Bonus Reviews: An Intrusion (2021) and Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Horror Bulletin Week 145 Bonus Material

For this week’s bonus films, we’ll look at a couple of cool films. The first is a brand-new indie thriller from this year called “An Intrusion.” The other is “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers” one of the series’ better sequels.

Don’t forget, the first week of each month, we publish ALL our reviews, including the bonus content in our monthly “Horror Bulletin” print magazine (also available as an ebook). If you don’t have time to read the website or email, here’s one more option for you! The December issue will go on sale December 5th

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JN2WBJ8

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Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

•    Directed by Dwight H. Little

•    Written by Dhani Lipsius, Larry Rather, Benjamin Ruffner

•    Stars Donal Pleasance, Ellie Cornell, Danielle harrus

•    Run Time: 1 Hour 28 Minutes

•    Trailer:

Spoiler Free Judgement Zone

After taking some time off in the third movie, Michael Myers does indeed return as the title says. If you liked the first two, you’ll like this one, with more of the same mayhem and murder that Michael does best.

Synopsis

October 30, 1988, ten years after the events in the first and second film, an ambulance arrives at the asylum to pick up and transfer a prisoner. They are here to transfer Michael Myers, who was shot six times and set on fire ten years ago, but he’s been back here ever since. Dr. Hoffman takes care of the hospital, and he hopes that with Michael Myers gone, Dr. Loomis will transfer away as well. Loomis is not well-respected here.

The paramedics discuss the patient's relatives, and it’s mentioned that Myers has a young niece. Naturally, he attacks the paramedics and escapes.

Rachel takes care of Jamie. Little Jamie’s mother Laurie has been dead eleven months. Almost immediately, Jamie has a nightmare about Michael Myers.

The next day is Halloween. Rachel gets stuck babysitting Jamie again. Loomis shows up at the hospital and he’s raging over how they moved Myers without consulting him. He’s still got the burn scars on his face from his previous battle with Myers. Hoffman gets a phone call; Michael Myers is on the loose again. Loomis wastes no time getting to the accident site. Loomis still insists that Michael isn’t human and heads to Haddonfield.

Loomis goes to the gas station and finds Michael’s first victim. He hurries to the diner and finds more bodies. He spots Michael and tries to talk him out of going on to Haddonfield. Michael steals a truck, causing the gas station to explode, taking Loomis’s car with it. Loomis gets a ride with an old preacher whose words about fighting evil make a lot of sense to Loomis.

Jamie goes to the store to buy a mask for Halloween, and there’s not a single Silver Shamrock mask to be found. She ends up getting a clown costume that looks a lot like the one from the pre-credit sequence of the first film. Michael shows up and steals a mask that looks just like his original.

Loomis hooks up with the sheriff in Haddonfield. He says Michael Myers is here to kill Jamie, Laurie’s daughter. Jamie and Rachel get separated while trick-or-treating. The news announces that business should close, so the local bar patrons all head to the police station. Michael knocks out power to the whole town.

Loomis and the sheriff pick up Rachel and Jamie. They see other idiots wearing Michael Myers masks. Of course, Myers is a sort of local anti-celebrity in the town. They get to the police station, and it’s wrecked. The bar people show up, and Loomis tells them what’s up. They all go out hunting for guys in white masks.

All the good guys wind up barricading themselves in the sheriff’s house. They call for the state police, but that’s going to take some time. The sheriff leaves to deal with the local gun-toting drunks, and as soon as he’s gone, Michael starts rapidly increasing the body count. Soon, it’s just Rachel and Jamie— and Michael, all on the roof of the house. Rachel falls off, and then it’s just the uncle and niece.

Jamie finds Loomis, and they head to the school. Loomis gets tossed around, but Rachel is there to help. Earl and the hunters stop and pick up Rachel and Jamie and head out of town. Michael, of course, is hiding under or behind the pickup truck and tags along. As soon as the hunters are all dead, Rachel takes the wheel. They run down Michael, and the police shoot him a million times at point-blank range. Michael falls into some ruins which collapse on him. We’ll never see him again, right? right?

We then see from the killer’s point of view as the mask goes on. The scissors are picked up. It’s just like in the beginning of the first film. Except this time Jamie is the killer. Loomis reacts poorly.

Commentary

Michael really gets around for someone who lumbers around at a brisk two miles an hour when he’s on camera. He’s everywhere that the plot requires here. Loomis doesn’t have to spend much time convincing anybody about anything this time around. Myers has become legendary in Haddonfield.

The story is logical and it follows beyond the first two parts well. Donald Pleasance is good here as always, but the young people don’t impress with their acting. The ending is good, with the opportunity to do a “next generation” kind of thing in the next film.

An Intrusion (2021)

•    Directed by Nicholas Holland

•    Written by Nicholas Holland

•    Stars Scout Taylor Compton, Keir Gilchrist, Billy Boyd

•    Run Time: 1 Hour, 38 Minutes

•    Trailer:

Spoiler-Free Judgement Zone

Blackmail, murder, infidelity, and other secrets cause some family drama for Sam. Why does the stranger keep breaking into his house? How will this all work out? With a lot of drama!

Synopsis

Sam and Joyce Hodges wake up in the middle of the night. Daughter Rebecca sees a burglar downstairs. They run him off and call the police. Credits roll.

The police wonder if young Rebecca’s been having trouble at school; was this intruder interested in her specifically? Sam’s car was broken into last week. Sam doesn’t like Rebecca’s boyfriend, Layne. Sam cuts it off with his own girlfriend.

Sam gets a blackmail message in his email. Someone has pictures of him and Julia, the other woman.

Rebecca finds a dead animal in the trunk of her car. That night, Sam finds another blackmail note on his windshield, and again, there’s evidence of an intruder in the house. The next morning, Sam buys a gun.

Savannah, the detective, comes over and meets everyone. He tells her that he doesn’t like Layne and implies that he may be the culprit. That night, Sam beats Layne to death with a baseball bat in their backyard. He then buries the body out in the countryside somewhere. The next morning, the blackmailer has pictures of that as well.

Things start to spiral out of control further. Between the murder investigation, the blackmail, the affair, and, of course, the intruder, there’s just one damned thing after another.

Commentary

The reveal at the end is a little disappointing. It’s a logical story, but it’s from Sam’s distant past, and there was nothing really foreshadowing the story.

The acting, for the most part, is good, the cinematography is well done, as is the directing.

Erika Hoveland, as Joyce, really shows us what it's like to be the cheated-on wife. She kinda knows what’s going on from the beginning, but once she knows for sure about the affair, really cranks up the emotion.

Dustin Prince, as Sam, is hateful and not relatable at all in the beginning, but toward the end, once he admits to the affair, he becomes a lot more relatable and sympathetic. Then at the end, we learn that he really was scum all along.

Billy Boyd, as Minister Fairfield, plays a southern “hellfire” preacher in a really uncomfortable exorcism scene that only marginally fits in with the rest of the film. It’s a very different role than anything else I’ve seen him in.

It’s a slow burn, but it does pay off in the end. It has some problems, but overall, I definitely liked it.

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