Quickie Review: Halloween

Rating: 8/10 (25 August 2015)

Before the endless sequels being crapped out for a quick buck and we were confused by muddled plots involving supernatural incest and satanic cults there was the original, simple Halloween. What John Carpenter and Debra Hill produced in 1978 went down in cinematic history, and rightly so. Right from the title credits with Carpenter's iconic, simplistic chilling theme (which is associated so closely with the film that it was subsequently used in every Halloween sequel and remake) to the shocking genre-switching ending, few films grip you with the amount of suspense Halloween does. Almost every slasher cliché can be traced to this film, and yet it feels fresh as ever if watched today. The character Dr Samuel Loomis is a staple of the horror genre. Before he hobbled around Haddonfield screeching at 10 year olds, Donald Pleasence played the good old Dr with a cool charm. His composure, often broken in rare fits of rage, reinforces the seriousness of the situation to the people of Illinois – that death has come to their little town. Yes, you cannot talk about Halloween without paying homage to the personification of death himself, Michael Myers. The simplicity of Myers is what makes him the best of the slasher villains. Simple clothes, a simple weapon, a simple mask. And yet he is incredibly enigmatic and without motive (until the sequel came along). He's just a pure killing entity. Every scene with him is expertly fashioned to make him as creepy as possible, and we never truly get a proper close up view of him. Even when 'the shape' isn't on screen his presence can be constantly felt.
John Carpenter expertly (and on a budget of a measly $300,000) crafted a horror movie that should be studied and dissected by modern directors of the genre. He uses lighting and subtle details to provoke scares. In some scenes, knowing what is about to happen is often what provides the thrills, as opposed to what we actually see. A combination of dark lighting, a lesson in steady cam shots, and the eerie tone of the music give Halloween a spine-chilling and claustrophobic tone. The low- budget cameras used gave the film a grainy look, which adds to the creepiness of scenes. Halloween is truly a perfect horror film. There is nothing that merits a change and as such this comes highly recommended to horror fans.
Best Scene: The killer ending is still implanted in my memory. After having six gun shots fired into his chest and falling off a balcony, we breathe a sigh of relief with Dr Loomis as Michael is shown sprawled on the front porch, still and unmoving. Loomis takes a minute, looks down andhe's gone. Cue the classic theme. We then cut to a number of different shots of Haddonfield ending with the spooky Myers house, accompanied by Michael's signature hoarse breathing. Brilliant. What makes this scene extra special is Dr Loomis' reaction when Michael goes missing – He lifts his head, and Pleasance's eyes themselves tell us that Loomis, deep down, knew the six shots wouldn't have killed the escaped mental patient. Which begs the question, just what is Michael Myers?