Halloween

To begin, this is a twenty year old film. Few films remain as suspenseful today as they did when it came out. (see: Night of the Living Dead -- had people running from the theatres when released but is very tame today). Clearly a movie fan brought up on the standards of today's movies will fail to find enjoyment of such 'classic' films. But when watching Halloween today perhaps it helps to consider a few things: Halloween was a low budget film (read: bad acting, poor special effects) made for only $300,000. It was not a product of Hollywood but a bunch of 20 year olds. This was the first film to feature the Boogeyman that Wouldn't Die which has been ripped off time and time again in the Friday the 13th, Elm Street, Scream, etc. You're used to it now, but Halloween did it first. Even Scream ripped off the look of the villian in Halloween. The theme of teenagers being stalked by a madman has been ripped of numerous times as well (again, Halloween did it first) but what seperates Halloween from the imitators is that it plays on traditional fears: The Thing that Wouldn't Die; the Boogeyman coming to get you; being followed and stalked; the boyfriend returning to the room under a bedsheet -- and it's not really him; someone hiding in the car... all things that have made our skin crawl in real life at one time or another. Watching Halloween tonight again for the first time in years I found myself again on the edge of my seat. Classic? Hell, yes. Maybe not to a generation who feels Scream was a 'good' horror movie but a classic none the less.

Halloween is a hands down classic horror film. John Carpenter made a film that was often imaited but never duplicated. The camera angles are one of the many things that make the film scary. Carpetner allows the viewer to see through the eyes of the killer with the subjective camera and then there's the classic music score. Jamie Lee Curtis had a star making role in this movie and if you've never seen the film you should.

The best slasher ever made, and arguably one of the best horror movies ever made. John Carpenter is a genius. Amazing direction, an atmosphere built upon suspense and terror, effective use of first person pov shots. Immensely influential this movie birthed the best slasher villain, the best final girl, and the best soundtrack/theme. Above average acting and great performances from Jaime lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence (RIP). Although Texas Chainsaw and Black Christmas came before, this was the blueprint that sent the 80's into a slasher frenzy.

Oh the memories! I was 9 years old when I first saw this movie on HBO with my younger cousin and older brother....it was about 1980. It was so creepy. When the movie went off me and my cousin were too scaried to go to bed so we stayed up until the infamous "Night Tracks" went off on TBS (REMEMBER NIGHT TRACKS??). The 'Halloween' Movie Theme stayed with me for years. Everytime I hear the theme I think back to when I was a kid. I would often dread when my parents would go out on the weekends and let my older brother babysit me. I just knew that Micheal Myers would know that my parents were not home and kill me. In my opinion, a movie should stay with you long after the movie is over. That's what 'Halloween' did for me. Each Halloween night, I remember back to 1978, when 'Halloween' came out. I think of the young scared child that I was and how good the first 'Halloween'movie really was!

I was 20 back in 1978, and saw this on opening weekend. I knew nothing of it, and after growing up on the old Hammer films, followed by a period of almost nothing, this was quite a nice surprise. It really worked! Had me checking the back seat in cars, gave me a sinking feeling when I lost my keys, etc. The low death toll and relative lack of blood, as compared to subsequent slasher films, has me really admiring how effectively it created the atmosphere & suspense that kept me on edge, and made me jump at the right places. I certainly don't jump any more at it, but I do have fun remembering what it was like watching it when the now-cliches were fresh & new. I laugh at the 'horror' flicks of the 30s & 40s, but when they were new, I bet they were something. And I bet in another 20 years, today's toddlers will find Scream/IKWYDLS, et al, to be tame and passe too, at least compared to what they'll (& I'll) be watching then!

I'm surprised at the number of people half my age who wish they could've been around to see this film when it was brand new!

Looking back, Halloween probably scared me more when it was new, than other horror movies have,when they were new. Horror films are indebted to Halloween for breaking some new ground, and I can't wait for the next horror film that will do something on a similar scale.