Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers is one of the lesser respected entries in the series, but one early concept tried to redeem the titular slasher. Following the success of 1988's Halloween 4, producers soon rushed the fifth movie into production so it could be out the following year. Swiss-French director Dominique Othenin-Girard took the helm, and it was quickly decided that the implications of the previous movie's cliffhanger - where Michael's niece Jamie turned evil - would be largely ignored.
Halloween 5 is one of the stranger entries in the unkillable horror series and is filled with odd stylistic choices, ill-fitting comedy and plot holes. That said, it's wacky enough to be a fun time too, and various elements about the sequel - including the mysterious Man In Black - are still heavily discussed. The movie helped mark something of an end for slasher movies of that era too, as Halloween 5, Nightmare On Elm Street 5 and Friday The 13th Part VIII all received bad reviews and weak box-office.
Every movie in the series - bar Halloween III: Season Of The Witch - has depicted Michael Myers as evil incarnate, and the fifth movie is no exception. That said, Halloween 5 does feature a brief scene where his niece Jamie seems to break through his murderous rage during the finale - though he quickly reverts back to form. The sequel could have offered a bold new take on Myers had it gone with screenwriter Robert Harders' original pitch, which saw the slasher cured of his evil ways.
Dominique Othenin-Girard had a friendship with Harders and brought him in to pitch on Halloween 5 with producers, with the latter's take being heavily inspired by Frankenstein. In recalling his pitch to Dread Central, Harders wanted the movie to open in the aftermath of Halloween 4, in which Myers ended up at the bottom of a mine shaft shot full of holes. In Harders' version, Mike is laying at the bottom of the mine covered in debris and wires when a bolt of lightning resurrects him. When he comes back to life, however, his impulse to kill has been extinguished.
Harders' Michael was basically Frankenstein's Monster, and his only kills would have been in self-defense. In a reversal of their previous encounters, this Halloween 5 saw Donald Pleasence's Dr. Loomis realizing Michael's change of heart and trying to save him from the (understandable) fury of the Haddonfield mob hunting him. This entry would have finally seen Loomis breakthrough to his patient, though like Frankenstein's Monster, the movie still ended with his destruction.
This pitch was quickly rejected by Halloween 5's producers, but while Harders was offered a chance to write on a new version of the script, he declined. Given how much of a deviation from formula Harders take would have been, it's easy to see why it was rejected. It would have been a very intriguing direction to take the story, but turning Michael into something of an innocent puppy after his previous three outings would no doubt have angered viewers. The franchise had already offered a radical departure with Halloween III in 1982 - which followed a new, Myers-less story - to little success, which is another likely reason producers didn't want to break from the slasher template.
