Harefooted Halloween: Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

What I Liked: There’s good atmosphere throughout.  Most settings look creepy and that was something that was lacking in the previous sequels.

The gore is heightened which I don’t always go for but it just seems fitting in this installment.  It matches the darker aesthetic the filmmakers chose.

I know I make a big deal about how Michael looks and moves but it’s really important because this is the main character that everyone is going to watch closely.  If he’s off then the entire picture is gonna feel off.  So I’m happy to say that Michael could feel the most right since the first movie.  There seems to be a slightly more human way he walks around and delivers the death blows.  In other films, like part 4, he comes off as too robotic (this is very ironic considering the same guy played him in 4 and 6 (mostly though, the role was shared by two stunt guys in each)) which gets too far from him supposedly being a real person and not a supernatural entity.  In this one there’s some personality to his movements so that’s nice.

What I Didn’t Like: Too much goddamn strobe light use.  During the two nights that the story takes place it’s lightning constantly.  Not only that but inside all buildings the lights are flickering all the fuckin’ time.  I mean it makes things look kinda eerie, especially with all the white Michael masks that randomly appear in the background, but it’s so distracting.

The story doesn’t make any sense no matter how you slice it.  A lot is setup and then discarded or forgotten about.  I’ll get more into this in a minute.

Like in part 5, the old Myers house is not the same one from the part 1 which is starting to get confusing.

The scene transitions with white flashes, images of a knife, Michael and that *shing* unsheathing sound are terrible and annoying.

Overall Impressions: Ok, so the version I’m really talking about here is the theatrical cut.  If you don’t know the story Halloween 6 is infamous for having two different cuts, theatrical and producer’s.  Originally the movie that was made, the producer’s cut, didn’t test well so a completely new third act was shot.  Additionally the entire film was re-edited trimming minutes off the final runtime.  This was what ended up being released, the theatrical cut.

After seeing the two versions back to back this time I think the theatrical cut is definitely the better picture.  More is explained in the producer’s cut and continues what they setup in part 5 but all the stuff they do explain and carryover is stupid as hell.  All the evil Thorn cult, man in black, Michael being controlled by magic rune stones, incestuous baby making shit is so fucking bad it’s unbelievable that it made it into two installments.  And it’s not like the producer’s cut does a good job of clearing things up anyway so it’s better to throw as much of that garbage by the wayside and go for something more in keeping with the series.  So even though the theatrical cut is totally nonsensical at least it moves quickly enough and feels more like a traditional slasher flick instead of a prank being played on the audience.

Actually, I think the theatrical cut is possibly the best Halloween sequel so far.  Well alright, while part II isn’t great it’s a legit film that does have all the classic slasher elements you would expect and is made competently.  It’s relatively harmless but that also makes it a little boring.  Meanwhile Part 6 is sorta grisly and almost disrespectable and it somehow works for me.  Am I crazy for feeling that way?