Jamie Lloyd (J.C. Brandy) is having a baby - normally this would be a happy event, but in this case it's something to be feared as she has been kidnapped by a mysterious sect who want the infant for themselves. She gives birth in a location she does not recognise, surrounded by sinister figures, but there is one nurse who she thinks can be someone to rely upon to get her out of this mess. However, complicating matters is the presence of her uncle Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur), who happens to be a serial killer responsible for countless deaths...
Talk about stuck between a rock and a hard place, but poor old Jamie, the central character of those previous two Halloween sequels, got a pretty raw deal during this. Danielle Harris, who had played her in those, did not return for financial reasons, but seeing what happens to Jamie early on in the film, relegated to a victim role when she could just as easily been the heroine again, it was perhaps a blessing that we didn't see Danielle lumbered with that thankless part. Then again, there wasn't much to like about this, the sixth instalment in the still-lucrative, but artistically dwindling series, mainly thanks to behind the scenes shenangians.
All who read the original script to The Curse of Michael Myers liked it a lot, tying in as it did with the ending of the previous one which had itself been thought up as an open coda without knowing where the makers of the next could possibly go with it. Unfortunately, such was the difference of opinion between director Joe Chappelle and his producers, and indeed his cast, that the project wound up pulling in different directions and given this was the final film of regular star Donald Pleasence, here reprising his much admired Dr Loomis role, fans of the series would have hoped for a better send-off than what was released to theatres.
He was almost an afterthought here, as apparently Chappelle was not fond of the character, but rendering this murkier Pleasence made a more impressive showing in the other version of Halloween 6, the so-called Producer's Cut which was leaked soon after the theatrical cut and many found themselves preferring. Yet the fact remained there was far too much of the adding to the series' mythology for its own good, and all because of that ending to Part 5, leaving what should have been as simple and streamlined as the John Carpenter original needlessly complicated. The Satanic sect wasn't a bad idea, but it did not really belong in a Halloween movie.
There were elements here to remind you that this was part of the franchise, so not only did Loomis resume his hunt of "The Shape" but you got the action falling on October the 31st, the Strode house featured, and a whole lot of straining to include the new cast members in the basic plotline mapped out by the preceding movies. Paul Rudd debuted here, now known for his comedy but here as the creepy next door neighbour who turns out to be a great asset to the heroine this time around, one Kara Strode (Marianne Hagan) who is related merely by adoption, but has her own young, possibly psychic, son to take care of for by the numbers child in peril business. The big problem is that this was all building up to a climax that never actually happened, so you expect the man in black and the cult to be very important only to see them thrown away for some running about a hospital sequences. Little wonder that they ignored this for Halloween H20. Music by Alan Howarth.
Of course Danielle Harris did get to play a thankless victim role in Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween.
Posted by:
Stephanie Anderson
Date:
1 Nov 2011
They got the things with the runes really fucked up in this. Thorn is the protector. Whynn and Thorn look similar, but since i forget what whynn means i cannot compare them. It seems they were working off the stupid, american christian belief that devil worshippers used the runes.
Also, im writing new screenplays for 4 5 and 6. if anyone wants to se them if and when the are done, please say so!
Posted by:
Graeme Clark
Date:
1 Nov 2011
@Andrew: Danielle was back for Zombie's Halloween II, so her character actually survived that attack in his first remake, unlikely as it seems.
@Stephanie: I think they used the Thorn rune because it sounded like something out of The Omen, the Hollywood benchmark for all movie Satanism. But yeah, it was misguided at best. Also, if you're writing scripts you should consider getting yourself an agent if you think they're good enough. You never know where it could lead.
Posted by:
Andrew Pragasam
Date:
2 Nov 2011
Good luck with your scriptwriting, Stephanie. Hollywood could use some decently scripted horror movies. If you are thinking of sending your stuff to an agent, it's a good idea to send them three at a time. It shows them you have more than one idea going on in your head. So it's also good to send different kinds of scripts rather than just sequel ideas. Remember, a lot of horror movies suck because they fail to properly develop an interesting idea. You can find plenty of Screenwriting tutorials online to help you do that, although I recommend checking out John Truby's 22-Step Story Structure. It is a great step by step guide to writing all kinds of genre movies, including horror. Again, good luck!
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