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Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a 1988 horror film and the fourth installment in the Halloween film series. Halloween 4 is directed by Dwight H. Little and written by Alan B. McElroy. The central plot focuses on Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur) awakening from a coma, 10 years after his 1978 killing spree in Haddonfield, Illinois, and returning home to kill his niece Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) and nephew Mikey Adams (DeJuan Guy), the daughter of Laurie Strode, with Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence) once more pursuing him.

As the title suggests, the fourth installment marks the return of Michael Myers, the central villain of Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981) due to his absence in Halloween III Season of the Witch (1982). Intiially, John Carpenter and co-producer Debra Hill retired the Myers plot outline after the second installment of the series, intending to feature a new Halloween-related film every sequel, of which Halloween III would be the first. However, due to the lack of success of the third film, Halloween 4 reintroduced a Myers-related plot, and he has remained in the series ever since.

The film was a moderate box office success—grossing $17 million domestically—on its $5 million budget. It received a mixed reaction by critics, however was generally well received by fans of the Halloween series. It was, however, somewhat criticized for not introducing anything "original" or "innovative" to the series.

Michael Myers has been in a coma for ten years, when his massacre was stopped by Sam Loomis and Laurie Strode. ''On October 30, 1988, Myers is being transferred from Ridgemont Federal Sanitarium to Smith's Grove Sanitarium. He awakens, when he hears, that Laurie Strode, his sister, is deceased, but her daughter Jamie Lloyd and son Mikey Adams, is alive and well in Haddonfield. He kills the ambulance crew and escapes. Discovering what has happened, Loomis, despite the objections of Ridgemont's manager, Dr. Hoffman, and the state troopers, races to Haddonfield to stop Michael again. On the way, he arrives at a filling station, where Michael has killed a mechanic and waitress and swapped clothes with the former. Briefly confronting Michael, Loomis attempts to reason with him, offering himself to Michael as his next murder victim, if Michael leaves the Haddonfield citizens alone, but Loomis quickly realizes, that Michael will not listen to reason and opens fire on him. Michael escapes, however, and sets the filling station ablaze, destroying Loomis' car in the process.''