As we reach the end of another one of these Halloween movie reviews (which took me until Christmas to finish), I figured now would be the appropriate time to talk about one of the movies that’s been a staple with the holiday, for the past forty years; I’m of course talking about, John Carpenter’s Halloween. With the release of the new film to celebrate the franchise’s 40th anniversary, it only seemed fitting to finally give out my two cents on the film.
The origins trace back to the early 70’s, with the release of Bob Clark’s horror film, Black Christmas; the movie was about a mass murderer hiding out in a sorority house, and the film is watching these women slowly be tormented by him, mentally and physically. I bring this up, because John Carpenter had actually asked about where he would have gone next, and Clark admitted he would have had the killer return on Halloween, but those plans never came to be. After working on Assault on Precinct 13, Carpenter and his then-girlfriend/producer, Debra Hill, were called upon to direct a slasher film in the same vein, but only if Carpenter had full creative control; the script took 10 days to 3 weeks to finish, but soon went into production in May of ‘78.
Halloween takes place in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois; a deranged killer escapes from prison and returns to town, hunting down babysitters all while being hunted by the doctor who wants to finish the job.
Most of the film is through the perspective of Laurie Strode, our main protagonist and the “surviving virgin” character trope; she’s the character the audience identifies with, trying to be the responsible one, while the rest of her friends are party animals. Growing up, you definitely find a lot more to sympathize with Laurie on, especially when it comes to being stuck babysitting without friends who promised; but even then, she still tries to be as capable and reliable as much as she can, given her unprepared circumstances; along with a performance by Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of Janet Leigh from Psycho, she proves she’s more than capable of handling the mantle of “scream queen.”
Donald Pleasence is downright brilliant as Dr. Sam Loomis; even if he does come off to people as a bit over exaggerated, you learn as to why this particular patient he was keeping in was so dangerous to begin with. And while Michael Myers may have become the example for slasher villains (the silent masked killer who walks), its the backstory we have for him that makes him the most unsettling. The intro plays it out like a kid just did the worst thing imaginable, but as you learn from Dr. Loomis, there’s more to him than what we originally were thinking; that speech about looking after a child with nothing but pure evil in his eyes, may seem cliche, but considering how today we have mass shootings that have been reported since (hell, this year alone), a situation like this doesn't as unlikely as it used to be, unfortunately. And while there are some questions about how certain kills are handled, what matters is how effective they’re handled, delivering on both suspense and tension.
The music has also been an iconic staple of the horror genre now; Carpenter is known for being the composer on most films he writes/directs, and this is no exception. It’s simple, but chilling at the same time, and whenever it does creep up, it lets you know that somewhere outside, Michael Myers is around the corner just waiting to strike.
I will admit though, while it is a revolutionary film in the horror genre, there are some parts where it hasn’t aged well, mostly in the writing; we all know Lynda’s obsession with the word “totally,” but that could have just been Carpenter’s interpretation of teenagers of that era. Aside from that, there are other plot points like Michael learning to drive despite being incarcerated, how he snuck into Annie’s car and fogged it up in time, and a few others that fans have pointed out over the years; but I think that’s also something that comes from true dedication, that we can observe a film so many times that we notice flaws that may have gone unnoticed when it was first released.
The original Halloween may be flawed, but it has cemented its status in film history as a true classic. Even with every mistake that's pointed out, something that adds onto the charm of what a film for the Halloween season may need. A great lead, a menacing killer, a desperate savior, and a scenario that would later on be copied by the 1980’s. It may not be one of my personal favorites, but it’s one that I just as much understand and respect the appeal behind.
Rating: B+ (personally), A (for its legacy)
Since we’re on the topic, might as well talk about the rest of the franchise; with the exception of Halloween III: Season of the Witch and the latest one they had, I personally don’t like the other films in this series (don’t get me started on the remake). I liked how Season of the Witch tried to bring the series to a more Twilight Zone direction, I just wished the public at the time did as well.
Rating: B+
Rating: B+
As for the new Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green, I thought it was alright for what it gave; I didn’t really think the original Halloween II, where it was revealed that Laurie is Michael’s sister, led to a lot of the problems that the sequels were plagued with from the beginning, so I’m glad that got scrapped. Some of the meta humor can be distracting, since it isn’t that funny in some places, and the pacing in some scenes can drag, but the return of Laurie as a “Sarah Connor survivor” was a logical decision to go with. Other than that, I thought the film was another Halloween movie, but an alright one. If they do decide to bring this series back, I would love to see them try that anthology series idea again, especially with the popularity of Cloverfield and Black Mirror in the mainstream.
Rating: B -
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