Halloween

Halloween has become a staple in horror film history for its influence on the slasher genre and for creating a long-standing franchise that still exists today. While it could be argued that it has overstayed its welcome at this point with several sequels, two reboots and what looks like another continuation after the third retry (which supposedly is going to concluded with the ‘final’ movie), but unlike other horror franchises that never seemed to die, this one does at least feel like its trying to be a touch more unique with its updates and attempts to replicate the horror that this one helped make infamous through its mix  of subtle suspense and realistic brutality. It created a standard slasher, but an entertaining one that’s fit for the holiday its named after. Young Michael Myers shakes up his standard wealthy home-life when he murders his older sister on Halloween night, which results in him being imprisoned for fifteen years. On Halloween night in 1978, a now adult Michael (played by Nick Castle/Tony Moran) escapes while being escorted for a hearing and makes his way back to his old home of Haddonfield, Illinois to continue his murder spree on new victims. His psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis (played by Donald Pleasence) travels to the town to tries to give warning, but he isn’t getting much assistance from local sheriff Brackett (played by Charles Cyphers), made even worse now that Michael has found his next target, that being teenage babysitter Laurie Strode,(played by Jamie Lee Curtis). While babysitting two children in her neighborhood, Tommy and Lindsey (played by Brian Andrews and Kyle Richards), Laurie witnesses  her friends be picked off one by one and quickly becomes aware of the true danger that she faces. She needs to become the hero of Halloween night now that this boogeyman is coming after her and two children, while Loomis makes his way to see if he can prevent another Halloween killing. Directed by John Carpenter, Halloween is a very well put together film with unique music, clever cinematography and subtlety that films even nowadays have trouble repeating to the same effective degree, and while it has minor issues that plagued several horror films at the time keeping it from being perfect, it doesn’t stop it from becoming a familiar classic.

The set-up is very basic, infamously known, and cleverly combines the real-life fear of stalkers in seemingly innocent and harmless suburban areas with a slasher genre, but the plot itself is quite stale. The narrative, which was written by Carpenter, along with producer Debra Hill,  is more of a side element as the real focus is on the build-up to the deaths and the confrontation at the end, much like how most slasher films operate. What should be noted is that since this film is technically one of the originators of the slasher film genre (which many horror films would later replicate), it is home to all of the cliches known in those films (both good and bad). Later sequels and remakes add more to the plot, including motivations, other characters, backstory and even secret connections between characters, but this film keeps it straightforward, being effective for its time, but could be roped in with other slasher movie plots. It is a known issue that slasher films never really care about making its plots interesting, but rather how creative and enjoyably it can kills its character (disturbing but true), and while this mindset doesn’t always have to be a bad thing, it does become annoying when a lot of these movies have plots that can be boxed in with the other.  There are scenes that seem pointless and could have been removed from the film altogether, but they do help set a believable mood to this story that does add to the realistic atmosphere this film is going for, it truly does feel like a monster like Michael Myers could exist. It makes the fear even more real when the killer is also 100% human, but also above reason. It adds that realistic element to a movie like this which helps make it feel like a scary story you would tell on Halloween or one that would act like a urban legend for a holiday (like Halloween), so from that angle, it captures that energy pretty nicely.

A good majority of the characters are just lambs waiting to be slaughtered. The film’s running time is not very long, so less is dedicated to story and character and is replaced by suspense and atmosphere, but this means that their deaths mean less as we don’t know them that well. Laurie is a decent enough who you don’t want to see die and Doctor Loomis is likeably wordy and cryptic, but the others are pure bait for on-screen brutality. While the leads are the only halfway decent people in the movie, they aren’t fantastic as Laurie is just your standard high school student without much else (even though she doesn’t look at all like a teenager) and Loomis is also mainly just a way to build up the threat of Myers and establish the fear that he inflicts. It does lead to some of the film’s best lines, but aside from the ending, he has very little purpose throughout. These two are also the only real good actors in the film, as the others are quite hoaky and slightly funny in how over-the-top or underplayed their reactions, facial expressions and line reads can be. Jamie Lee Curtis plays her part very well throughout the film, juggling typical small town shy girl as well as horrified victim very well, and even though Donald Pleasence is very speech-heavy, he has a certain charm to him that makes you want to listen to whatever he’s talking about. Michael Myers has become a trademark in famous horror movie killers. Nothing about his personality or motivation comes through in the film, but his silent stoic appearance mixed with his slow and drawn out brutality creates a threatening and memorable presence. His patience and precision in his stalking and his murders builds throughout the whole film, brilliantly creating tension and suspense that cuts as strong as his knife. Seeing him as an emotionless husk, unsympathetic and uncaring to whoever he slaughters, matched with the mystery of how a child could kill his sister in cold blood, has had a strong impact on the viewers through his introduction, his reserved and quiet composition, and the slow inevitable deaths of his victims. While not a complex figure and one that was more likely meant to represent a fear of the unknown stalker rather than a full-fledged character, he does leave a lasting impression.

The cinematography throughout the film by Dean Cundey is very well done. It seems very simple at first look, but the way it slowly pans and follows the characters from a distance  perfectly creates and emulates the feeling of being watched, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere and adding to the tension of seeing through the killer’s eyes. It also has very effective still-shots, where an image becomes more unsettling when it focuses on them in complete silence for a good amount of time. This whole film relies on and is very good at capturing subtlety, as some of the best scares are when Myers is seen from a distance or spying on the characters out of view from them. It heightens the tension and keeps you on your toes waiting for the scare, and it never resorts to a jump-scare that forcibly tries to make you jump. The music, which is composed by Carpenter himself, is commonly considered to be one of the most famous scores in any horror film. Its ironic that a film all about subtle scares and subtle build-up has probably one of the most unsubtle movie themes for any film, where it comes in at very quiet moments throughout the film and its a piece that is very high octane and adrenaline pumping. It could be argued that it ruins the tension, but it gives the movie its own form of jarring suspense and identity. The harsh but soft piano works well coupled with the stronger and more threatening violins, creating a piece that is both repetitive and simple, but also relentless, foreboding, and above all else, intimidating.

Whenever people think of Halloween, this is usually the film that comes to mind first, even if Halloween is featured very little in it (its third film is ironically the only one to really be about Halloween). It set the ground work for terrors of the bogeyman and things that go bump in the night and it laid out the starting point for future slasher movies to replicate. It has some great cinematography, unique soundtrack, two decent main characters, a good stand-out killer and created a franchise that like Myers, has still refused to die. The lackluster side characters and plot can all be chalked up to the time and genre it bases itself in, and even with that in mind, it doesn’t stop the movie from being a game changer then and a classic now. At a time when horror films made you afraid of killers in your nightmares and lakeside camp murderers, this one reminds you, never forget to be afraid of the casual stalker on Halloween.