Halloween (1978)

1978’s “Halloween”, directed by John Carpenter.

Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Loomis, P.J. Soles, Kyle Richards, Brian Andrews, John Michael Graves, Will Sandin, and Nick Castle as “The Shape”.

What is it about?

“Halloween” opens in Haddonfield, Illinois, with 6 year old Michael Myers inexplicably stabbing his sister to death on Halloween, and then being incarcerated at a psychiatric facility. 15 years later, now with adult strength, he escapes his institution and returns to Haddonfield, looking to wreak havoc on teenagers such as Jamie Lee Curtis. With his doctor (Donald Pleasence) hot in pursuit, will Myers’ shape be able to senselessly continue murdering others?

Why is it worth seeing?

“Halloween” is a classic film, and similar to my thoughts on the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, it’s almost a victim of it’success in that it’s perfect demonstration of it’s respective sub-genre- paving the way for a great deal of mediocrity and even deplorable film making in the future. As of this writing, there would be 7 sequels, as well as the Rob Zombie re-boot and its sequel. With the franchise’s varying degrees of quality, suffice to say it’s a bit much for a simple idea.

But that’s what makes the original “Halloween” worth watching: its potent simplicity. Non believers will chafe at the (relatively) low body count, call its patient periods of tense stalking not exciting enough, and its no frills and un-gory approach not worth paying attention to. All of these factors are a part of what makes it so effective. John Carpenter starts the movie off with a POV continuous shot that is both odd and hypnotic, at one point filming through a Halloween mask. Killing the teenager because they were having sex is the most motivation or explanation that we’re going to get as to why Myers would murder his sister, before he morphs into a motivation-less killer, devoid of reason or rationality- in other words, “The Shape”(as he’s referred to in the credits). The movie’s lack of explanation as to Myer’s psychology is a part of why he is so frightening, as well as his possible supernatural immortality, and yes: a painted William Shatner mask that he seems to prefer over his actual face.

As the movie progresses, Carpenter’s camera work keeps getting more and more awesome. Out of a general fear, we start to scan all the edges of the frame, looking for our antagonist, who keeps popping up in tension filled moments and perfect asymmetry. But beyond the camera work, Carpenter is a master of tension, and for many parts of the film just refuses to cut to the next scene/change camera angles, leaving us breathless, even more able to hear the Shape’s laboured breathing throughout the film.

Besides directing, co-writing (with Debra Hill), producing, and voicing a character (through the phone), Carpenter also did the score for “Halloween”. It’s a doozy, as catchy (the unstoppable main theme) as it is sinister and shocking in other moments. Anyone else able to imagine George Lucas or Steven Spielberg making their own music?

Finally, Jamie Lee Curtis makes her big screen debut here. She does well here as the responsible and homely but sometimes lonely teenager, and similar to the other historically influential parts of the movie, creates an archetype here known as, “The Final Girl”. Donald Pleasance is wonderfully campy as the doctor who warns the townspeople of the Shape’s return to Haddonfield (Christopher Lee actually turned down this role, due to a lack of salary, but later said it was the biggest mistake of his career).

As unsettling as it is revolutionary, “Halloween” is a classic worth checking out every year around October 31. Made for maybe a third of a million dollars, it grossed 70 million, helping to make up the studio’s minds if they should shoot for double digits for the amount of sequels. They would up the body count, increase the perversity of the murders, and add family ties themes- none of them improving the quality of the sequels. See the original and decide for yourself if the Shape can be improved upon as the stuff nightmares are made of.

Rating:

5/5

Trailer: Click Here.