Halloween (1978)
Starring: Donald Pleasance, Jamie Lee Curtis, PJ Soles
Halloween is a movie that I can't help but love. To begin with, I'm a horror movie nut. 70s horror movies in particular are my bag. Movies like this one, The Shining, and Alien are like sacred artifacts to me. Furthermore, I love me some John Carpenter. And not just because of his Kentucky ties. How can you argue with the man responsible for The Thing, Escape from New York, and They Live, just to name a few? The failed Rob Zombie remake of a few years ago only deepened my appreciation for this classic. And I'm no Rob Zombie hater. I actually liked House of 1000 Corpses, and Devil's Rejects. But his attempt to remake this movie was a disgrace.
To be sure, there is a lot of baggage associated with Halloween that sometimes prevents it from getting the appreciation it deserves. The original Nightmare on Elm Street, a film heavily influenced by this one, is in a similar position. Both movies and their main characters have become ensconced in the pop culture consciousness the way few other films ever have. The point is that, since being released in 1978, Halloween has been the source of countless sequels, remakes, parodies, and satires. And unfortunately, most of them have been garbage. Because of that, it can sometimes be easy to forget just how great this first Halloween movie is.
I know I've seen this movie, or parts of it, probably 50 or more times. It has been a staple through the year on basic cable networks like the SyFy, Spike TV, AMC, and the like. Because of that, I, like many people, have grown to take it for granted in a way. That's why I cherished the opportunity recently, with October 31st nearing, to put the movie into my Blu-Ray player, turn off the lights, and simply enjoy it from beginning to end. I was a little worried it may not have aged well. Of course, I should have known better. Great movies are timeless. And Halloween is a great friggin' movie.
So what does this movie have going for it? The answer is a lot. As I mentioned, it is expertly directed by the legendary John Carpenter. It has arguably the greatest horror movie soundtrack ever (that theme song never gets old, or less chilling, no matter how many times I hear it). It has the greatest opening credits sequence of any horror movie ever. And it has the greatest horror movie heroine ever (with the possible exception of Ellen Ripley), the incredible Jamie Lee Curtis in her first major movie role ever.
All that is before I mention the simple, effective story, the latent symbolism and social commentary that marked all movies of this era, and the sheer terrifying evil-ness of The Shape himself, Michael Myers. This movie is so influential that horror flicks are still taking their cues from it over 30 years later. High school kids being promiscuous, getting stoned, and being served up on a platter to a knife-wielding psychopath is hardly ground-breaking materials these days, but you have to remember that this is one of the first, if not the first, case of a movie being made like this ever.
And, with no computers and a shoestring budget (apparently they spent $300,000 making this movie, and I found myself wondering where it all went), this movie does it better than practically any modern horror movie. Carpenter is a master of pacing and atmosphere, and he uses both expertly throughout Halloween. Watching the movie in 2012, I was literally shocked by how little actually happens. Michael Myers doesn't get down to killing until the 1/4 or so, and even then, the body count is a scant 5 or 6 slain teenagers. Watching this movie on basic cable, I always assumed there was a ton of blood and gore I was missing out on, but that wasn't really the case at all.
Instead, Carpenter uses darkness, lighting, and creative camera angles to make sure that what we don't see we imagine to be all the more terrifying than what we actually do. And every time Myers pops into frame, off to the side or on the background, and that familiar theme music kicks in, it builds suspense in a way that is far more terrifying than any actual death could have. Between those moments and Dr. Loomis' consistent monologues about the evil nature of his patient, it is the terror of anticipation, of what we know is about to happen, that proves most affecting to any audience watching Halloween. And when Laure Strode finally meets up with her fate in Michael Myers at the end of the film, it makes that entire relatively short sequence all the more horrifying.
Like many independent films of the 1970s and 1980s, Halloween is a living testament to the trans formative power of less is more. And it should serve as an inspiration to all aspiring filmmakers out there as well; you don't need much more than time, a good idea, and a little creativity to make a truly classic movie.
Verdict: 8/10
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