The Slasher Film Against Which All Other Slasher Films Must Be Measured

Rating: 8/10 (6 July 2008)

It's interesting to watch "Halloween" 30 years after it was made, and to realize just how influential this movie has been in the genre. Almost every "slasher" movie that followed seems to have found some of its inspiration from this. From Jason's mask, to villains who won't die, to terrified teens targeted for death, it all seems to have begun here, in a pretty straightforward and not particularly fancy movie that nevertheless managed to get almost everything right.
On Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers bludgeoned his sister to death. For some reason, exactly 15 years later he escapes from his maximum security prison and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois to go on another killing spree. The power of this movie comes from two things - the atmosphere, which is appropriately suspenseful throughout, and the musical score, which fits perfectly and which cannot be forgotten once its heard. In all honesty I thought the acting was somewhat inconsistent, with the exception of Donald Pleasance. As Dr. Loomis, Michael's psychiatrist who is absolutely convinced that Michael is evil and should be locked up forever, Pleasance is superb. The rest of the cast - even including Jamie Lee Curtis to be honest - had its ups and downs, and some of the lines seemed spoken in a bit of a monotone which didn't suit the action. That's explained probably by the inexperience of a very young group of actors, none of whom (Curtis being the notable exception) really became significant players in Hollywood.
Given the way the genre progressed, it's surprising how little blood there is here. (Later makers of the slasher films should have taken this as inspiration too.) We see some murders, but they aren't the focal point, and they're not gruesomely depicted. I also found the "relationship" between Laurie (Curtis) and Michael strange (from the vantage point of the sequels.) Michael doesn't really seem to have targeted her in this movie. I know he keeps popping up in her life once he gets to Haddonfield, but she only ends up in danger because she goes to check out the house where he's doing the killing. (True, this is really only a problem in the sequels, where Laurie really is the target and there is this strange connection between them.) This short (90 minute) movie is the grand-daddy of movies of this type. It's not a classic Hollywood work, but as slasher films go it remains (in my opinion) the absolute best. 8/10