Halloween

I'm going to write a little review about the 1978 classic, Halloween.
Halloween, i think, is one of the very best horror films of all time. I would go as far to say it's one of the best films of all time, regardless of genre. The movie is the blue print of the slasher film and many directors owe a lot to Halloween, mainly because they stole all the ideas from it. Many of the cheesy and all out awful slasher films from the 80's and 90's just ripped off scenes, ideas and ways of filming from Halloween, doing it badly too. So you could say, as great as Halloween is, it is also the parent of many terrible slasher movies.

Halloween is the story of Michael Myers and his unrelenting desire to kill his sister, Laurie, although Laurie isn't aware of this and has infact been adopted and named Laurie Strode. Myers was sent to a psychiatric hospital at age 6 after killing his other, older sister. Fifteen years later, he escapes and "comes home" as the tagline of the film reads.

The film sets many standards for horror and creates many incredibly original aspects that would later be copied so much that they became a horror/slasher cliche. One of these is the use of the camera looking in to windows etc as if from the eyes of Myers. This created a feeling of suspense and intensity, the audience knows the character is being watched but the character themselves is totally unaware, giving a fresh and even creepier dimension to the stalking monster. My personal favourite moment of the subtle mind games used early in the film is when Laurie glances out of her window and spots Myers stood in her garden amongst her clothes on the washing line. It dawns on her that she saw a figure and looks out of the window again, but Myers is gone.

Another thing that sets Halloween apart from the other, later slasher films is instead of using blood and gore as shock tactics, it uses a Hitchcock style of suspense and pacing to grip the viewer and leave you on the edge of your seat.  Modern horror has a tendency to create a cast of dislikeable people that the audience don't care about and even enjoy seeing them die. Halloween has likeable characters including Laurie and the children she is babysitting, you want them to survive and creates a tense atmosphere. Myers methodically stalks Laurie at perfect pace, you sympathise with her and feel her fear, urging her to escape.

One of the most memorable parts of the film is the score. The music to Halloween has become a thing of legend all by itself and is associated with horror as a whole just as much as with the film itself. It's such a simple piece of music but it creates a feeling of terror that few pieces can replicate.

A testament to just how good Halloween is, is that it was an independent film made on a low budget of just $320,000, yet it made $47.3 million at the US box office alone. It is one of the most successful independent films of all time. Infact the trademark mask of Michael Myers is a mask of Captain Kirk from Star Trek, it was purchased for $1.98, the eye holes were cut wider and the face was painted white. That cheap mask has become the face of a horror icon and ironically has made thousands of dollars in fancy dress shop replicas. The whole movie was filmed in 21 days.

The cast too, is brilliant. Jamie Lee Curtis is excellent as Laurie. She plays the character so well that she became known as a scream queen. She somehow manages to mix wholesome with bad ass without over doing either to any extreme. Laurie is likeable and sympathetic while still managing to fight back and knock Myers down and injure him. Donald Pleasence also plays a vital part as Dr Loomis. Loomis is a psychiatrist at the hospital which Myers is sent to and Myers becomes his main patient.
When Myers escapes and goes looking for Laurie, Dr Loomis is the only person that can help as only he knows and understands Michaels psyche. "I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply evil."

Halloween ends on a cliff hanger. Dr Loomis shoots Michael, forcing him to fall from a window balcony. Loomis looks over and Myers is gone, bringing the film to a close. Halloween 2 follows where the first film ended on the same night and is almost as good as the first film. I won't go in to it as it is a separate film, but i recommend that too.

To summarize, Halloween is one of the very best films that horror has to offer and i would suggest that anybody who has never seen it or only seen remakes or the later, not so good sequels, go out and find a copy, you will not be dissapointed. It is a masterpiece of the highest horror order.