Deciding that the original story was well and truly finished, JC and co,
decided to use the title and release a different story every year for
Halloween, much like Dark Castle Entertainment do now. So, they decided
to test the waters with this, the most critically slated film of the
series, outrightly branded the worst of the bunch.
Despite it’s reputation, if you view this with no expectations and forget
about it’s roots, it’s not all that bad.
Trying to be original, this film deals with a scary druid toymaker who
creates Halloween masks that, if worn during a special televised
broadcast, will kill the kids as a way of sacrifice to the druids ( I
think ).
Anyway, a doctor and a young woman get caught up in the toymaker’s evil
plans and what ensues is a Halloween night of very different proportions.
The directing (courtesy of Carpenter’s friend Tommy Lee Wallace) and
acting are all competent enough, and the anamatronics and special effects
help to raise the level of suspense in some scenes, but the main problem
is the silly story that in the early 1980’s was a bit premature. Perhaps
now in the reality TV age and with the rise of radical dictators in the
world, the story has more resonance.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Not bad, it really doesn’t deserve it’s reputation as it is at least
aesthetically pleasing. For us diehard Michael Myers fans, he even has a
cameo.
