Deviation Actions
Description
"Michael's work isn't done in Haddonfield. And soon, very soon, there come home to kill again. But this time, I'll be ready."
Lets continue our Monster Mash with the Halloween film that explores the origins of Michael Myers and his reasonings for his killing as he stalks a new target; Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers.
Also, i'll be comparing both the theatrical cut and the Producer's Cut.
At the end of "Halloween 5", Michael Myers and his niece Jamie Lloyd are abducted from the Haddonfield Police Station by the mysterious Man in Black and two of his henchmen.
Six years later, on October 30, 1995, Jamie has been impregnated and her infant is born, being taken away by the Man in Black, revealed to be the leader of a Druid-like cult.
Later, a midwife helps Jamie escape with her baby, but she is killed by Michael. Jamie and her baby flee in a stolen pick-up truck, with Michael in pursuit.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sam Loomis has retired and moved to a cabin on the outskirts of Haddonfield, where he lives as a hermit.
He is visited by his friend Dr. Terence Wynn, the chief administrator of Smith's Grove Sanitarium, where Michael had been incarcerated as a boy; Wynn asks Loomis to return to Smith's Grove.
They overhear Jamie's plea for help on a local radio station, when she makes a call to Loomis, only to be ignored by the radio D.J. Barry Simms. Michael catches up with Jamie, and she crashes the truck into an old barn. He kills Jamie, but finds that her baby is not in the truck.
In Haddonfield, Tommy Doyle, whom Laurie Strode babysat in 1978, now lives in a boarding house run by Mrs. Blankenship.
Tommy is a reclusive individual who has become obsessed with finding the truth behind Michael's motives.
The dysfunctional family living in the Myers house across the street are relatives of the Strode family: Kara Strode, her six-year-old son Danny, her teenage brother Tim, caring mother Debra, and abusive father John. Tommy finds Jamie's baby at the bus station, takes him into his care, and names him Steven.
Tommy runs into Loomis and tells him about the Strode family living in the Myers house. Meanwhile, Michael returns to Haddonfield, where he stalks Kara.
Later, Tommy, Kara, and Danny go to the boarding house, where Tommy reveals that he believes Michael has been inflicted with Thorn, an ancient Druid curse.
Long ago, one child from each tribe, chosen to bear the curse of Thorn, must sacrifice its next of kin on the night of Samhain, or Halloween. Tommy believes that Steven will be Michael's final sacrifice.
Later that night, while Tommy goes out to look for Loomis, Mrs. Blankenship reveals to Kara that she was babysitting Michael the night he killed his sister, and that Danny is hearing a voice telling him to kill just like Michael did, indicating Danny also possesses the power of Thorn.
Now it's up to Tommy and Kara to protect Danny and Steven from the Thorn cult, and put an end to Michael's reign of terror once and for all.
The story is incredibly messy and convoluted as while the film does still have some legit creepy and intense moments, and the film does have a dark and eerie atmosphere especially with all the cult stuff, and it does try and link it to the darker origins of the Halloween holiday, but the film is littered with tons of obnoxious strobing lights and weird editing cuts, it's implied, and made clear in the producer's cut, that Michael is the father of Jamie's child, meaning that said child is the result of the Thorn cultists forcing Michael to rape his niece, there's several continuity errors, an abrupt, unsatisfying ending, and the film tries too hard to humanize Michael by saying he’s evil because he’s under the influence of a cult. And on top of that, the symbol of Thorn does not represent death, evil, famine or illness. But it represents "Discipline", "An Omen for Good" or "All Evil can be Overcome". Which shows that writer didn't do any research for Celtic symbols. But the story in the producer's cut is thankfully more coherent, flows more smoothly, and makes a little more sense, and it doesn't have the strobling lights and weird cuts, but that one's more of a mixed bag as it still has some of the other flaws.
The horror aspects of this film are mostly pretty solid and well handled as while they may not be as strong as some of the scenes from before, and the climax in the producer's cut can be underwhelming, there are still some legit good and creepy, intense, and disturbing moments like the kills, especially the more graphic and gory ones in the theatrical cut, all the stuff involving the cult of Thorn, some of the chase scenes, and the climax in the theatrical cut.
The production design in both versions is very solid and does have plenty of the same merits as the prior films like the sets and setpieces being pretty well made, the actual filming locations featured are well utilized, the lighting can be legit effective, and the costumes,makeup, and clothing are all very well crafted. Especially the mask for Michael Myers which is a big improvement over the masks from "4" and "5" as it does legit look very creepy and has a very pasty look.
The special effects in both versions are also very good as they do look legit well crafted like the blood and gore, the stunt work and breakables, the fire, and more.
The characters do vary depending on the version as while each cut does have their share of weak and forgettable ones like John who's a complete prick, Danny who can be pretty bland, and almost everyone else is just in the movie to get gored, each version also has some pretty decent characters who are thankfully somewhat solid like Dr. Loomis, Tommy despite being a schmuck at times, Kara, and Michael Myers who's still a pretty good and scary villain despite him being more of a pawn in the Producer's cut. And there are a couple decent minor characters like Barry and Mrs. Blankenship. As for some of the others, while Jamie is unceremoniously short-lived in the theatrical version, she is more fleshed out, lasts a bit longer, and does get a more legit tragic end in the Producer's cut, and while Dr. Wynn and the cultists are pretty lame villains in the theatrical version and their plan is never made clear, in the Producer's cut they are more decent villains with their plan being more laid out.
The acting can be a bit mixed as while there are some alright performances like Donald Pleseance as Dr. Loomis for the final time, Paul Rudd as Tommy, Marianne Hagan as Kara, J.C. Brandy as Jamie, George P. Wilbur and A. Michael Lerner as Michael Myers, and a few others, the acting from some of the other actors can be pretty lousy.
The music also depends of which version as while Alan Howarth does the music for both versions, the music in the theatrical cut really doesn't fit and feels more like it's from an MTV music video, but the score in the Producers Cut is more worth while as it does legit sound pretty creepy and gothic.
Overall, where the theatrical cut is one of the worst entries in the Halloween series as it has lots of issues and clearly a victim of executive meddling, the Producer's Cut, while more mid-tier if i'm being honest, is the better and more coherent version despite a couple things in the theatrical cut being better like the kills and climax.
Cast:
Donald Pleasence as Dr. Sam Loomis
Paul Rudd as Tommy Doyle
Marianne Hagan as Kara Strode
Mitch Ryan as Dr. Terence Wynn
Devin Gardner as Danny Strode
J. C. Brandy as Jamie Lloyd
Danielle Harris as young Jamie Lloyd (archive footage, Producer's Cut only)
George P. Wilbur and A. Michael Lerner as Michael Myers
Keith Bogart as Tim Strode
Mariah O'Brien as Beth
Kim Darby as Debra Strode
Bradford English as John Strode
Leo Geter as Barry Simms
Susan Swift as Nurse Mary
Janice Knickrehm as Mrs. Blankenship
Alan Echeverria as Dr. Bonham
Hildur Ruriks as Dawn
Sheri Hicks as Paramedic
Tom Proctor as Motorist
Bryan Morris as Attendant
Lee Ju Chew as Nurse
Raquelle Anderson as Ballerina
Kristine Summers as College Coed
Elyse Donalson as Lunatic
A. Michael Lerner as Additional Shape
Jimmy Chunga as Drunk College Student
Fred Lerner as Smith's Grove Doctor
James Woodson as Deputy
Crew:
Directed by Joe Chappelle
Written by Daniel Farrands
Produced by Paul Freeman
Music by Alan Howarth
Misc.
Production companies: Nightfall Productions, Trancas International, Halloween VI Productions
Distributed by Dimension Films
Release date: September 29, 1995
Runtime: 1 hour, 27 minutes (theatrical cut), 1 hour, 36 minutes (Producer's cut)