Movie Review: Halloween 5 (1989)

Synopsis: A year after his last killing spree, Michael Myers, having survived numerous police bullets, continues his search for his 9-year-old niece, who seems to have a telepathic link to him.

Who's in it? The movie stars Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, Beau Starr, Wendy Foxworth and Don Shanks.

Review: After watching Halloween 4 the other night and being pleasantly surprised by it, I decided to take the time to watch the next movie in that series, hoping for more of the same. My wife and I did that last night and, unfortunately, this film ended up being a serious disappointment.

I've watched a lot of horror movies over the years and have learned, with a few exceptions, film series like this one tend to lose something when they make the plots overly complicated. And, that was definitely the case with this film.

Halloween 4, for example, kept things simple. Michael Myers woke up from a coma and went in search of his niece, killing everyone he crossed paths with. This movie, in comparison, tried to throw in a bunch of extra stuff that simply did not work.

The telepathic link between Myers (Shanks) and his niece (Harris), for example, was more irritating than entertaining. It would have been different had she been able to provide clues before he struck. Instead, by the time she saw anything, he had already found his victim and was moving on. In other words, that part of the movie was basically pointless and caused the film not to flow nearly as well as the previous installment.

I'm also not a fan of the decision to write off her psychotic break/attack on her foster mother as being connected to that telepathic bond. She had the potential to be a fantastically creepy addition to the movie franchise. Instead, the writers failed to capitalize on the surprise twist from the previous film and turned her back into a lovable little girl. I personally would have much rather seen her be as dangerous (if not more) than her uncle. I'm not saying she couldn't have still helped them. I'm just saying they shouldn't have been comfortable turning their backs to her.

In addition, I found myself seriously confused by that mysterious man (Shanks) that got off the bus and ultimately helped Myers. I'm assuming that's explained in another film but, as of right now, the addition just seems like it really doesn't fit.

Final Opinion: After enjoying the fourth film, I had hoped this film would at least be roughly as good. Unfortunately, it ended up being a pretty big disappointment and, if I end up watching the 6th film, it will be only so I can find out who that mysterious man was.

My Grade: D