31 DAYS OF HORROR DAY 6: HALLOWEEN 6: PRODUCER’S CUT (1995)
Halloween 6 to me is when the slasher films of the 70’s-80’s and 90’s died a miserable pathetic death. Halloween 6 was insulting, confusing and only put out to make a cheap buck. It was an insult to the fans and Donald Pleasance's legacy. It killed off Jamie in the worst way possible. It proved that the Halloween series had no soul, no heart and was just leeching off the reputation of the Carpenter original. It was the end of slasher films until Scream came along and brought the genre back to life.
That is why it was so refreshing to watch the producer’s cut of Halloween 6. For years I had heard of this cut. Seen bootlegs of it at cons. I never bought it and waited for a real release. And finally we have one in the new Halloween set. In stunning HD. It was well worth the wait as one of the worst horror films of all time has now turned into one of my favorites.
The producer’s cut is a film by fans for fans. It takes great pains to tie all the other films together. It explains everything when it comes to Michael. It gives Donald Pleasance real material to work with. It’s his best acting since the first one. It redeems Loomis from the lunatic he was in part 5. It gives Paul Rudd great material to work with. And it makes the story of Jamie even sadder. She still dies and um she fucked her uncle but she goes out with a bit of dignity.
Now I do want to go into plot holes and differences between both versions BUT I don’t want to see the theatrical cut again. At least not now. I’d rather use a day for a film I haven’t seen before. 2 days for Halloween 6 is too much when there is alot of good stuff out there.
This is an important film to see. It’s a shining example of how studio interference can take a nice fun film and turn it into a vile train wreck. The movie put out in theaters makes no sense. This film, however, does. Does it have problems? Sure. The ending felt rushed. Paul Rudd stopping Michael by placing runes on the floor was weak. We don’t see Michael nearly enough and it’s odd seeing him be a henchmen for druids. Also why did he fuck Jamie? And why? That needed alot more backstory. But even with those problems, it’s great. It’s the crown jewel of the box set and I urge all Halloween fans to see it...not on bootleg but on blu-ray. Many things aren’t worth the wait. But this film is. An important piece of work for all horror fans.
Final score: 8 out of 10