A masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (11 November 2014)

What else can I say? John Carpenter's Halloween is a piece of masterful art. It defined horror and slasher films. It defined and revolutionized low budget movie making. It is the patriarch to an entire genre and it is a film I love deeply. It literally kick started my love for the horror genre and it is THEE bar for which everything else is judged. What makes this film so brilliant? Outside of the fact that it is truly terrifying and gets under your skin...when you break down and analyze the film you will literally be floored by it. If you have not seen this movie, you need to sit down, pop some popcorn, turn out all your lights and watch what is easily one of the great films of its genre if not in film history. You have to put the movie into perspective too. John Carpenter was a nobody (if I'm not mistaken?) Jamie Lee Curtis was plucked at random because she was not a star, the film was made on a shoestring budget and yet every single piece falls into place. The haunting setting of Halloween and the small Illinois town that is a snapshot of Americana, the back story of the mysterious murderous young boy and his escape, the obsessed doctor in a Victor Von Frankenstein type role chasing down the monster he spent years trying to keep locked up. The dialogue works so well and even when its being cheesy, it works for those characters. Then you have John Carpenter's masterful brilliant direction. This film has at least three of my all time favourite movie scenes. I won't say what they are but they give me chills when I see them.
I have always enjoyed Jamie Lee Curtis as an actress, I think she's amazing and a legend in her own right but this is where it all began. She is absolute perfect as the virginal and innocent Laurie Strode. We have no real background on her character yet but as the ultimate (seemingly random) victim of an insane killer she defines scream queen. When I hear that term...I think of her. And she's not without fortitude. She is tough as nails while being absolutely terrified. She fights to the death when put in a survive or be killed situation. Donald Pleasance is already a legend but he adds such instant class and gravitas to the film as Dr. Loomis. He has two or three speeches that are stirring and literally tell the entire story whether setting up the scene or making you feel like you understand Michael Myers. Honestly, everyone else is sort of fodder for Myers. However, they each have very important roles to play and they do their roles well. They leave you with a lasting impression and the film wouldn't be the same without them period! Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles and John Michael Graham (gets one of the great horror scenes ever...one of those aforementioned scenes that give me chills), all play the wild and crazy friends of Laurie's that are systematically picked off. Charles Cyphers has a small but very good role as Kyes' father and the local sheriff. His best scenes are opposite Pleasance. Kyle Richards and Brian Andrews are really terrific as the two little kids who are under Laurie's care when Myers attacks. They deliver their lines a little stiffly but for being who they are, they are great!! Nick Castle inadvertently I think creates one of the most powerful and formidable horror villains in history. His stoic and terrifyingly powerful portrayal of Michael Myers must be seen to be believed. Yes he is somewhat comparable to Jason Voorhees (or the other way around) but there is an implied intelligence, brute strength and most importantly unstoppable and unexplainable desire to kill in his simple performance. That mask will forever haunt me.
For whatever reason John Carpenter had this innate talent inside him to take a simple concept and what little money he had and make it a mountain. He made the most effective horror film to date using lighting and characters and back story. There are things hidden in this film (or maybe its total coincidence) but every time I watch it I wonder what it means in the bigger picture. To make a simple slasher picture and give it depth and meaning and make you think about it is an impressive feat and he will always be a horror god to me. The rest of the series ranged from terrible to almost as good as this one but that doesn't change the fact that how it all started is a reason to watch horror. It seems like all the right pieces fell into place for this classic and I will continue to watch it at least once every year to remind myself what amazing horror is truly about. 10/10