Quick Reviews!

Rating: 8/10 (12 November 2004)

Whether or not you feel, Excluding Psycho, that this was the first of its genre, it is definitely the most influential, for better or worse, and easily the most famous.
A boy who killed his sister many years ago escapes from his asylum, and from the care of Dr. Loomis, the only person who remotely understands him, and decides to go on a kill crazy rampage in the town he was born, seeking and killing his relatives, and any other fool who gets in his way. So begins the legacy of Michael Myers. The film follows Laurie, dateless and forced to babysit on Halloween night, as she tries to escape Myers.
While the plot is hardly outstanding, it is Carpenter's direction which makes this a classic. he knows how to create and build tension, and get the most from his cast, and for any wannabe directors this is essential viewing, as it was all done on a low budget. original camera angles, effective use of the hand-held, the score all help create the atmosphere that most modern horror movies cannot reach. Everything in this movie is designed around ensuring that the tension is unrelenting. this was also one of the first 'modern' movies that showed youth that the world was not as safe as they had been led to believe, that our parents are not as reliable or trustworthy as we thought. the scene where Laurie is turned away from a neighbors house by a simple flick of a light switch underlines this. 9 out of 10.