Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, released in 1988, is an American slasher film directed by Dwight H. Little from a script by Alan B. McElroy. The cast includes Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris in her first film role, and Michael Pataki. It is the fourth movie in the Halloween series and follows directly from Halloween II. After being left out of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Michael Myers returns as the main villain. The story begins when he escapes from custody during a transfer from a high-security facility, having been in a coma for years, and travels to Haddonfield to murder his niece, Jamie Lloyd, ten years after his original killing spree.

John Carpenter and co-producer Debra Hill had originally planned for the franchise to be an anthology, with only the first two films connected. However, after Halloween III was poorly received, that idea was dropped. McElroy was brought in to revise an earlier screenplay by Dennis Etchison, bringing Michael Myers back. Principal photography took place on location in Salt Lake City, Utah during the spring of 1988.

The film came out in the United States on October 21, 1988. Critics mostly gave it negative reviews, but it earned $17.8 million in the domestic box office against a $5 million budget. Since then, it has gained a strong cult following and has been reassessed more positively over time. This movie starts the Thorn Trilogy storyline, which continues in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.

The plot begins on October 30, 1988. Michael Myers, who has been in a coma for ten years after the explosion at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, is being moved from Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium to Smith's Grove Sanitarium. During the transfer, he overhears that he has a niece living in Haddonfield, wakes up, kills the ambulance crew, and heads there to kill her.

In Haddonfield, Jamie Lloyd, the orphaned daughter of Laurie Strode, has nightmares about the Shape and is bullied at school for being the niece of the boogeyman. On Halloween night, her foster parents, Richard and Darlene Carruthers, plan to attend a business meeting and leave their teenage daughter Rachel to babysit, forcing her to cancel a date with her boyfriend Brady. Rachel intends to take Jamie trick-or-treating, but Jamie declines, and they instead plan to buy ice cream after school.

At Ridgemont, an aged and scarred Dr. Loomis, who also survived the explosion, learns of Michael's escape and chases him back to Haddonfield. On the way, Loomis stops at a gas station and diner where Michael has killed a mechanic for his coveralls and a female clerk. Loomis discovers Michael, a gunfight breaks out, and Michael escapes in a tow truck, igniting the gas pumps and causing an explosion that destroys Loomis's car and disables the phone lines. Loomis continues on foot.

Rachel and her friend Lindsey pick Jamie up after school, and Jamie changes her mind about trick-or-treating. She chooses a clown costume, but Michael suddenly appears to steal a new mask. He goes after his niece but flees when she screams. Meanwhile, Loomis hitches a ride with a priest named Reverend Jackson P. Sayer in a Dodge pickup.

That night, as Rachel and Jamie trick-or-treat, Michael breaks into the Carruthers' house, kills the family dog, and discovers Jamie's identity after finding photos of Laurie. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield and warns Sheriff Ben Meeker that Michael has returned. They search for the girls. At a power plant, Michael throws a utility worker into a transformer, causing a citywide blackout. He then kills most of the town's police force, prompting a lynch mob to form.

Meeker and Loomis find Rachel and Jamie and take them to the sheriff's house, where Brady is having an affair with Meeker's daughter Kelly. They barricade the house as Deputy Logan arrives, and Loomis leaves to find Michael, who has already sneaked inside. While searching, the lynch mob accidentally shoots and kills an innocent civilian. After Meeker leaves to respond, Michael kills Deputy Logan, Kelly, and Brady. Rachel and Jamie flee to the attic and onto the roof, where Michael steals a kitchen knife. Rachel lowers Jamie to safety but is attacked by Michael, falls to the ground, and loses consciousness.

Pursued by Michael, Jamie runs down the street and meets Loomis. They take shelter at the school, but Michael finds them and throws Loomis through a glass door. He chases Jamie through the school until she falls down a flight of stairs. As Michael prepares to kill her, Rachel reappears and subdues him with a fire extinguisher. The lynch mob arrives and agrees to help the girls escape Haddonfield. Along the way, they meet a lone trooper who directs them to a substation for safety. Michael, hidden underneath their truck, climbs aboard and kills the men, including Earl. Rachel takes the wheel, throws Michael off, and rams into him. Meeker and Loomis arrive with the lynch mob and state police. Jamie approaches her uncle and touches his hand. As he rises, Meeker and the others shoot him until he falls down an abandoned mine.

Back at the Carruthers' house, Darlene goes upstairs to run a bath for Jamie and is suddenly attacked. Loomis hears her cries and sees Jamie, now silent and emotionless, in her clown costume holding a pair of bloody scissors, reminiscent of when Michael killed his older sister. Loomis screams in despair.