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New to Blu-ray: Halloween 4 and 5


            The first Halloween film is a modern horror classic. The second one continues the same story, picking up immediately after the previous film had left off. These first two films technically take place on the same Halloween night, and then Michael Myers vanished until the fourth film in the series. The third film strayed from the storyline to have a plot about some haunted masks instead, but the fourth film is a return of sorts. Both Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 continue the story of Michael Myers, and he remains human rather than supernatural despite how unbelievable his survival in each film may seem.

            Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers brings back the original storyline, minus Jamie Lee Curtis as the sister under attack. Instead it is her daughter who is targeted by Michael. Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) is just a small child, but she is helped by her babysitter and cousin, Rachel (Ellie Cornell). These two spend the next two films attempting escape from Michael, over the course of two different Halloween nights. In Halloween 4, Rachel agrees to baby-sit her cousin begrudgingly only to discover that they are being hunted down by an escaped killer.

            How Michael is able to continuously escape as well as survive the brutal onslaught that ends his reign each film is a mystery. This is another where Michael is able to escape during transport and makes his way back to his hometown, apparently now able to drive. The fourth film is famous for amping up the amount of gore as well as a twist ending that is somewhat discarded for the next film.

            Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers has the same characters and continues the storyline in a similar way that was successful with the first two films. Both Rachel and Jamie are back as the victims of a once again attacking Michael Myers. By now there is no question about his destructive abilities and after he was gunned down only to survive, there is no telling how he can be stopped.

            The Blu-ray release of Halloween 4 has two audio commentaries; one with actors Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harries and another with director Dwight H. Little and author Justin Beahm. There is also a discussion panel for the fourth and fifth film in the series. Halloween 5 also has two audio commentaries, and also separates the actors from the filmmakers. The actor commentary has Danielle Harris, Don Shanks and Jeffrey Landman. The filmmaker commentary has director Dominique Othenin-Girard and author Justin Beahm. There is also an on-set featurette and both films have the original promo material.


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