My goal for this month, is to get through all the Halloween movies and review each and every one. So far, I’m failing miserably, as I’m only now getting around to reviewing the first and one of the best in the series, Halloween. Released in 1978 and still scaring audiences to this day, Halloween rates as one of my favorite horror films and features a killer who is pure evil. Read on for the review…
Short nitty-gritty plot description from IMDb is as follows: A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood for the murder of his sister, escapes and stalks a bookish teenage girl and her friends while his doctor chases him through the streets.
Halloween introduced to a killer that wasn’t some fantastical beast who was 6 feet fall and a giant monster. (Rob Zombie gets the honor of doing that). Instead, Michael Myers is an average man, who was only 5’10”. The moment in the movie when you realize this, is when he is unmasked and you see that he isn’t some hideous monster. This is what makes Halloween terrifying. The unexplained evil that drives Myers to kill.
Halloween is a brilliantly shot film with several memorable scenes. The most oblivious, is the introduction of a yet to be revealed Michael Myers stalking through the house, all the while the camera, or I should say you the audience, see through masked eyes. As you glide through the house and up the stairs, the tension builds and finally we see our first victim, a young girl brushing her hair. The girl screams Michael and before you know it, she is being stabbed. The girl falls bloody and we quickly move down the stairs and out the door, only to have the mask ripped from our face. The camera cuts to the blank and emotionless face of a six year old boy, dressed in a clown outfit, as the parents stand shocked, so do we, the audience.
What I described only beings to show how masterful this movie is. No explanation is given as to why this boy would kill his sister and none has to be given. We don’t need it explained, we just accept it and move on. That’s what makes Halloween a great film.
Another thing that makes Halloween so great, is the look of Michael Myers. The white mask, which was actually a converted Captain Kirk mask, that was retooled and painted, is void of emotion and perfectly captures who Michael is. He has no expression, he doesn’t speak and never shows remorse. If any other mask was used, I think the film wouldn’t of been the same.
The music is almost a character itself. You have a theme for Michael, a theme for Laurie Strode, our soon to be doomed babysitter and you can’t forget to mention the beautiful sounding Halloween theme. A song that will stick in your head forever and one that as soon as you hear it, you instantly know it’s Halloween. John Carpenter, you deserve all the praise in the world.
I’m already this far into the review and I haven’t even talked about the acting yet. I don’t have any complaints from anyone in this movie. Jamie Lee Curtis’, Laurie Strode, a meek teenager, who never rises to be a hero, but just get’s extremely lucky, is wonderfully driven insane and really shows it. I love Donald Pleasances’, Dr. Loomis, a man who is consumed with hunting down Myers and feels remorse for not acting sooner and getting him locked up for good. The writing for the characters feel real, partially thanks to Debra Hill writing the dialog for the women.
I tried to list some complaints about the movie and I couldn’t think of any. I mean, I’m sure I could nitpick some pointless stuff, but I just can’t do it. I love this movie and have seen it way too many times to count. I also could go on and on about it, but I won’t bore you anymore. Most everyone has seen this film and I hope you agree with what I wrote above. If you haven’t seen Halloween yet, get off my site right now and go watch it. I mean, come on, it’s Halloween!
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