It's tempting, perhaps, to value this seventh entry in the Halloween series more than it actually deserves. While Donald Pleasence's role is missed, the film marks Jamie Lee Curtis' first appearance in the series since the second episode. The movie also makes several key correct choices: there isn't much gratuitous gore, and the silly sixth episode of the series is completely ignored. (In fact the movie seems to ignore every Halloween movie since the second, which seems a little extreme to me, but no matter.)

Unfortunately while there isn't much that's terribly bad about the movie (the worst part is the ridiculous title, an annoying marketing ploy), there isn't a whole lot that's good, either. The beginning of the movie consists of some uninteresting (and occasionally irritating) family drama, and the end consists of the usual running around while Michael Myers stalks everybody. Wounds are, of course, only crippling when convenient. On the other hand, these scenes can nevertheless be fun to watch -- it takes a while to get things going, but when they do, the efficient directing keeps things on edge.

Watch for a cameo by Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis' real life mother and, ironically, one of the stars of Psycho, the progenitor of the psychotic serial killer film.