Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

[steev210]

Of the remaining 5 Halloween films rumored to be getting a potential 4K UHD release, Halloween The Curse of Michael Myers is the one I'm most looking forward to picking up.

The cinematography is spot on, creating the perfect Halloween Fall atmosphere and conveying an unsettling, spooky mood throughout. This will look even more impressive with a tasteful HDR pass.

[Scoot79]

Originally Posted by steev210

Of the remaining 5 Halloween films rumored to be getting a potential 4K UHD release, Halloween The Curse of Michael Myers is the one I'm most looking forward to picking up.

The cinematography is spot on, creating the perfect Halloween Fall atmosphere and conveying an unsettling, spooky mood throughout. This will look even more impressive with a tasteful HDR pass.

I'll get 6, H20, and Resurrection, but have no interest in the Zombie films. Danielle Harris was the only redeeming quality of those films. Hobo Myers looks stupid and he's way too big, like a wrestler.

I agree with 6 (Curse) having an outstanding fall/Halloween atmosphere.

[flash.over]

It’ll be nice to get a release of H20 that might actually reflect what it’s supposed to look like, too. Every single home release is way too bright lol

[timzy007]

Originally Posted by Scoot79

I'll get 6, H20, and Resurrection, but have no interest in the Zombie films. Danielle Harris was the only redeeming quality of those films. Hobo Myers looks stupid and he's way too big, like a wrestler.

Danielle Harris naked in 4K though

[agenda]

Originally Posted by dylrichard02

I actually enjoy Curse personally, but I don't know how I feel about that artwork. It feels right for the theatrical cut, maybe. I can see why you might not like this one though!

I like the artwork but I can't stand the so called "movie". I still own THIS and I hate every minute of it. I only own it for the curiosity reasons, simple as that.

[RevolverOcelScott]

Originally Posted by steev210

Of the remaining 5 Halloween films rumored to be getting a potential 4K UHD release, Halloween The Curse of Michael Myers is the one I'm most looking forward to picking up.

The cinematography is spot on, creating the perfect Halloween Fall atmosphere and conveying an unsettling, spooky mood throughout. This will look even more impressive with a tasteful HDR pass.

I do not get the hate for 6. Not liking the "cult/curse" aspect I can see, but in every other way it's the OG formula. Loomis hunting Michael, Michael stalking people, Michael killing people. I actually think 6 is pretty damn good. I also think as a whole the film is fascinating, just because of all the changes it went through.

The ending of the TC is definitely lacking, but with Donald's death, they kinda had to do what they had to do with a small budget and reshoots.

[dylrichard02]

Originally Posted by agenda

I like the artwork but I can't stand the so called "movie". I still own THIS and I hate every minute of it. I only own it for the curiosity reasons, simple as that.

Agree to disagree. It's stupidity is part of what I enjoy.

[jstxanothrxstory]

Originally Posted by dylrichard02

The artwork noticeably doesn't match the previous Halloween UHDs from Scream Factory and is missing the CE banner. Looks to be the work of you know who

Someone just decided to make that cover and upload it as a placeholder. That design was done for Cavity Colors' march back in 2019: https://brokehorrorfan.com/post/1885...n-the-curse-of

[Mikezilla3k]

Originally Posted by BluCollector13

As for who gets the rights to do the Zombie films, one hopes Lionsgate can be convinced to do business again with an external label and that "Uncut Gems" wasn't just a one and done, especially since it would ultimately make more sense from a business sense to lease the Zombie movies out to Shout! (hell, give them the "Devil's Rejects" Trilogy and "The Lords of Salem", too, since it seems all they're good for from Lionsgates' POV is cheap rereleases with no new substance).

Wasn't Uncut Gems owned by A24 though? Think Lionsgate only released it on Blu-Ray and don't actually own it.

[dylrichard02]

Originally Posted by Mikezilla3k

Wasn't Uncut Gems owned by A24 though? Think Lionsgate only released it on Blu-Ray and don't actually own it.

Exactly. A24 licensed it to Criterion.

[mad_max2000]

Originally Posted by RevolverOcelScott

I do not get the hate for 6. Not liking the "cult/curse" aspect I can see, but in every other way it's the OG formula. Loomis hunting Michael, Michael stalking people, Michael killing people. I actually think 6 is pretty damn good. I also think as a whole the film is fascinating, just because of all the changes it went through.

Seeing the "producer's cut," with it's more relaxed pace, less abrasive editing and more conventional Halloween score has helped to turn around my opinion of the movie overall. In fairness the theatrical cut does have a few nice moments as well, but those are few and far between for me. Both versions of the film have grown on me over the years since I first saw the theatrical cut.

That said though, neither version makes all that much narrative sense. The more you find out about the cult/doctors, the purpose of the baby, the ruins, and the stars literally aligning on Halloween; it either feels overly convoluted or self-contradictory. Joe Chappelle, Paul Freeman, Mousatpha Akkda and Bob Weinstein all had their way with Danial Farrands' script which, in my opinion, was dubious anyway. It's a deeply confused and confusing movie in both versions.

And then of course the movie commits the absolutely unforgivable sin of continuing/concluding the Jamie Lloyd character the way it does. Obviously H4 & H5 have a certain grit and "meanness" to them with the shape stalking a literal child but the Jamie Lloyd character was written in both films to have a sense of agency and cleverness to her, even when she was being sheilded by the adults, but in H6 she's written simply as a victim. Specifically a victim of some of the darkest turns you could possibly take for a character who has suffered so much already in these films.

H6 alone shows us that she is the victim of child kidnapping, believed by the world to be dead while she was held in false imprisonment for years, the victim of statutory and incestual rape by her serial killer uncle (the same serial killer uncle who murdered her aunt, her foster sister, both her dogs, damn near everyone else around her and came within an ace of killing both her mother and herself, twice) and is forced to carry her incest baby to term, before she is finally permitted to die a horrible, violent death without receiving anything like the catharsis the character so desperately deserved.

It's basic expectations in pulp story telling; you can take a character/s into a deep valley emotionally, psychologically, physically, etc. so long as they are able to come out the otherside strengthened, validated and triumphent, even in the face of despair. The character was taken into a dark place with H4 & H5, so naturally the expectation is that in H6 she would receive some sort of vindication or retribution against the shape (think Ripley in Aliens, Sarah Conner in T2, Rambo in First Blood or Laurie Strode in H20 or Halloween 2018). Obviously, for numerous reasons, the character didn't get that. Even in the original draft of H6 that Farrands has spoken glowingly about, the character never got that; she still came across as a victim. So I have a hard time watching H6 because of this.

[bobbyh64]

Originally Posted by RevolverOcelScott

I do not get the hate for 6. Not liking the "cult/curse" aspect I can see, but in every other way it's the OG formula. Loomis hunting Michael, Michael stalking people, Michael killing people. I actually think 6 is pretty damn good. I also think as a whole the film is fascinating, just because of all the changes it went through.

I agree 100%. I’m not really a fan of the idea that a cult created and controlled the Shape, but I still love the movie anyway. Since a lot of the cult stuff was removed for the theatrical cut, in my own headcanon I think of the cult as a group of crazy doctors who discovered that Michael was pure evil instead of being the reason why he became evil, as explained in the producer’s cut. It’s hard to know exactly what the hell is going on in the theatrical cut, so maybe it was canon in that version that they only tried to harness his evil instead of creating it.

Originally Posted by RevolverOcelScott

The ending of the TC is definitely lacking, but with Donald's death, they kinda had to do what they had to do with a small budget and reshoots.

Yeah. It’s a shame Donald couldn’t be a part of the reshoots. But it’s also a shame he didn’t have a single interaction with Michael or even lay eyes on him in the producer’s cut, so at least they had some kind of confrontation together in the theatrical cut, even if it was off screen at the very end.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by Scoot79

I'll get 6, H20, and Resurrection, but have no interest in the Zombie films. Danielle Harris was the only redeeming quality of those films. Hobo Myers looks stupid and he's way too big, like a wrestler.

I agree with 6 (Curse) having an outstanding fall/Halloween atmosphere.

I’ll take the Zombie films over 6 & Resurrection any day. 6 is just horrible no matter which cut it is. Resurrection is equally as bad but I can still enjoy it more then 6 which is probably my least favorite in the whole series.

[bobbyh64]

Originally Posted by mad_max2000

That said though, neither version makes all that much narrative sense. The more you find out about the cult/doctors, the purpose of the baby, the ruins, and the stars literally aligning on Halloween; it either feels overly convoluted or self-contradictory. Joe Chappelle, Paul Freeman, Mousatpha Akkda and Bob Weinstein all had their way with Danial Farrands' script which, in my opinion, was dubious anyway. It's a deeply confused and confusing movie in both versions.

Yeah, both versions of the film barely make any sense. In the producer’s cut it doesn’t make sense that the cult would impregnate Jamie when all they had to do was have Myers kill Jamie, which would end his bloodline, before passing on the curse to little Danny. It also doesn’t make sense that they want Danny to be the next killer when his family was just murdered by Michael. Once he kills his mom and has the curse, there’s no one left to kill.

Originally Posted by mad_max2000

And then of course the movie commits the absolutely unforgivable sin of continuing/concluding the Jamie Lloyd character the way it does. Obviously H4 & H5 have a certain grit and "meanness" to them with the shape stalking a literal child but the Jamie Lloyd character was written in both films to have a sense of agency and cleverness to her, even when she was being sheilded by the adults, but in H6 she's written simply as a victim. Specifically a victim of some of the darkest turns you could possibly take for a character who has suffered so much already in these films.

H6 alone shows us that she is the victim of child kidnapping, believed by the world to be dead while she was held in false imprisonment for years, the victim of statutory and incestual rape by her serial killer uncle (the same serial killer uncle who murdered her aunt, her foster sister, both her dogs, damn near everyone else around her and came within an ace of killing both her mother and herself, twice) and is forced to carry her incest baby to term, before she is finally permitted to die a horrible, violent death without receiving anything like the catharsis the character so desperately deserved.

Jamie definitely went through some horrible sh*t in her three movies. It would’ve been nice if she could’ve survived instead of killed off after being tortured for years.

Michael impregnating her in the producer’s cut doesn’t make any sense to me because why would he agree to do that? Because some demon is forcing him to? It’s so far removed from his character that I can’t take it seriously. In the theatrical cut it seems to me her baby was the result of some kind of artificial insemination and genetic experiment. This makes more sense to me because then there’s a reason for Jamie to have a baby. It was just another one of the cult’s experiments in trying to harness evil or whatever.

Originally Posted by mad_max2000

It's basic expectations in pulp story telling; you can take a character/s into a deep valley emotionally, psychologically, physically, etc. so long as they are able to come out the otherside strengthened, validated and triumphent, even in the face of despair. The character was taken into a dark place with H4 & H5, so naturally the expectation is that in H6 she would receive some sort of vindication or retribution against the shape (think Ripley in Aliens, Sarah Conner in T2, Rambo in First Blood or Laurie Strode in H20 or Halloween 2018). Obviously, for numerous reasons, the character didn't get that. Even in the original draft of H6 that Farrands has spoken glowingly about, the character never got that; she still came across as a victim. So I have a hard time watching H6 because of this.

I think of H6 as its own thing, separate from the others. H5 goes together with H4 much more than H6 does, although I prefer H6 over H5.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by bobbyh64

H5 goes together with H4 much more than H6 does, although I prefer H6 over H5.

Yup. The first 20 minutes of H5 are a really solid continuation-in-part of H4, until it totally goes off the rails and turns into a generic slasher, unravelling faster and faster as it goes along. But I forgive it.

H6 has about as much to do with the the first few Halloween franchise films as La Llorona or The Nun has to do with the first two Conjuring films....I watch H6 as a standalone film or not at all. And I pretend Resurrection doesn't exist.

[bobbyh64]

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

Yup. The first 20 minutes of H5 are a really solid continuation-in-part of H4,

I wouldn’t go that far. The opening with Myers floating down the river is like a spoof. All it needed was the Benny Hill music.

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

until it totally goes off the rails and turns into a generic slasher, unravelling faster and faster as it goes along.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

But I forgive it.

I wouldn’t go that far. I find that a large portion of H5 is pretty boring, especially most of the daylight scenes. The only suspenseful sequence in the movie is the laundry chute scene. There are also two scenes I like for comedic reasons: Cookie Woman and Loomis’s smackdown of Myers. Apart from these scenes I don’t find much value in the movie.

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

I watch H6 as a standalone film or not at all.

That’s how I think of it too. The fact that the number 6 was removed from the title as well as some references to H5 makes it clear that the studio wanted it to be perceived as almost a stand-alone.

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

And I pretend Resurrection doesn't exist.

Resurrection never happened. It was just a nightmare Laurie was having. Her son was a huge Busta Rhymes fan and her subconscious somehow worked him into her nightmare.

[DaylightsEnd]

Oh yeah, that laundry chute scene......Best part of the film. Almost didn't feel like it belonged in the film the first time I saw it. Great energy and suspense. I did also like the fact that during the early portion of the film, they chose a first-person perspective for Myers' stalking activities around the suburbs and outside of the house, a nod to H1978.

I give the rest of the film a courtesy pass because frankly, there are gobs of way less competent generic slashers and other types of horror flicks than H5, that were released in the 1987-1990 era...a low point for the genre. Fortunately there wasn't much intentionally campy comedy introduced, the film still took itself seriously, Myers still roughly stayed in character (all things considered), and several scenes were actually competently filmed. It even has some decent atmosphere. It's a shame about the the production mess it eventually turned into.

I used to hate H5, then I softened on that position and learned to tolerate it, and now I respect it for the small handful of things it was able to accomplish. I couldn't believe I was buying it in 4k last Halloween, but when I revisited it, I actually found more things to appreciate about it, especially since it looks and sounds pretty good on the shout 4k release, which definitely helped matters. I'm hoping that if H6 gets a decent 4k release of both cuts, I might find some more redeeming qualities about it as well.

[bobbyh64]

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

Oh yeah, that laundry chute scene......Best part of the film. Almost didn't feel like it belonged in the film the first time I saw it. Great energy and suspense. I did also like the fact that during the early portion of the film, they chose a first-person perspective for Myers' stalking activities around the suburbs and outside of the house, a nod to H1978.

I give the rest of the film a courtesy pass because frankly, there are gobs of way less competent generic slashers and other types of horror flicks than H5, that were released in the 1987-1990 era...a low point for the genre. Fortunately there wasn't much intentionally campy comedy introduced, the film still took itself seriously, Myers still roughly stayed in character (all things considered), and several scenes were actually competently filmed. It even has some decent atmosphere. It's a shame about the the production mess it eventually turned into.

I used to hate H5, then I softened on that position and learned to tolerate it, and now I respect it for the small handful of things it was able to accomplish. I couldn't believe I was buying it in 4k last Halloween, but when I revisited it, I actually found more things to appreciate about it, especially since it looks and sounds pretty good on the shout 4k release, which definitely helped matters. I'm hoping that if H6 gets a decent 4k release of both cuts, I might find some more redeeming qualities about it as well.

You make some great points. I don’t hate H5, far from it. I just don’t think it’s that good compared to most of the others in the series; although, I can enjoy it for the 80s nostalgia, Donald Pleasence’s performance, and the fact that it’s part of the original timeline before the retcon era started. There’s something to be said for keeping a series in continuity even if it gets a bit ridiculous. The Halloween series was always evolving, for better or worse. I take back what I said about not forgiving H5 and I’ll say I half-forgive it. I’m a massive Halloween fan and I got into the series when there were just six movies, so that original run of sequels will always be special to me, warts and all.

[slasherdisc]

Halloween VI is a masterpiece compared to Resurrection and Halloween Kills.

[Member-222782]

All these years I had no idea Jamie's baby at the beginning of H6 was Michael's. How, exactly, does someone who is constantly running and fighting get impregnated?