Top Row Suspense.

Rating: 9/10 (14 September 2003)

Introducing Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode. Wonderful. One of the best suspense/slasher flix ever made.
Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of veteran actress Janet Leigh and actor Tony Curtis (Bernard Schwartz), was a twenty-year old, unseasoned actress with only a two episodes of Operation Petticoat and a bit part in a "Colombo" movie under her belt when she was cast in this, her first leading role. (As usual, 20 year olds playing high schoolers) While her acting is still a trifle fresh, she convincingly portrays her role as well as she would today, as a seasoned actress. She makes you smile, and later, makes you scream, squirm up into your chair and pull the blanket up to your chin.
Laurie and her friends comprise a small group of "teen-aged" girls who baby sit for weed money, and spend most of their time like many teen aged girls do; screwing their boyfriends and otherwise scheming on how to get out of the house in order to perpetrate their other plans...screwing their boyfriends. I won't outline the plot here, as this movie was done in 1978, but I will say that Donald Pleasence is very convincing as the psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis, who first treats Michael Audrey Myers. He seems genuinely concerned that he is loose and makes you believe that he cares. As he outlines Michael's past history with the cop, you get all the information you need in order to just sit back, follow the movie and enjoy being scared out of your wits.
While the overuse of the word "totally" is somewhat annoying, it's classic late '70's, early '80's jargon which Nancy Kyes (Annie) can't seem to do without. She's good and believable as a complete and total air head you can't wait to see butchered. She's also done The Fog (John Carpenter, 1980), Halloween 2, Halloween 3 (a movie they could have just never made), Not in Front of the Children and Lady Boss...nothing really spectacular, but she's entertaining in this.
Wide screen had newly been introduced when Carpenter made this movie, and he excels in its use. View the wide screen edition of this movie to catch all the side action you missed in the full screen version. I understand it exhibits his abilities to give us excellent filmography and cinematography.
What's also excellent is Jamie Lee Curtis's ability to exude tension, fright, concern, happiness and horror all within the same scene. She really spreads her wings in this movie and exhibits those traits we've now come to expect from her.
Also I must comment on the story line/plot. I wasn't going to, but I simply must. I typically dislike "slasher" flicks...mindless killing, puerile acting, hollow and empty plots...but the Halloween movies aren't like that. They definitely give us something besides mindless entertainment.
As you may know, the endings of these movies are never really endings. They always come back. The ending of Halloween 1 is a classic in the field of Horror. Jamie is so natural here. I love this movie. It's one of my favorite horror flix.
It gets a solid 9.2/10 from...
the Fiend :.