HorroRated archive entry

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

HorroRated verdict
If You're Curious
1990sSlasherOccultFranchise HorrorCult Classic
Directed by
Joe Chappelle
Written by
Daniel Farrands
Produced by
Paul Freeman, Moustapha Akkad, Malek Akkad

Why it’s HorroRated

The Curse of Michael Myers is a genuine mess and it's worth being curious about mainly for how bizarre that mess is. Introducing an ancient druid cult controlling Michael through a supernatural curse retroactively explains away everything that made the character frightening in the original, trading blank-faced inexplicable evil for convoluted occult mythology nobody asked for. The behind-the-scenes chaos, extensive reshoots, a rushed new ending after Donald Pleasence's death, over twenty minutes cut in the editing room, left a film that barely holds together even by the low standards of mid-90s slasher sequels. There's a fan-favorite Producer's Cut with a different ending that's genuinely more coherent, which tells you everything about how compromised the theatrical release actually is. Worth a curious look for franchise completionists and nothing more.

Synopsis

Six years after her abduction, teenage Jamie Lloyd escapes the Cult of Thorn with her newborn son, only for Michael to catch up with her almost immediately. The film pivots to the Strode family, now living in the old Myers house, while Dr. Loomis and a grown-up Tommy Doyle try to piece together the druidic curse driving Michael's rampage. Paul Rudd makes his film debut as Tommy in a production defined by constant rewrites, reshoots, and a hastily reworked ending following Donald Pleasence's death during production.

Filed under

Quick facts

Release date
September 29, 2995
Runtime
1 hour 28 mins
Country
United States of America
Language
English
Content rating
R
Entry type
Movie

Tags

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers trailer