Influenced by Giallos, Influenced Slashers

Rating: 10/10 (12 September 2008)

While many people would say that the slasher genre started with Halloween, I would have to disagree. Halloween didn't start the slasher genre by any means. Halloween mearly set the ground rules for slasher movies to be made in the following decade. Halloween itself was influenced by many films to come before it. To start off with, the whole slasher template was started with the 1960 classic, Psycho. This would soon be followed by many Italian crime films known as "Gialli" films. These Gialli films were the exact definition of a good slasher film. Twitch of the Death Nerve (aka Bay of Blood) directed by Mario Bava influenced the slasher genre to a great extent, which would influence Carpenter to make Halloween.
Halloween is recognized in pop culture very easily. Everyone has heard of Halloween, rather it be due to the very creepy theme music, the Michael Myers mask, the remake, or the countless sequels. After pop culture has turned the image of the film, it is hard to remember what it was originally; The original Halloween had very little gore, if any at all. The movie relied suspense and atmosphere, rather than severe brutality like many other films to follow. John Carpenter used pure talent when it comes to film making, rather than relying on cheap special effects or loud noises.
Another great attribute about Halloween is the strong female characters. In movie after movie we have pathetic female characters with a fairly smart killer. This is the exact opposite here. The female characters in Halloween are well developed and acted out (by Jamie Lee Curtis in particular). Halloween has great performances all around the coating of it. With a strong cast of Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasense, and Nick Castle, you can't go wrong with the chemistry, the performances, or even the overall look. Halloween is a horror movie where the audience roots for the characters. This aspect would become very well for slasher films to follow, where the audience usually roots and relates with the characters (this is the absolute truth when it came to the 2007 remake directed by Rob Zombie)
All horror fans have seen Halloween, and while it didn't quite START the slasher genre, it still layed down a great set of rules. Halloween is also recognized as one of the most suspenseful, frightening films of all time up there with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and the Exorcist (1973). No one is truly a horror fan until they have experienced Halloween.