A must-see horror film - and I mean that.

Rating: 8/10 (15 August 2001)

**** = A masterpiece to be recorded in the books and never forgotten
***1/2 = A classic in time; simply a must see
*** = A solid, worth-while, very entertaining piece
**1/2 = A good movie, but there are some uneven elements or noticeable flaws
** = May still be considered good in areas, but this work has either serious issues or is restrained by inevitable elements deemed inescapable (e.g., genre)
*1/2 = Mostly a heap of nothing sparked by mildly worthwhile moments
BOMB = Not of a viewable quality

Halloween = ***1/2

Rated "R" (for horror with some violence, brief sexuality and drug use, and for some nudity)

The Bible of the teenage slasher film, this low-budget clencher will, if nothing else, gain your respect for thrilling the audience withought splattering them with body parts. The impressionistic, German-style, Gothic cinematography takes the place of graphic stabbings; the darkly-lit killer POV shots replace gory aftermaths... and the results speak for themselves.
"HALLOWEEN," which has so far spawned eight sequels, is a mix between "FRIDAY THE 13"-style slaughtering episodes with sheer suspenseful brilliance, ala "PSYCHO." It is composed of not only style, but the forever classic horror plot line: a set of vulnerable (and attractive) victims must battle THE SHAPE in a startlingly claustrophobic 24-hour time frame. But, then again, one has to wonder: is this the ever infamous plotline that was used in "HALLOWEEN" or *created* from it?
To top it all off, the compact, 90 minute film is layered with an intense, haunting score, for which "HALLOWEEN" was given the first word in fear. If anyone has always been skeptical about the horror genre, this is the perfect film to realize the quality possibilities it has to offer. It's just too bad that films aren't made to this caliber anymore... but on second thought, that would render art works such as this average, which they are anything but.