The second film of the night, sadly, was not Halloween 2 or Halloween 3. Instead, we return to Haddonfield of the late 1980s for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.
Halloween 4: The Return Michael Myers (1988)
Opening Rant: Joe Bob again professes his love for the Lifetime Movie of the Week. Won’t someone get this guy a role as a villainous husband? He’s got the acting-chops.
Ah, Halloween 4: The Revenge of Michael Myers. No film in the Myers saga is as controversial, with the exception of Halloween 3: Season of the Witch to the whole of the franchise. For some, Halloween 4 is a return to what is considered key to Halloween: Michael Myers. It represents a course correction. Even then, fans of Myers have differing opinions. For some, it is a film that represents the inevitable slide into mediocrity that defined most slashers heading into the 1990s. For others, it represents the loss of a potential narrative.
So, where does Halloween 4 rank in Joe Bob’s estimation? It ranks as a 4-star experience, though he says enough during the Joe Bob breaks to call that into question. Halloween 4 has some great things going for it. It is probably the best storyline Dr. Loomis has and builds on his obsession with Michael. We’re talking Captain Ahab and his white whale, here.
We also get a fun, drunk, truckin’ preacher as well. Joe Bob had a field day with that one. The preacher, played by Carmen Filpi, is one of those recognizable faces in films. He plays a kind of crusty old street fellow quite well, and Joe Bob explained a bit of that.
The film also happened to have a chaotic group of rednecks who make the situation even worse. That actually adds quite a bit to the film, and we already know how Joe Bob Briggs feels about rednecks. I am assuming there was a redneck-multiplier at play when it comes to the rating Joe Bob provided.
Review
Joe Bob’s evaluation is, on the surface, fairly glowing. When you dive into some of his own thoughts, however, you may question the merits of the film.
I find Halloween 4 to be serviceable at best. There is a lot going wrong in the film which completely undercuts what actually works with it. At best, Halloween 4 is a two-and-a-half-star film. As a whole, the material with Dr. Loomis is some of the strongest in the series. The mob justice moments are also a pretty insightful component to the overall story as well. But none of the kills are particularly great, barring the thumb-to-the-forehead early on. The loss of Laurie Strode is most definitely felt as well. The film just feels weaker without her presence.
There is also the issue of abandoning what worked in favor of… whatever the Hell Halloween 5 was. The potential of Jamie Lloyd being the next incarnation of the Shade is an alternate reality I, for one, would love to visit.
Best Line: “Yeah, the one you’re picking up, just thinking about him gives me the willies. A decade ago-Halloween night-he murdered sixteen people, maybe more, trying to get to his sister; nearly got her, too. But his doctor, of all people, shot him six times, then set him on fire. Both of them nearly burned to death. Yeah, I’ll be glad to see this one gone. Yes, indeed-y!” – Officer Exposition
Looking for the Haunted MTL Drive-In totals? You can find those on the review of the first movie of the night. We continue our slide into non-Carpenter Halloween mediocrity later this week with the third film of the night: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. A film universally derided as one of the worst slasher sequels ever made.
It’s gonna be a spooky fun time with a spooky bad movie when we conclude the Halloween Hootenanny.
The sweet putrid stench of love lingers through the air which can only mean one thing…Valentine’s Day and its annoying little winged cherub mascot, Cupid, is fast approaching. Soon, partners will be spoiling one another with extravagant bouquets of roses, heartfelt Hallmark cards, obnoxiously large teddy bears, glistening diamond jewelry, and heart-shaped candies or boxes filled with assorted mediocre chocolates. You know? Normal things couples do. I tend to prefer my chocolate boxes filled with bleeding hearts, à la ‘My Bloody Valentine’ but, beggars can’t be choosers, right? All jokes aside, Valentine’s Day is special for many couples, however, there are also many others who find themselves celebrating this day without a significant other. Luckily, Shudder, along with drive-in king Joe Bob Briggs and co-host Darcy the Mail Girl (Diana Prince) will graciously be keeping us lonely mutants’, and yes, all you horror fanatic couples’ company on Friday, February 10th as they return with The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob’s Vicious Vegas Valentine, premiering live at 9pm EST.
Love Spells Abound…
Back in 2021, Joe Bob and Darcy invited us to a gruesomely passionate night of spell-binding love witches and animatronic dinosaurs infused with teenage human brains during The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob Put a Spell on You. Many, including myself, were introduced to the tantalizing 70’s inspired retro throwback ‘The Love Witch’and the graphically goofy cult classic ‘Tammy and the T-Rex’, providing the perfect viewing pleasure to mend any broken heart. While the two films for this year’s morbid love-induced special have yet to be announced, as a special treat, Briggs has announced for the first time on The Last Drive-In, he will be marrying one lucky couple during the live showing. We here at HauntedMTL are eagerly awaiting the return of the ghoulish duo so, as is tradition, we will be proudly hosting a watch party on Twitter during the broadcasting of The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob’s Vicious Vegas Valentine. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and tag us @hauntedMTL as well as @shudder, @therealjoebob, and @kinky_horror to partake in this night of unholy love.
Follow @hauntedMTL for live tweets and replies!
What started off as a one-time special premiering on Shudder July 13, 2018, ‘The Last Drive- In’ was originally meant to be Brigg’s swan song; one last special before hanging up the bolo tie in retirement. However, due to so many mutants, excuse me…viewers tuning in and breaking the Shudder servers, it was only natural to announce an official full season of ‘The Last Drive-In‘, which would make its explosive debut March 19, 2019. Since then, Darcy and Briggs have spawned many exclusive holiday specials, have graciously donated to many charities within the community, and have accumulated 4 seasons of ‘The Last Drive-In’, with a fifth currently in production premiering on Shudder’s 2023 schedule sometime this year, let’s hope sooner rather than later.
An unexpected ceremony during The Last Drive-In: Joe Bob Put a Spell on You (2021) special.
Horror Noire is a horror collection brought by the combined efforts of AMC+ and Shudder. The collection includes “Daddy,” “The Lake,” “Brand of Evil,” “Bride Before You,” “Fugue State,” and “Sundown.” Horror Noire boasts Black directors and screenwriters, providing six unique stories.
As this collection explores six stories, I will skip the usual synopsis to assess the genres and ideas explored, albeit limited as needed. Expect to find supernatural horror, creature features, and psychological thrillers. Many short films deal with these genres while exploring Black issues, but this isn’t universal for the collection.
The directors and writers include Zandashé Brown, Robin Givens, Rob Greenlea, Kimani Ray Smith, Steven Barnes, Ezra Clayton Daniels, Tananarive Due, Shernold Edwards, Victor LaValle, and Al Letson.
Image from “Sundown” Directed by Kimani Ray Smith
What I Like
Each story remains unique, holding different strengths and weaknesses that highlight drastically different perspectives. Collections like VHS hold a similar premise to create their collection, but Horror Noire gives more creative freedom to its talent to be independent.
My personal favorite short film is Zandashé Brown’s “Bride Before You.” This period piece unravels a fable set in the Reconstruction Era. The entry feels Fabulistic in approach, which happens to be my preferred niche.
However, the best example of horror goes to Robin Givens’ “Daddy,” providing an existential horror tied directly to the characters involved.
Image from “Fugue State” directed by Rob Greenlea
What I Dislike
As mentioned, all have a particular style and idea. The downside of this approach always remains to keep the viewer interested long enough to find their favorite. If you find several underwhelming choices, this becomes a chore. But I imagine that is rare as the variety makes the options refreshing.
Personally, “Brand of Evil” had an interesting premise, but the execution fell short. On paper, it might have sounded like my favorite, which makes the lackluster execution a bigger letdown.
Zeth M. Martinez
Final Thoughts
Horror Noire gives power and control to Black creators, providing a formula for a unique collection against others in the space. While the various subjects and approaches mean you aren’t likely to love them all, there should be a short film for everyone. (3.5 / 5)
Episode six of Netflix’s Dahmer was not, honestly about our title character. Instead, it was about one of his victims, a man named Tony. We’ve actually seen Tony a few times during this series. We just didn’t know it was him.
And, well, he wasn’t exactly alive the first time we saw him.
Tony was born into a supportive, loving family. This is good because soon after he was born a viral infection took his hearing. He is black, deaf, and gay in the early 90’s.
Tony has a dream of becoming a model. And he certainly has the looks for it. He is beautiful, body and soul. He has lots of opportunities for romance, but it’s not what he’s looking for. He wants a real relationship.
Eventually Tony moves to Madison, trying to pursue his dream. He gets a job and starts getting modeling work.
Then, he meets Jeff Dahmer at a bar.
At first, we can almost believe that it’s going to be alright. Jeff seems happy. He’s taking care of himself. He’s not drinking as much. He even has his dad and stepmom over for dinner. It seems like his life is getting on track. Even better, he’s treating Tony right.
Then, of course, things go bad.
One thing that has always bothered me as a true crime fan is that we know so much about the killers, but not as much about the victims. Not so much if we don’t know who the killer is, of course. But the names that are part of our pop culture are those of the killers. Dahmer, Manson, Jones, Bundy, Holms. The names we don’t know are Roberta Parks, Beth LaBiancas, Leno LaBiancas, and Tony Hughes. And clearly, we should know them.
If Tony Hughes was half the shining, positive person that the show Dahmer made him out to be, I’m so sad that he isn’t with us anymore. We need so many more people like him. And many of Dahmer’s victims were likely just like him. After all, he was attracted to them for a reason.
This was a significant episode, and I understand why it’s the highest-rated episode of the series. I finished it with a heavy heart, saddened by the loss of a man who should still be with us today.
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