The one...the only...the classic....

Rating: Null/10 (23 April 2002)

What more is there to say about John Carpenter's groundbreaking 1978 horror classic? Words cannot even begin to evoke the true visceral experience that was Carpenter's only true masterpiece ("Escape from New York" not withstanding).
Alfred Hitchcock did it first, back in 1960 with his chilling masterpiece "Psycho", and the master indeed bragged about playing his audience like a pipe organ. No one thought it could be duplicated, much less even contemplated, but Carpenter rose to the challenge and went on to create the most indelible monster since Norman Bates....Michael Myers.
The plot was simple enough. A six-year-old boy, traumatized by his teenaged sister having sex, sets out to brutally kill her. This happened on Halloween night while their parents were away. Upon discovering his shocking crime, he is institutionalized under the care of Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance), who is convinced that this child harbors far more evil than even he anticipated.
Fast forward to 1978. A sprightly young teenager named Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) is looking forward to the eve of "tricks and treats", and spending time with her friends as she babysits young Tommy Doyle. Unfortunately for her (and them), Michael Myers has escaped and intends to wreak bloody murder on an otherwise innocuous night.
Why did this film work, when countless other cheap imitations didn't? One key word: simplicity. Carpenter was out to prove that a knife causing a bloody gash was far from a reason to truly horrify people. He bathed his set with shadows and darkness and gave us one of the most haunting film scores ever put on celluloid - the fact that he scored the music himself, only proves his genius and versatility.
Another key ingredient were the performances: Jamie Lee Curtis, making her film debut, gave us a real flesh-and-blood character in Laurie Strode; the heroine who has more in common with Michael than she initially thought (see the sequel). Donald Pleasance, one of the best B-movie actors, gave us real fear and real emotion as the doctor trying to stop the unstoppable. And credit must go to future director Nick Castle for his graceful and chilling performance as "The Shape".
"Halloween". A true classic. Often imitated, but never, ever duplicated.