccentric behaviour. 'Evil... on two legs!' exclaims deranged, disfigured Dr Loomis (Pleasence), before steaming off in search of his favourite patient. Then it's the usual town-under-siege-by-indestructible-psycho nonsense: the Halloween celebrations are curtailed by Michael's festive antics; police officers are massacred (off-screen, naturally); kiddies are terrorised; promiscuous teenagers discover that if you make out behind your parents' backs the bogeyman will slice you up. Halloween III ditched Myers, realising that as an archetypal harbringer of doom he was a dead duck. It's a shame that the lure of the cash registers resurrected the beleagured bore. The shocks are infinitesimal, the script diabolical.Author: MK
Cast & crew
Director: Dwight H Little
Producer: Paul Freeman
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris, Michael Pataki, Beau Starr, Kathleen Kinmont, Sasha Jenson, George P Wilbur full cast
Genre(s): Horror
Duration: 88 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now