What happened to Sheriff Meeker following the events of Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers? 1989 proved to be something of a crowded year for horror franchises, as it was the only year - to date at least - that entries in the Halloween, A Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday The 13th franchises were released. Sadly, Halloween 5, Nightmare 5 and Friday The 13th Part VIII all proved to be some of the weakest offerings in their respective franchises and were a sign the slasher craze was coming to an end.

Halloween 5 is definitely not one the best the series has to offer but it's certainly one of the wackiest. The story sees Michael coming back to Haddonfield a year after the events of the previous movie to chase his niece Jamie (Danielle Harris). The movie is littered with bizarre stylistic touches, a hammy performance by Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis, goofy "comedy" cops and even some well-executed suspense scenes, like Jamie trapped in the laundry chute. The sequel was greeted with tepid box-office and reviews, and the series didn't return for another six years after its underperformance.

Related: How Halloween 5 Almost Redeemed Michael Myers

Halloween 5 also featured the return of Sheriff Ben Meeker, played by veteran character actor Beau Starr (Due South). Meeker was the sheriff in Halloween 4, where his daughter Kelly was one of Michael's victims. He was scripted to die in a house fire fighting Myers also, but budget cuts saw him survive and even shooting Michael down in the finale. Halloween 5 sees Michael captured at the end and locked in jail - only for the mysterious Man in Black to emerge and start shooting up the station to break Michael out.

Sheriff Meeker talking to Dr. Loomis in Halloween 5

This Halloween 5 ending strongly implies the Man in Black killed everyone in the station bar Michael, but the next movie - 1995's The Curse Of Michael Myers - doesn't touch on Meeker's fate at all. The franchise then rebooted itself somewhat with Halloween H20, so it's doubtful his fate will ever be confirmed. The ending of Halloween 5 keeps his fate somewhat ambiguous, leaving it up to the next sequel to decide.

That said, a scene was filmed for Halloween 5 where Meeker was shot and killed by the Man in Black during the ending. It seems this was cut as the ending itself was decided upon and filmed in a rush, so the filmmakers likely didn't have time to shoot a more elaborate scene. There are stills of Meeker's death scene floating around online, and in the absence of any other confirmation, it seems likely he died in the shootout. The happiest outcome is he was wounded and later retired - hopefully many miles away from Haddonfield - but it also appears unlikely any of the police officers caught in Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers' assault survived.

Next: Halloween: Why Doesn't Michael Ever Try To Kill Loomis?