This movie certainly isn't without faults. The biggest one is simply the aforementioned slasher formula, which Curse follows, for the most part. A couple of murders at the beginning (the first, contrived, the second, gratuitously violent) to get things rolling, then a slow period, then the finale, which involves a lot of running. Or walking, if you happen to have a William Shatner mask and a Life Uniforms jumpsuit on hand.

Even if this film doesn't bring new life to the slasher formula, at least it treats it with respect and intelligence and stretches some of its conventions. Daniel Farrands's script attempts to provide an explanation for cinema's most brutal slasher, and it's a doozy, all tied up in Celtic mysticism and ritual. The movie's driving idea--that evil must sometimes be performed in the service of the greater good--is fascinating and worthy of thought. Too bad the characters aren't allowed to cogitate on it too much themselves; the "curse" of the title is revealed in an off-hand manner that convinced me that a goodly number of scenes had been cut out of the film. In fact, the entire movie made me feel as though I had missed something--I hate unnecessary exposition, but I'd like more than just a hint at what was going on toward the end. Perhaps these cuts (and I see from the Internet Movie Database that I'm right about the movie being cut) were in the interest of pacing At least it worked to that end; this is an exceedingly well-paced movie. Farrands and director Joe Chappelle stage several efficient scenes of tension that don't rely on pay-offs for effect (they utilize atmosphere and audience expectation for fear, kinda like, oh, John Carpenter might have done). This is an overlooked addition to the slasher genre: it's savvy, strangely stylish, and entertaining.

RATING

Unlike previous parts, the actors seem to be really interested in their roles, Donald Pleasance being the exception for he has always been great. But the cast is right, the acting not bad at all. The gore factor might be a bit annoying (yes, I know this is something the series is about, still I don't have to like it), but this movie has something most other sequels are missing: A story, plus an attempt at plausibility. And another, very crucial point is made by this movie: This being an explanation how part three is fitting into the series. So again we have ancient cults and mythology, unleashing the curse of evil onto a boy - Michael - to kill his family, an act of sacrifice, sacrificing one family instead of all the population, sacrificing it to appease the powers of evil. Halloween, again, is not the childish trick-and-treat (although that concept might be more peaceful and socially acceptable), it is rather a thorn in society than a blessing. So Michael isn't just a madman but something like a demon, possessed, cursed by pure evil; thus fitting into the mythology very well, expanding it, giving it a point beyond bloodshed.

Part of the reason this movie was so badly received seems to be just this: an attempt to explain things. Either this was too strange a thing to be done, or expected, or the explanation didn't make any sense to some (although the rules of fiction would allow for some distortion of conventional reality). Latter point of course is kind of a valid discussion, everyone is allowed to have their opinion. The first, however, would seem a bit strange: Even a horror or slasher movie relying on gore and suspense needs to be (relatively) plausible to make it relevant for the audience. A madman is only threatening when his reasons for being a madman are plausible, people can only be affected by something which they believe possible: Even the remotest piece of science fiction, fantasy or horror has to have an element of familiarity, otherwise there'd be no reason for watching it. Horror can only work when its background is both sufficiently explained and concealed: The right mixture has to be found. For this, Halloween VI serves the series well, remaining true to the "independent" feeling in photography, music and atmosphere, something completely disregarded by the awful H2O. Despite some little shortcomings, and despite its being severely underrated by most commentators, this seems to be the second best in the series.