Day 14- Movie 10. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

I know I just recently watched the awful Halloween III: Season of the Witch, but I was really curious about the next film in the franchise. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers came 10 years after the original and returned the franchise to its original roots. I have to admit there is something cool about seeing Michael Myers on screen after so long an absence. Unfortunately, this film doesn't live up to the standards set before the third film in the series.

That is not to say this is necessarily a bad horror film. It has what you expect- a few grisly murderers, some graphic violence, a number of creepy shots of Myers standing still while looking menacing. But that is also the film's problem- it is too predictable. This film feels like too many other horror movies. It's just too generic. It is decent because it delivers what you'd expect, but it never really wows. I'd give this movie a 6.5/10.

I thought I'd use this opportunity to check in on three big horror movie franchises- A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Halloween. For ANOES, I've seen all the films but Freddy vs. Jason and the new remake. For F13, I haven't seen Jason X or the subsequent films. I've obviously just seen up to Halloween 4. Here's how I see it playing out:

I'm not sure what the implications are here, besides the fact that these franchises start off strong, and then quickly drop in quality. The Friday the 13th movies are the worst, and besides #3, Halloween is the strongest franchise. Anyway, that's it for this. And yes, I made a horror movie franchise comparison chart in Excel. It's that kind of extra effort that sets this blog apart.