The formerly lost original opening to Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers fixed some plot holes. Halloween 5 was quickly greenlit off the success of the fourth film and rushed into production to meet a 1989 release. It began filming without a solid story, which can be seen in the somewhat confused final product. Halloween 5 currently opens with Michael Myers/The Shape narrowly escaping death by a vengeful mob, and a kindly hermit looking after him for a year; of course, said hermit is murdered when Halloween comes back around. This scene was a reshoot, with the original opening featuring a young occultist dubbed "Dr. Death."
He takes Michael into his shack, lays him on a stone altar, adorns him with the Thorn rune symbol on his wrist and brings him back to life. Producer Moustapha Akkad decided this scene with its black magic themes was a little silly and ordered it reshot with an older character. The scene was lost for decades but after finally being unearthed it was included as a bonus feature on a Halloween 5 Blu-ray by Shout Factory in 2021.
Halloween 5's Original Opening Makes More Sense
This scene did a better job setting up the story, explaining where Michael's Thorn tattoo came from and why he was out of action for a year. One of the big legacies of Halloween 5 was the introduction of the Man in Black. This character is dressed like a cowboy, has the Thorn rune tattoo and breaks Michael out of jail in the finale. This character wasn't originally part of the script but was added during filming to staple together loose narrative threads. Akkad also thought the film needed an additional hook for another movie, so who the Man in Black was left vague.
Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers attempted to tie up the loose ends of part 5. It was revealed the Cult of Thorn was controlling Michael, with the power of the rune granting him special powers and driving him to murder his bloodline. This reveal is one of the most maligned storylines of the entire Halloween movie franchise and was retconned out of existence with Halloween H20. The deletion of Halloween 5's Dr. Death opening had several knock-on effects on the narrative, though it wouldn't have necessarily made the sequel better, had it remained.
Halloween 5's Other Major Deleted Scene Is Still Lost
Halloween 5 also made several trims to violence, including the moment Michael stabs Jamie in the leg as she climbs the laundry chute. Another famous deleted scene that has yet to be found involved Michael massacring an entire SWAT team waiting to ambush him. This was before the final showdown in the Myers house, which saw Michael employ creative methods to dispatch his foes, like using the barrel of an M-16 as a spear. This whole massacre takes place offscreen in Halloween 5 - which nearly REDEEMED Michael - and while fans hoped it had been uncovered along with the Dr. Death sequence, it appears to still be lost.