Cheap and satisfying like a PB & J

Rating: Null/10 (14 March 2014)

The film starts, as IMDb plot synopsis says, with a jack-o-lantern and the now iconic theme composed by the director, John Carpenter.
A young man, responsible for the murder of his sister when he was six, has just escaped from the asylum where he was held. His doctor believes that he is heading back to his home town, Haddonfield, but he has a difficult convincing others of this. He thus travels to Haddonfield personally and alerts the sheriff but doesn't want to panic the town, so he advises against a man hunt. The doctor is able to find evidence of Michael's (the child killer) arrival in town by returning to the house of the his act. Meanwhile, Laurie Strode and friends are going about their business as high schoolers and baby sitters on Halloween night. She watches one child and eventually a second as her friend and fellow baby sitter has a date. Her friends are killed one by one (Lynda, Paul, & Annie). The killer continues to stalk, but is ultimately shot by his doctor who was hot on his trail. He saves Laurie and the two kids, but the killer appears to have gotten away.
This was a very well done slasher movie. It maintained suspense without becoming silly. The soundtrack did a good job of heightening tension, and I'm pleased by how the camera work never showed the killer until the end. Everything was POV, and we heard the breathing through the mask.
This seemed to me like a B movie when that word meant something, little special effects and pretty much the same song over and over again without the use of an entire orchestra. Also, except for the main actress and director, no other names seem well known.
I'd probably appreciate this more had I seen it a long time ago in theaters. As it stands, I've seen too many slashers and knew the basic plot. A definite recommend to those new to the genre, but I think anybody could enjoy it too.