Boring, pointless and totally inept, this is a classic example of everything that was wrong with the late '80s horror film. It's difficult to imagine a film that would make HALLOWEEN 4 seem like a masterpiece, but this does just that. There is no plot in this film - no new twists or turns to add to the series. After some minimal character building, it's just endless stalk-and-slash scenarios which quickly become boring. There's nothing here we haven't seen before, so don't go looking for originality.

Here, we're about a million miles away from the original scary classic. This film couldn't be scary if tried, and it never does try. It's happy to rehash all of the old slashing previously seen in the earlier films and simply trade on Myers' already familiar image, plus the original, now watered-down, score. Myers is seen driving a car all over the place, also swapping his trademark white mask for a rubber Halloween one instead, somehow losing his image in the process.

The cast is populated by an incredibly annoying bunch of stupid teenagers who you'll want to die as violently as possible. It's true, I've never seen actors and actresses as bad as this, playing such inane characters. The only saving grace is a hammy Donald Pleasence wandering around chewing the scenery, which is something I suppose. Without him, this would be the worst film ever made. With him, it's just really bad instead, although the final confrontation between Myers and an overacting Pleasence is quite fun.

To add salt to the wound, there isn't even any standout gore to speak of. The deaths are dealt with quickly and efficiently, the blood kept to a minimum. Myers uses a pitchfork as a second weapon to his trusty knife but even the full potential of this nasty weapon isn't exploited. The final 30 minutes are a protracted stalking sequence with Myers attempting to kill the (annoying) little girl and repeatedly being thwarted or apparently killed, only to come back for another try, and another, and another. It'll send you to sleep. Whoever thought it would be a good idea to throw in a sub-plot about a mysterious caped stranger was also sorely misled too - his identity is never explained, making this dull movie even more frustrating. I wouldn't wish this piece of worthless trash on my worst enemy, so don't bother sitting through it.

One year after Halloween 4, Michael Myers is still alive and killing. Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) is living in a children's hospital after stabbing her stepmother. She is now mute and finds that she's linked with Myers. Rachel Carruthers (Ellie Cornell) and Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) are trying to help the disturbed child.

Donald Pleasence is going overboard with the hysterical acting. Danielle Harris is now almost exclusively crying or otherwise in a dire state. It's a disappointment considering that Halloween 4 ended with her turning evil. It could have been a great turn for the franchise. And turning her mute really restricts her effectiveness as a character.

The first kill with Ellie Cornell is quite effective. She's in a skimpy towel. It has a nice build up. But you know it's going to be a bad movie when they play that silly 'comedic' music for the two cops ogling Ellie. Nevertheless Ellie's kill is great, but it all goes down hill from there. And the ending is way too messy.

John Carpenter's 1978 'Halloween' is wholly deserving of its status as a horror classic. To this day it's still one of the freakiest films personally seen and introduced the world to one of horror's most iconic villainous characters Michael Myers.

Which is why it is such a shame that not only are all of the sequels nowhere near as good but that the decline in quality is so drastic. Ok, the original 'Halloween' is very difficult to follow on from, but most of the sequels could at least looked like effort was made into them. To me, and many others it seems, 'Halloween 5' is one of the worst of the series. Even with its attempt at a grittier tone, it is far from a thrill ride and there is very little scary about it, other than one scene and how poor quality the film is.

Danielle Harris and Don Shanks give strong performances, as does Ellie Cornell in the limited screen time she has. Donald Pleasance does his best and succeeds in creating an unnerving presence, but his character is now too much of a caricature which is at the writers' door not his.

There is one effective scene, that with the laundry chute which is actually pretty freaky. The setting has a haunting eeriness when it is not hindered by the low-budget-looking rushed-looking filming.

Sadly, most of the time it is with the editing being especially amateurish. The direction is also sloppy, especially in the dramatically inept non-horror scenes. The music is here a drawback when it was one of the better elements of the three previous sequels. Here it sounds cheap, goofy and would have sounded out of date even in the 80s most likely.

'Halloween 5' is also seriously lacking in atmosphere and the darkness and grittiness doesn't come through enough because too much of the film is dull and descends into overly-silly camp. Again, 'Halloween 5' feels more of the same, the chilling scares, nail-biting suspense and the feeling of being unsettled. There is nothing creative or shocking about the scares or deaths, it's all by-the-numbers, over-familiar and indifferent. Everything is just too predictable and dull in pace to be remotely suspenseful.

Stupidity is also all over the film. So many moments are intelligence-insultingly ridiculous and almost illogical. The characters mostly are very bland and annoying, especially Tina. High quality of acting and dialogue is never to be expected in a 'Halloween' film, but both are especially bad here. The script is so last-minute sounding and not even half-baked and outside of the aforementioned the acting is terrible.

In summary, one of the worst of the series. Scary and thrilling are the two last words to describe this revenge. 3/10 Bethany Cox