Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers Blu-ray Movie Review

Two cuts, one film? Nope. Two cuts, two entirely different films...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown September 19, 2014

John Carpenter's original Halloween (1978) begat Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. In an ironic twist, though, The Curse of Michael Myers, the sixth film in the Halloween franchise, was inspired not just by its own vision but by its slasher genre offspring. Myers, once upon a time a terrifying, very human murder machine, was suddenly revealed to have connections to something more sinister and, you guessed it, supernatural. How else could he have survived the events of the first five films? The answer? Horror fans don't really care. What the producers, writer Daniel Farrands and director Joe Chappelle failed to understand was the power of suspension of disbelief. We don't need an explanation. I never spent much time mulling over the how of Myers' decades-long killing spree, just the why. The horror of Michael Myers lies in his crazed, dogged persistence. The eerie silence with which he stalks his prey. The cold, calculating drive born somewhere deep inside. Not his origins, his ability to soldier on through death or the source of his inhuman strength.

It's no coincidence that wrestling with how far to push the series into the supernatural directly led to Curse's production woes. Officially presented for the first time via its theatrical version and vastly different producer's cut, it's clear the real struggle was in where to go with a series that was in danger of repeating itself ad nauseum. The theatrical version rapidly retreats from the supernatural, delivering a more traditional Halloween experience. The producer's cut charges ahead -- rather boldly -- and, regardless of the outcome, offers a more unique take on the mythos. (One heavily influenced by The Omen and Rosemary's Baby.) Which is the more effective installment? Let the debate rage.

In his 2011 review of the theatrical cut Blu-ray released by Echo Bridge, Martin Liebman wrote, "Hollywood studios must love Horror movies and Horror movie icons. Think about it: Horror films usually cost less to make than the average Action film. Legions of fans all but guarantee a return on investment. The killers generally cannot be themselves killed off; they're supernatural, they call Hell home, they've been cursed, or whatever the case may be, it's easy enough to shoot them, burn them, drown them, bury them, decapitate them. And when it's time for the next movie, hey, just bring them back! The movies operate, generally, completely outside the realm of reality, so there's no legitimate constraints to keep the killer from coming back for more blood, unless the character has just worn so thin that audiences simply no longer care. But when speaking of a Michael Myers, perhaps the ultimate Horror franchise icon, fans can't seem to get enough, so the movies keep coming, as regularly and as ruthlessly as Michael himself. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, the sixth film in the Halloween franchise, sees the return of not only Michael but a few characters from the previous films. It goes further into lore than ever before and creates a halfway decent story to accompany the killings. Unfortunately, it's all pretty routine from there.

A child is born in the midst of a demonic ritual. The mother is Jamie (J.C. Brandy), and her and her baby's lives are in grave danger. Only with the help of a kindly, sympathetic nurse does she escape her hell on Earth. The nurse is killed by none other than Michael Myers, who pursues Jamie and the baby back to Haddonfield, Illinois. It's Halloween time in Haddonfield, and rather than live on edge, the town has embraced its history. Michael is the subject of talk radio. He has his fans and his enemies, and his presence hangs over the town, for better or for worse. One local obsessed with Michael is Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd), a survivor of the Laurie Strode incident from 1978. Tommy locates Jamie after hearing her on the call-in radio show, begging for help but dismissed by the host as a crank. Though she's already died at the hands of Michael, Tommy locates her baby and runs into none other than Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) who once again finds himself at the center of the Myers killings. Now, Tommy must protect the child and the family living in the old Myers home from certain death at the hands of a masked madman who cannot be stopped, particularly on Halloween.

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers angles to offer its audience more than slashing and stabbing and screaming, attempting to delve into franchise backstory and weave together a whole different premise that reaffirms the series' supernatural roots, but from a different perspective. The film dabbles in the occult and does a nice job of tying together the series' previous installments and making greater sense of the mayhem. Yet the picture never quite comes together beyond its efforts to give further shape to the story of The Shape. Most damaging, the film simply lacks scares. The action is terribly routine even in light of a surprisingly strong atmosphere and solid direction at the capable hands of Joe Chappelle (Phantoms). The picture plays with a predictable cadence, with the only surprises coming from the backstory, not the stalking and hacking and slashing and whatever else it is Michael does to his victims. Yet the script is largely poor and the narrative sometimes awkward. The film teeters back and forth between playing as straight Horror and a Psychological Drama/Thriller. The characters are flat and the pacing is questionable. This isn't a bad film, but it doesn't do all that much well beyond establish lore.

Yet there's comfort in familiarity. Though it may be nowhere near as memorable, intense, or well-made as the classic original, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers sees the franchise at its most typical. The film's adherence to general style will satisfy audiences who are looking for something different yet more of the same, which pretty much represents he sequel mantra for any series and within any genre. The picture's attention to detail as it pertains to backstory is admirable, but ultimately it comes down to how well the film portrays Michael stalking and killing victims that's the determining factor in the film's success. In that regard, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers does its thing no better and no worse than most of the sequels save for the few that are the most atrociously awful. Big knives, ruthless and creative killings, and the mere presence of Michael Myers all make the movie worth seeing, at least by those audiences that cannot get enough Michael or basic Horror in their lives. Newcomers will be better served to watch the 1978 film first and decide where to go from there; it works well enough on its own, with subsequent sequels -- even the second -- aimed more at the enthusiast than the casual filmgoer."

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

Scream Factory's 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation of The Curse of Michael Myers' theatrical cut is a slight step up from its 2011 1080i Echo Bridge counterpart. Unfortunately, that slight step comes mainly by way of its 1080p resolution, not by any meaningful upgrades or improvements. (The two appear to have been produced using the same base transfer, despite some minor differences. Screenshot comparisons support this conclusion.) Though the image boasts sharp edges and semi-crisp textures, that level of clarity comes by way of artificial sharpening. Edge halos creep in throughout, and the entire presentation bears the hyper-prickly mark of an over-processed image. Color and contrast have also been boosted, leading to a film that's more vibrant than its Producer's Cut cousin but less filmic and faithful. Crush is rampant (in the second and third acts above all), delineation is problematic (particularly when comparing shared shots between the theatrical and producer's cuts), skintones occasionally appear flushed and/or oversaturated, and the grain field, while intact, isn't always natural or consistent.

That said, for some, the resulting image will be preferable. It certainly has more pop and primary punch, and isn't bad overall. It lands somewhere in the average range, with personal sensitivity to halos, crush and other anomalies being the key to predicting one's enjoyment of the presentation. More casual viewers may even assume the Producer's Cut is lacking; that its remastered image is dull or washed out. But don't mistake artificial sharpening for raw detail. Or heightened contrast and colors for faithfulness to the filmmakers' original intent. Like the two versions of the film, the two presentations are quite different. Unlike the two films, though, the Producer's Cut presentation has the edge.

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

While The Curse of Michael Myers' 2011 Echo Bridge Blu-ray maxed out with a lossless 2.0 mix, Scream Factory's BD features a full-fledged DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. And the upgrade is almost immediately apparent. Though by no means an example of pristine '90s sound design, the film weathers its production woes and low-budget limitations with ease. LFE output isn't mind-blowing, but it's aggressive enough to lend some much-needed oomph to Myers' appearances. The rear speakers follow suit, even when being used sparingly or simply to bolster the fullness of the score. Dialogue is clear and intelligible throughout too, with only a few instances in which prioritization comes up short or voices are significantly thin or tinny. The only real downside is that the 5.1 track isn't overly remarkable beyond comparisons to its 2011 stereo counterpart. It's quite good, mind you, particularly considering what little it often has to work with. But it could just as easily be shrugged off by someone who didn't realize how much better it is than what's come before.

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

• Still Gallery (HD, 12 minutes): Though the bulk of the Halloween 666 bonus content has been relegated to Disc Nine, with the Producer's Cut, the Theatrical Cut still includes a few extras, beginning with this stills montage.
• TV Spots (SD, 3 minutes): Nine television promos.
• Theatrical Trailers (SD, 3 minutes): Three trailers round out the disc.

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

The Curse of Michael Myers' theatrical cut is a more routine Halloween outing, actively backpedaling from the supernatural twists the original producer's cut so brazenly attempted to infuse into the mythos. It's a decent enough sequel I suppose -- sometimes cringe-inducing performances aside -- but it struggles with the same task as every Halloween sequel: equaling or surpassing the original. Scream Factory's Blu-ray edition of the theatrical cut is merely decent too, with a problematic video presentation (that doesn't represent a very substantial upgrade from the 2011 Echo Bridge release), a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and a few scattered supplements.