By Geno McGahee
In 1995, HALLOWEEN 6: The Curse of Michael Myers was released and I was one of the first in line to see it and when it was over I was confused and disappointed. Up to this point, the series had did a pretty good job putting out quality films and I expected the same thing here. It wasn’t that it was horribly shot or that it didn’t have the Halloween feel to it. It just didn’t make a lot of sense and there was a reason why. They put out an incomplete version of the film, trimming and cutting out things that made a very special movie ordinary. Well, it’s 2008 and I got my hands on a copy of the complete film with the 45 minutes that were cut out placed back into it and it made all the difference.
We begin with a familiar character, Jamie (J.C. Brandy), about to give birth and being wheeled to a Satanic cult ceremony where the birth will happen. We already start with a great scene. How can you go wrong with Michael Myers AND a Satanic cult? You cannot. In case you don’t remember Jamie…she was the youngster in the fourth and fifth that Myers had a special interest in. Now she’s older and knocked up and ready to give birth. When the baby is born, it is handed over to a man in black with a black fedora…the leader of this cult. The intention is to kill the baby, but thanks to an insider, Jamie escapes with baby in tow, but Myers is hot on her tail.
Myers doesn’t allow many to escape (spoiler) and he finally gets Jamie, but no baby. She hid the little dude away somewhere and now the white faced killer is now shit out of luck. Boy, is that cult going to be mad at him. I love the idea of the cult controlling Myers…that’s great stuff.
In the 1995 theatrical version, they all but cut out Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance) who died during filming, but in the director’s cut, he is in it quite a bit and it adds a great deal to the movie. Loomis was more than 50% responsible for the success of the series with his over the top acting and hunt for the killer. Although older and sorta sickly, he still delivers very well in this movie.
Loomis believes that Myers is back for several reasons and teams up with an associate from the hospital, Dr. Wynn (Mitch Ryan). Collectively they are going to try stop the bloodbath before it begins. A new character…that was sort of an old character brought back in Tommy (Paul Rudd). Ever since witnessing Myers when he was a kid, he had dedicated his life to studying the killer and figuring out just why he is who he is. I found the character annoying, but not annoying enough to ruin my film experience.
In Myer’s old house we have the Strode family…and what is a horror movie without a jerk? John Strode (Bradford English) doesn’t like the fact that Kara Strode (Marianne Hagan) and her son Danny (Devin Gardner) were now back under his roof. He yells at the neighborhood children and calls young Danny a “bastard” and then proceeds to crack Kara across the face, bloodying her nose. He is hilarious! And you know with behavior like that he’s not going to make it very far in a horror movie right?
Danny is getting visions of a man in black with a black fedora, telling him to kill. This is what happened with Michael Myers and it was now happening to another youngster. Kara dismisses it, but her experiences with her next door neighbor Tommy and the legend of Myers have gotten to her.
Now Tommy annoyed me throughout the film but even worse was Barry Simms (Leo Geter), the shock jock that is trying too hard to be funny and I don’t know if it was written to be a reflection on the shock jocks’ comedy routines and how they are not really funny or if Daniel Farrands, the writer, thought that it was actually funny. I don’t know, but the (spoiler) quick death of Simms is a good thing.
The mystery surrounding Myers in this film is fantastic and as the film goes on it gets more and more interesting. There are some surprises and seeing Myers standing alongside the Satanic cult was really neat. This is a quality Halloween movie and I love the direction they went and how they explained just what Myers was. If you can get your hands on this film, which is tough, you will really enjoy it. I highly recommend it.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10. Why did they ruin this movie?
