[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Satan's Little Helper (2004)

Jeff Lieberman's chilling tale of a boy who befriends a masked serial killer and knocks about with him on Halloween as he goes about terrorizing the neighbourhood.

Fun to begin with it becomes more sinister as it goes on and perhaps offers the idea that today's kids are so unsensitized to violence due to video games that they can't tell the difference between reality and what's on the tv screen in front of them. Either that or Doug, the kid in this, is the dumbest son of a bitch ever to (dis)grace a Halloween movie. It's definitely the latter. He's a f*cking moron. Katheryn Winnick looks sexy in her wench costume throughout and Amanda Plummer gives a typical Amanda Plummer turn until Satan get's hold of her and it all becomes ever so grim.

It's that grim tone that really takes over the second half of the film and it becomes a genuinely nasty viewing experience, not in a relentless Last House on the Left sort of way but in the way Lieberman gradually replaces the frothy lightness with a realistic sadism as Satan.

This has become a real favourite of mine over the years and this time was enhanced by the recent Blu-ray from Treasured Films which looks outstanding during the outdoor scenes.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Continuing the story of Michael Myers ten years later this is a fast paced and often thrilling movie. There's no 'Getting to know you' opening half hour without any shocks as Michael is in the film from the first scene.

Halloween 4 has a strong cast headed of course by Donald Pleasence whilst the largely unknown Ellie Cornell makes for an appealing heroine as Rachel who i think is one of the best 'final girls' from any slasher film. The fact the film also fully focuses on Pleasence's Dr. Loomis and Beau Starr's excellent Sheriff Meeker means it has a nice adult feel to it rather than simply being teen orientated and it feels quite refreshing.

There are some nicely realized kills and some great scenes of suspense and i'm sure more than a few flaws but it's all whizzes by at such a break neck speed i never notice them.

Gorier than the first film but not quite as chilling, few films are, this is arguably the best of the sequels and is a genuine highlight of the later floundering years of the slasher genre