Movie Review: "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" (1995)

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Movie: "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers"
Director: Joe Chappelle
Year: 1995
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 27 minutes

Six years after surviving an attack by her uncle Michael Myers, Jamie Lloyd (J.C. Brandy) is about to give birth to her first child. This child is one a cult of demon worshipers wants to sacrifice for Myers. When Jamie escapes from the cult with her child, she hands it off to Haddonfield resident Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd), who her mother Laurie use to babysit, for safe keeping. This draws Myers back to Haddonfield to kill the Jamie's baby, just as the town was finally getting over the last string of attacks. 

Horror franchises usually finish early, or they eventually last long enough to become self-parodies. This is most certainly the case with "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" and exactly how it feels. "Halloween 5" ended with a mysterious man in black breaking Michael Myers out of prison. "Halloween 6" opens with Jamie Lloyd, now played by J.C. Brandy because the filmmakers weren't willing to pay Danielle Harris' exorbitant asking price of $5,000 dollars to reprise her role, giving birth to her first child, only not in a hospital, but while being held captive by this creepy Michael Myers-worshiping cult. They plan to sacrifice Jamie's child, but she is able to escape with her baby in her arms before they can. This, of course, sends Michael Myers after her and the baby, eventually back to Haddonfield. While on the run, Jamie runs into Tommy Doyle, played by Paul Rudd in his debut film role, and hands her child off to him since she was fatally injured while trying to escape the cult. Doyle was a young child who Jamie's mom Laurie Strode use to babysit back when Myers first attacked Haddonfield. It has been years since Myers has murdered anyone, and the small town of Haddonfield is finally getting over it. The town is getting ready to celebrate again, often joking about Myers by creating effigies outside the Strode family home. Of course, Michael Myers comes back again and goes on a murderous rampage in search of his final heir to finally put a nail in this lineage's coffin (har-har-har). So many of the characters in this film are over the top especially the patriarch of the Strode family John Strode played by Bradford English who is extremely belligerent and almost seems like a caricature. Also Paul Rudd is a bit of an oddball in this and it's almost as if he can't help but to come off sarcastic.

We have not been overly huge fans of the last couple of "Halloween" installments, but this one certainly takes the cake. It's pretty damn boring, and while there are the occasional cool scenes of murder as with all the other movies, overall, it offers less than anything new. There is also some talk about druid cults, Celtic ruins, and Stonehenge, which seems like an odd attempt to connect "Halloween 3" to this film universe, but since people unnecessarily dislike that film, it makes no sense as that film has often been on several "worst horror movies" lists for years. As much of a masterpiece that the original "Halloween" is and continues to be even now, this is a series that long overstayed its welcome, and "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" proves it.

My Rating: 4/10
BigJ's Rating: 4.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 4.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 6%
Do we recommend this movie: No.
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Two years ago, we were watching: "The Exorcist"

One year ago, we were watching: "Night of the Living Dead"