1989 film by Dominique Othenin-Girard
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is a 1989 American slasher film co-written and directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard, and starring Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, Beau Starr, Wendy Kaplan, and Tamara Glynn. The fifth installment in the Halloween series, it follows serial killer Michael Myers who again returns to the town of Haddonfield to murder his traumatized niece, Jamie Lloyd, with whom he now shares a telepathic connection.
After the success of the previous installment, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers was rushed into production by executive producer Moustapha Akkad. The original screenplay, which was still under revision at the time filming began, introduced elements of supernatural horror, including Jamie possessing a telepathic link to Michael Myers, as well as a storied subplot in which Myers, under the influence of a cult centered around the ancient rune of Thorn, is driven to kill his bloodline. While the final cut of the film features a mysterious "Man in Black" character, the "Curse of Thorn" subplot was largely minimized, resulting in audiences and critics expressing some confusion, though it was expanded upon in the following film, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995).
Filmed in Salt Lake City in mid-1989, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers was released theatrically in North America in October of that year by the independent studio Galaxy Releasing. The film was a box office disappointment, only grossing $11.6 million domestically against a $5.5 million budget, becoming the lowest-grossing film in the franchise, and received generally negative reviews from critics. Common criticism was for the screenplay, acting, and story decisions, though some praised the film for its artistic and gothic visuals, which marked a stylistic shift from the previous film.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.