HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS (1995) directed by: Joe Chappelle starring: Donald Pleasance, Paul Rudd cinematography: Billy Dickson it's rare to find a film of any genre or of any era that both critics and fans alike just totally got wrong by plain sh*****g on it - but THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS is one of them; i honestly have no idea why the critics hated this so much, and have even less of an idea why the fans still (generally) strongly dislike it to this day .. Joe Chappelle (the film's director) has had to suffer downright disgrace over this picture, very very wrongly so, and even though I'm not crazy enough to think he's just going to somehow stumble on this random user-review of mine, I'm going to pretend that he will for the sake of things, and so, I'll say: Joe, listen, you've been badly wronged my good man by the 'world of film', and you deserve vindication as much as anybody, and this slasher of yours is genuinely frightening and bad-ass; part 6 is definitely the best of the sequels, besides maybe part two (which I do love), and is most definitely better than parts four, five, seven and eight. First of all, not even Carpenter managed to shoot his original 1978 classic in the actual autumn, and, frankly, it shows, for much of HALLOWEEN (1978) is green; THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS, however, was actually shot in the autumn, and it really does help create a creepy, colorful atmosphere that all the other films of the original series lack - basically, the cinematography here, by Billy Dickson and Chappelle, is fantastic, and really does seem to take full advantage of the fact they actually shot this the right time of the year; the look of the picture is just lush and looks totally right, and it lends itself to the horror so well ... also, Paul Rudd really does seem to go for broke here, as if he was fully aware of this being his first film, and it makes for some of the best acting in any of these films aside from the performances of the legendary Donald Pleasance, of course ... the pacing is literally perfect, leading to a nice, crisp and cohesive run-time of just over 85 mins ... the editing is sharp and really does, like everything, lend itself well and nicely to the big picture. Now, I actually really dig the 'Producer's Cut' a lot .. but I swear I think that this theatrical cut is the better, tighter version between the two .. and actually keeps Michael Myers more existential and demonic .. in fact, just like when it comes to the two brilliant Rob Zombie pictures, both critics and horror fans alike complain about too much backstory messing up the 'pure evil' of Michael .. but, people have to remember, the backstory to Michael goes all the way back to part 2, and then part 5, of course, is the installment that truly tries to show and/or at least imply all the backstory; Chappelle and co. actually, ironically, place a lid on the Illuminati/cult stuff here, and actually keep it all contained; I mean, this theatrical cut basically just shows Michael vaguely being influenced and manipulated by an evil cult of high society that basically sacrifices babies to old gods - like, why is this some sort of big problem in the context of the sixth installment of a slasher franchise? Carpenter himself only really a t t e m p t e d to like capture some sort of dark, evil, existential, supernatural killing-machine with the original portrayal of Michael Myers, and I just think it's a flawed film anyway, the '78 film .. I basically just don't see how the evil cult subplot here really ruins anything at all, especially in the context of the sequels .. Michael here, is downright bad-ass, even if it does show that there's two different guys playing him - it is scary, that's what counts.

Halloween 6 is by far not only one of the worst horror films I've ever seen, it's also one of the worst films period. The films writing is so lazy and the story is so dumb. Barely anything happens in this film, and on top of that, we are supposed to care about these characters who are just played by cardboard actors (don't worry, Paul Rudd gets better). Donald Pleasence was fine, but he's been the same thing six times now. In the end, this film is really bad...enough said.

Six years after Michael Myers last terrorized Haddonfield, he returns there in pursuit of his niece, Jamie Lloyd, who has escaped with her newborn child, for which Michael and a mysterious cult have sinister plans. Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers is easily the Series worst installment and even tho a young Paul Rudd and Donald Pleasence do a good amount of job in their roles the film's plot is ridiculous and once again characters from the previous film die in a flash like Jamie for example. The entire plot arc with the druids and the Cult was stupid and made no sense at all and once again the film showcases that another sequel was gonna be made and it did. (0/10)

To date, "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" is the worst critically received Halloween film to date. Earning a mere 6% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's often regarded as the franchise's ultimate failure by fans and critics alike. I'm here to tell you that, in my opinion, they couldn't possibly be more wrong. Apart from a couple minor goofs, (And, contrary to popular belief, nothing that clashes with canon) I found "Curse of Michael Myers" to be the best acted, best characterized, most atmospheric and, most shocking of all, scariest film in the whole franchise and one of the most underrated slashers of all time."Curse of Michael Myers" was released in the mid 90s, a time when many popular horror franchises had descended into pure camp and borderline obnoxious self parody completely devoid of character development or even a hint of depth, let alone scares. ("Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare", "Jason Goes To Hell", both noxious) How unexpected it is then to find that "Halloween 6" is not only a dark and serious slasher film, but remains the darkest franchise entry to date. Michael's kills here are more than just brutal, they're truly painful and sadistic in nature. They're the kind of kills that had me tensing up before they even began and outright cringing when they were executed. More frightening still, the film makes it clear nearly right off the bat that nobody is safe from Michael's wrath here; EVERYONE is fair game to be grotesquely murdered at a moment's notice. When Michael is on screen, the film makes a real note to have him often be unseen by his victims, his appearance briefly shown in lightning or flashes of light. Add in George P. Wilbur's frightening and imposing screen presence as The Shape and you have a genuinely frightening ride. Even the atmosphere of the film is significantly darker than the other "Halloween" entries. It's hard to describe, but there's a real sense of evil in the air throughout the production that really made me uneasy and just generally uncomfortable. Maybe it's the heavy use of dark blues, maybe it's the unnatural and ominous music. Either way, more than any series entry, "Curse of Michael Myers" has that Halloween FEELING. The creepy, off-putting nature of the film is greatly boosted by the performances. Paul Rudd is criminally underrated as the tortured Tommy Doyle; the constant trembling of his voice and his twitchy facial expressions do an excellent job portraying the character's disturbed and haunted nature. Particularly impressive is a scene near the end where he confronts Michael in a hospital, the unimaginable stress and horror of the scene causing him to almost laugh out of pure shock. Donald Pleasence has never been better as Dr. Loomis, giving nothing short of his all in the final acting role before his tragic death. Janice Knickrehm's performance as Mrs. Blankenship has been tragically overlooked by fans of the franchise. While her screen time is limited, her almost babying vocal delivery when describing Myers' origins and the cults intentions is downright bone chilling. Particularly frightening and disturbing are her interactions with the young, impressionable Danny Strode; the faux motherly sincerity combined with her sadistic intentions for the child make their scenes together scary as Hell.The social commentary in the film is incredibly well done as well. The main theme of "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" seems to be individual and community reactions to tragedy. Michael Myers has almost become a celebrity in this film; a boogeyman to most, an icon to some and even, in one of the film's few light hearted and comedic moments, a sex symbol to a few. The common connection between everyone seems to be the focus on Michael rather than his victims. Tommy Doyle's mental and emotional scars run deep from witnessing Michael's horrific rampage as a young child in the original "Halloween", to the point of severely stunted emotional and social development. Yet, despite all the trauma and pain he suffered, the town of Haddonfield is less concerned with the well being of the victim then they are in their borderline worship of Michael, even going so far as to dismiss Tommy as a "creep." Most concerning of all, despite Haddonfield's borderline obsession with Michael, they don't even remember Doyle was one of his victims. This kind of celebrity treatment of mass murderers over the innocents whose lives they destroy is as prevalent and relevant to American media today as it was back in 1995, if not moreso.The biggest criticism that I constantly hear people bring up when discussing "The Curse of Michael Myers" is the revelation of The Shape's origin; that Michael was raised and helped by the mysterious Cult of Thorn rather than simply killing on his own. First of all, the Mark of Thorn already made a physical appearance in "Halloween 5", along with a scene involving Dr. Loomis explaining that once Michael completed his task he would be destroyed by the rage inside him. Second, there are multiple scenes in nearly ALL previous Halloween movies where Michael pulls of teleportation like escapes and seemingly impossible cheats of death downright impossible without outside help. In the end, the only real retort "Halloween" fans seem to have to that point is "He's evil, he's a shadow, he's a Shape!" Yeah, after 6 movies, that already BS excuse to explain illogical events in the "Halloween" universe begins to grow from annoying to insufferable. On every level that matters, "Curse of Michael Myers" is leaps and bounds above its predecessors and successors in the "Halloween" franchise. I may have been able to understand if the film had mixed reaction, but for it to be the most hated film in the series baffles me (Seriously? Critics thought Halloween III and Resurrection were better than this? Wow...Words escape me.) Don't listen to the critics. "Curse of Michael Myers" is truly the gold standard of "Halloween" movies.