After the horrifying events of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, Myers returns to life after sleeping in a hermit’s hut for a year and begins the slaughter anew.  His niece (Danielle Harris) is able to sense his presence and initially suffers from hysterical muteness while being cared for at some type of hospital for disturbed children.  Myers menaces her adoptive sister and a number of other young residents of Haddonfield before squaring off (again) with his psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance), in his old abandoned house.  Can they stop Myers or will a mysterious man in black somehow set him free?

Fans of the series mostly dislike this film.  The resurrection of Myers, the telepathy, the annoying characters, and the unnecessary plot device of a man in black who commits an act of God at the end of the film all alienate fans of the series and led to a long break before the production of the next film.  However, there are elements of the film that work.  Donald Pleasence is quite good in this episode and some of the murder and stalking scenes are effective.  At this point Myers functions as basically a supernatural figure and most logic has been lost, but some of the effective moments keep the film from being a total loss.  ✰ ✰.

MJM  02-17-2012