RETROSPECTIVE Halloween Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, P.J. Soles, Nancy Loomis Directed by: John Carpenter Produced by: Debra Hill Written by: John Carpenter, Debra Hill Distributed By: Compass International Pictures

     So I’m sitting on my plastic blue beanbag chair, eating leftover Halloween candy, and watching this movie on cable for the third time. Then, it finally dawns on me. “Damn, this is one great film,” I think to myself. John Carpenter’s horrific classic, Halloween, is one hell of a masterfully spooky trip.

     The most admirable aspect of Halloween is the way in which it revitalized the horror genre, by incorporating the conventional techniques used in its predecessors with its distinct intelligence and irony. Carpenter clearly used the work of other director’s as inspiration, in crafting Halloween, but added a certain uniqueness to the picture that’s overwhelmingly brilliant. In fact, it was so ingenious, his work on this movie is mocked by almost every horror-director working today. This year, the makers that were responsible for disasters such as Wrong Turn and Willard have clearly mocked Carpenter. This is not always evident, because they’re visions are so misguided and awful, but after close observation, one is easily able to conclude that these filmmakers are undeniably influenced by the master.

     The first scene in Halloween shows a girl named Judith Myers sneak up to her bedroom with a boy from school to have sex. Once he has left, we see her younger brother, Michael, walk upstairs and kill her with a knife, which would later become the infamous trademark of the series. Halloween then advances fifteen years in time, and cuts to a scene, featuring Michael escaping from the mental institution, where he’s lived the majority of his life. Michael travels to Haddonfield, Illinois, his hometown. The rest of the movie contains two basic storylines. The first is comprised of Michael’s doctor Sam Loomis’ (Donald Pleasance’s) quest to find him before he does any harm. The second consists of Michael’s plot to kill Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her two best friends (Nancy Loomis and P.J. Soles).

     Halloween never gives away too much too soon, and this is crucial to its success. Carpenter rarely shows Michael full-on; we usually see pieces of his body. He’s expressionless and has no motive. Much of the key information about the character isn’t handed to the audience until sequels later, and it’s never needed. Our lack of knowledge always allows us to be more sympathetic for our protagonist, leaving us more fearful and worried for her. I hate to sound cheesy, but in this case, it’s a necessity. Your heart will stop and your fingers will go numb. There’s no other way to describe the physical effect that all viewers of this film will experience when watching it.

     This was Curtis’ debut performance and it was an excellent start to her fabulous career. Her work in this film is pretty damn great, even though it isn’t nearly as memorable as Mr. Myer’s himself. When she’s onscreen, we truly believe that she’s scared, which only creates more fright for the audience.

     The music used is also of great focus, even though it is constantly left the victim of parodies, nowadays. Carpenter’s score is an intense and shocking background for the striking images. The contrast between image and sound is magnificent because it always brings about an edgy feel to the flick. Without this effect, Halloween wouldn’t be half the picture that it is.

     There are eight Halloween movies, currently. With the new film Michael Myers vs. Pinhead, Miramax obviously hasn’t thought about stopping their creation. While I do believe that making sequels to Halloween was a good idea, after the fourth film, the franchise had overstayed its welcome. Although I found the most recent addition to the series, Resurrection, to be entertaining, it was completely unwanted, as were the fifth, sixth, and seventh films. The original Halloween will still be regarded as one of the best motion pictures of all-time, despite several mediocre sequels. If this, alone, doesn’t distinguish true greatness, I don’t know what does.

-Danny Baldwin, Bucket Reviews