He sees, he gets, he kills

Rating: 8/10 (11 October 2009)

A very good movie. Economical on style, very few special affects, leaving aside the pioneering steady cam work and an inspiration for film makers for years. It may seem sluggish at first to those used to the breakneck speed of today's horror comedies. Little humour here though and little back story or any suggestion our killer has been forced to kill by some past traumatic event. He's just made that way - evil! So we don't get long build ups or chases through woods. He sees, he gets, he kills. Simple, and so in many ways it is but on what must have been a pretty slender budget, Carpenter gets us looking twice at the hedgerow and fearful of wardrobes. Also whilst we might not mourn the loss of the first few irritating kids (and can maybe just vicariously enjoy those kills) with Janet Leigh's daughter, we care and the final section becomes quite breathtaking.