Deserves its place in cinema history

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2009)

I've got nothing to prove here; I'm a total puss when it comes to horror movies. I just don't have the stomach for them. "Halloween" is the rare exception, and it fits naturally with this time of year. This is scary not because it's a guy in a mask with a chef's knife but because he's a stalker; and Carpenter plays that like a master violinist. The climactic scene with Jamie Lee Curtis in the closet is nerve-wracking enough, but the early scenes with Michael Myers following her through the suburban streets just bury the creepy needle. It's the way things are dragged out in this movie - the tracking shots, the breathing sounds under the mask, that damn score - all played to just that right length.
This is economical filmmaking, brutally effective and notorious for good reason.
8/10