The commercial failure that resulted from the Halloween franchise’s decision to veer from the Michael Myers story line five years earlier had been all it took for The Shape to once again don the jump suit and stalk Haddonfield. Though The Return of Michael Myers has not been frowned upon as greatly as Season of the Witch, it certainly has been recognized as the beginning of a decline in the quality of the series.

Upon recent viewings (yes, plural), I have come to the conclusion that the fourth installment of the Halloween saga deserves another look if you are one of its detractors. It’s not that it’s perfect, or even holds up compared to John Carpenter’s original or its sequel, but I’m not here to merely suggest that Halloween 4 isn’t that bad. Nay, it’s actually good.

Quite good, in fact.

And here are five reasons to support that statement that have nothing to do with Myers’ comeback.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nwMfSdlj7Y

OPENING CREDITS

I’m sure the first header was met with some eye rolls, but hear me out. The initial images that appear onscreen are breathtakingly gorgeous, and that is beyond dispute. The shots of an overcast, Haddonfield countryside fully captured the essence of autumn and All Hallow’s Eve, but it’s only in retrospect that the title sequence holds significance beyond the visual aesthetic.

Throughout the film, and certainly at its conclusion, you feel as though you just watched a flick worthy of the Halloween title. Alan B. McElroy’s screenplay and the direction of Dwight H. Little reignited the atmosphere of the original film. It may sound simplistic, but the location and cinematography just felt like Halloween.By contrast, think back on the saga’s offerings since Return.

OLD RELIABLE

As Joe Bob Briggs once said, “Donald (Pleasence) is what makes these movies work,” and that statement held true in Return. This was the last great Loomis performance before writers had the good doctor go off the deep end with exaggerated responses and reactions.

Pleasence was still obsessed with Myers and very much remained in the business of convincing naysayers, but in Pleasence’s third turn as Loomis, the sense of urgency had taken a turn. No longer concerned with convincing those at Smith’s Grove, Loomis was almost sarcastic in his interactions and after Dr. Hoffman’s (Michael Pataki) disrespectful condescension, Loomis smirked when his colleague got the news that there’d been an accident. Loomis didn’t even wait to hear the details, he made for the door. Moments later he was letting Hoffman and the responding officers know that he was on his way to Haddonfield. “It’s a four-hour drive. If you haven’t found him in four hours, I’m sure I will.”

Loomis’ relationship with Sheriff Meeker (Beau Starr) is the driving force behind the whole picture. They play off of one another beautifully, like an extended cut of Loomis’ banter with Sheriff Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers) from the first two films. It’s intense and desperate, but above all, authentic.

“I’M STARTIN’ TO GET SPOOKED, DOC”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, when it comes to Sheriff of Haddonfield, give me Beau Starr. Don’t get me wrong, I love Charles Cyphers and both of his turns as Brackett, I’m using the word love here, but the reality is that Return gave Starr far more screen time than Cyphers was ever afforded, and the result was a more compelling performance.

As Ben Meeker, the man who took command following Brackett’s retirement and the night HE came home, Starr was thoroughly convincing in the role. It was a performance that could have easily been over-the-top and dripped of cheese, but Starr played it straight. He was hesitant at the outset, but in a rational way. It goes without saying that it took some convincing, but not as much as Brackett required because Meeker was motivated to avoid a repeat of what had happened a decade earlier in the timeline. Starr was believable in his reactions to the specter of the possibility, dead dogs, faux Myers’ and a mob of locals looking to take the law into their own hands. And it was topped off by his interactions with Loomis, a decision-making tug of war that was simply delightful.

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL

It goes without saying that Jamie Lee Curtis is, was and ever shall be the queen of the Halloween franchise, because there can be only one Laurie Strode. That said (and with apologies to my fifth and final point), Ellie Cornell is head and shoulders above all other adult final girls in the series not named Curtis. Before anyone goes off about P.J. Soles or Nancy Kyes, we’re talking about lead actresses, and Cornell’s Rachel embodied all of the characteristics that Curtis exhibited throughout the franchise’s first two offerings.

In purity and vulnerability, Rachel possessed the same girl next door qualities of Laurie, but when the chips were down, as Strode had before her, Rachel tapped into a deep-seeded toughness and resourcefulness that was less about survival than what had been the overwhelming theme of the original’s third act — a babysitter protecting a child. Though on a lesser scale, Cornell nonetheless endeared herself to Halloween fans as a heroine second only to Curtis. And there ain’t nothin’ wrong with silver.

THE INTRODUCTION OF A SCREAM QUEEN

Danielle Harris was only 11 years old when Return hit theatres, but it was clear from the outset that she possessed something special. So often children are incapable of delivering absolute fear convincingly, but Harris met the challenge at every turn. The dread was in her eyes. Every breath and action was driven by terror, and the screams and tears were not simply present because they were supposed to be, you felt the dread along with little Jamie Lloyd. And when the dust settled, and little costumed Jamie brandished the butcher knife of her namesake, it was Harris’ performance that made Halloween 4 a film worthy of consideration.