Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) – Review

Where to watch Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers

1 1/2 Stars

Durable slasher Michael Myers is back on the hunt for his descendants in the ever terrorized town of Haddonfield,Il. Returning to his hometown six years after the events of Halloween 5, Myers is stalking his niece, Jamie Lloyd. She has returned home with her new-born baby, and Michael is there is try to murder his evolving family tree. Inexplicably, Jamie stops at a local gas station and calls into a radio talk show to warn that Myers is on the prowl. This is heard by Dr. Loomis, now retired, and Dr, Wynn, the chief admin of the mental hospital that housed Michael as a boy.

Back in Haddonfield, Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd), who narrowly escaped death by Myers’ hand as a child, now lives in a house across the street from the Strode residence. The family living in the infamous home are relatives of the Strode family: Kara Strode (Marianne Hagan), her eight-year-old son, Danny (Devin Gardner), and her teenage brother, Tim (Keith Bogart). Tommy’s obsession with finding the truth behind the motives of Michael Myers has driven him nearly mad.

In a series of escalating coincidences and illogical choices, Tommy finds Jaime’s corpse and the baby she hid from her attackers. The child is unharmed and Tommy takes him into his care. The only person who believe Tommy’s claims is Dr. Loomis, who also believes that Michael has come home for one last Halloween. Tommy and Dr. Loomis must help Kara and her young son, Danny, from the clutches of the lunatic.

There is mention of a mythical curse that resurrects the killer whenever a certain constellation appears on Halloween. This is supposed to shed light on why Myers can survive an endless amount of punishment and the drive to kill his family members. It is an intriguing idea that goes nowhere, instead the filmmakers have decided to focus on the base elements that made the series popular. There are loads of grisly deaths, some of the victims are innocent bystanders and others are evildoers, but Myers kills indiscriminately.

Halloween 6 has a polished professional sheen to it, the lighting and sound design is impressive and the casting of Paul Rudd is a good choice. But, the third act is so convoluted that it renders the entire film pointless and utterly incomprehensible. There are a number of things to admire in this installment of the long-running series, but be prepared for a diced and reshaped final thirty minutes of material that discards sub-plots and leaves a main character off-screen during the climax. This is a good-looking flick, but its got major problems as a movie.

Director: Joe Chappelle
Stars: Paul Rudd, Donald Pleasance, Marianne Hagan