The Greatest of It's Genre.

Rating: 8/10 (16 May 2006)

Halloween is considered by most to be an insanely popular slasher flick that started the slasher craze. But can we really call this movie a slasher flick? To me, it's more of a psychological thriller. Halloween tells the story of a six year old boy named Michael Myers who, for no explainable reason, killed his 17 year old sister Judith. He is locked up in a mental institution for 15 years, and on the night of October 30th, 1978, he escapes to his home town with his psychiatrist on his trail. Halloween has been given the credit of starting many of the typical slasher movie devices, such as the drunken/promiscuous teens die first while the innocent virgin lives to tell the tale, point of view shots accompanied by heavy breathing, not-so-intelligent victims tripping and falling while trying to escape, etc. Of course, we must give credit where credit is due...Many of these techniques were taken from Bob Clarke's 1974 slasher Black Christmas.
The reason that I say Halloween isn't really a slasher flick is because there are only 5 murders in the movie, which isn't particularly high for a slasher movie. Halloween spends most of its time cleverly building the suspense until the climax. Michael Myers mostly appears throughout the film as a shadow in the distance, or we only see a shoulder or his hands. John Carpenter makes use of several interesting camera angles to effectively creep out the viewers. John Carpenter's chilling score is what makes the film. Without the music, the movie wouldn't be as good as it is.
What I really enjoy about Halloween is that it has a Halloweeny feel to it. When you watch it, no matter what time of year, you always get this feeling of fall weather and the Halloween season. Halloween is truly a classic in the horror genre, and anyone that favours the horror films of today over this movie don't know art at all.
8.5/10