Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers Blu-ray Movie Review

A slow sequel arrives on Blu-ray as a decent package from Anchor Bay.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 29, 2012

It's just another one of your nightmares.

The only nightmare here is the movie. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is a lame, tired, and terribly generic Horror movie that cranks out a few decent ideas but ultimately succumbs to Horror sequel-itis. It opens with a recap of the first movie and introduces the dynamic, devolves into a boring Slasher in its middle act as everyone's (or, actually, probably more like a quarter of fan's) favorite masked madman stalks a bunch of uninteresting teens straight out of ye olde Horror movie handbook, and ends with an entertainingly solid, but hardly gripping, finale. This Halloween is painfully slow and completely derivative. Good idea to return the characters from the decent Halloween 4, but no doubt Michael was better off merely Returning and not Revenging.

The Shape.

And now for the rest of the story. The maniac Michael Myers has escaped certain doom on the outskirts of Haddonfield and has shacked up with a hermit. A year passes. Jamie (Danielle Harris) has spent the past 365 days in Haddonfield's Children's Clinic. She's become mute, unable to speak but expressing her emotions via the use of a chalkboard and exaggerated facial expressions. Unfortunately for Jamie, she suffers through terrible nightmares of her last run-in with Michael. Now, Michael has awakened from a yearlong coma and it becomes clear to Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) that Jamie shares a psychic connection to the infamous murderer. It's Halloween night, and Michael is returning to Haddonfield to finish the job. All that stands between him and the little girl is the local police force, a few teenagers, and a very dedicated Dr. Loomis.

Excellent character, good franchise, fair idea, poor execution. That pretty much sums up the state of Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. It incorporates a whole lot of goodness but fails to accomplish much of anything with it. The picture settles for routine rather than innovation, chugging along through Slasher movie formula and going nowhere with its characters and accomplishing precious little with the Jamie-Michael connection. Yet that Jamie-Michael psychic connection at least brings a little interest and novelty to the movie and some potential for it to go somewhere (it really doesn't). It's the middle stretch that effectively kills the movie. Halloween 5 could have been half as long and still worked just as well, if not significantly better. The picture follows dull Horror routine with the whole teenage character roster thing. They're either scaring themselves, scaring one another, having sex, or getting killed. They do nothing but fill time and allow Michael to randomly kill a few more people in largely forgettable fashion, here with farm and gardening equipment (a pitchfork, a scythe, and a hand cultivator) rather than the trademark butcher knife (which Michael does pull out for the important kills and attempted kills). These add nothing to the movie but unnecessary runtime; it's almost as if there's a second, lesser movie spliced into the main story that doesn't belong.

Otherwise, there's a little bit to like about Revenge, but nothing really to love. The cast seems largely disinterested in the entire affair. Pleasence lacks the edge from the last movie and here just screams out lines with little feeling behind them. Danielle Harris again nails her part, but the teenage cast does nothing to elevate the characters beyond stock. The film does find a few creepy moments, notably those classic Halloween shots of Michael standing still in the background as characters go about their last-minutes-on-Earth routines, completely oblivious to the fate that awaits them. The movie enjoys a much-needed push of energy in its final fifteen or twenty minutes and ends on a classic Halloween cliffhanger. Of course room for a sequel is left wide open (and why not, chances are a nuclear blast couldn't kill Michael Myers, so may as well keep cranking these things out), but it's at least the how and even the why that makes for an interesting transition to the sixth film rather than just another tired "he's unstoppable, so there doesn't have to be a reason behind his survival or escape." Unfortunately, all the build-up just isn't worth the agony of sifting through a whole lot of Horror movie nonsense to get there.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers improves on the rather dreary Halloween 4 transfer, but not by significant leaps and bounds. Notable early in the movie is the way black levels can waver a bit, looking a touch too overbearing in spots or a hair too bright in others. However, the image is largely stable and daresay occasionally pleasant, particularly in better-lit scenes and daytime exteriors in particular. Light grain is often evident, and details can occasionally impress in general complexity. There's still a slight flatness to the image, and some softer photography doesn't allow for any truly dazzling images, but altogether it holds up well enough. Colors are nicely balanced and accurate. There are some vibrant greens and a steady flow of natural colors coming out of the brighter scenes. Still, the transfer exhibits some pasty and flat details -- particularly some faces -- and the occasional drift towards overly pink skin tones. This one isn't awe-inspiring by any means, but it's a fair overall transfer that serves the material well enough.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers slashes onto Blu-ray with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack that's a rather large improvement over that found on Halloween 4. This one offers a deeper, wider, more natural presence and presentation, delivering material well beyond the confines of the middle and front speakers and on around to the back in a positive, naturally immersive manner. Clarity isn't striking by any means, but there's an honest, balanced soundtrack here that serves everything from the series' trademark music to heavy crashes and explosions with genuine accuracy and spacing. There's even a healthy dosage of naturally immersive ambience, particularly when thunder booms and naturally lingers about the soundstage. Dialogue is center-focused and consistently crisp and natural. This track won't blow anyone's socks off, but it's a big step up from Halloween 4 and a good presentation for an aging catalogue title.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers features a pair of audio commentary tracks, a couple of behind-the-scenes supplements, and a trailer.

• Audio Commentary: Actor Don Shanks and Author Justin Beahm begin by speaking on the making of the opening title sequence and proceed to discuss Shanks' casting, shooting various scenes, anecdotes from the shoot, the series' themes and the complexities of the Michael Myers character, and plenty more. This is an enlightening, balanced track that's worthy of a listen.
• Audio Commentary: Director Dominique Othenin-Girad and Actors Danielle Harris and Jeffrey Landman offer an enjoyable commentary that's well-spoken, enthusiastic, and insightful. There's plenty of good detailed technical insight, discussions of the plot, and jovial recount of the general filmmaking process. As with the previous track, this one's well worth a listen.
• Halloween 5: On the Set (480p, 16:16): Raw behind-the-scenes footage is intercut with cast interviews.
• Halloween 5: Original Promo (480p, 5:50): A lengthy preview for the movie that offers behind the scenes footage and cast and crew interviews.
• Halloween 5 Theatrical Trailer (480p, 0:36).

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Diehard Halloween fans might want to check out Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, but casual audiences probably won't find much of value. It's an even greater disappointment watching immediately after the better, but by no means great, Halloween 4. There's too much clutter and not much in the way of a truly gripping narrative. Anchor Bay does a great job on the menu -- it makes the film appear intense and will pump viewers up as they navigate the screen in preparation for watching the movie -- but the end product absolutely disappoints. As for the Blu-ray, it's a serviceable one. Good audio and video are supported by a nice little array of supplements, including an all-new commentary track. Worth a rental, perhaps, but not much more.