Good for a scary Halloween treat...still has raw power to frighten...

Rating: 7/10 (30 August 2006)

John Carpenter put together a pretty fascinating little scare film with this Halloween treat that was so successful it spawned a couple of less worthy sequels. Here the chills are genuinely frightening, as is the overall atmosphere aided and abetted by one of the creepiest background scores ever to occupy the soundtrack of a slasher film.
The frightened heroine is JAMIE LEE CURTIS, babysitting on Halloween night and being told by her young charges that something strange is happening at the house across the street. We switch back and forth between Jamie and her charges and another girl whom we know is about to be visited by escaped lunatic Michael Myers.
The suspense is maintained at high level the moment the first attack takes place--and from then on, the scares become more intense as Jamie realizes she and the kids are in real danger.
Takes its place among the great horror classics, thanks to some superb photography, direction and music--as well as some convincing performances from a relatively unknown (at the time) cast, with the exception of DONALD PLEASENCE as Dr. Loomis.
A Halloween delight.