The night HE came home!

Rating: 10/10 (1 September 2008)

Co-writer/director John Carpenter's 1978 masterpiece of horror and suspense remains to be one of the greatest horror movies of all time. The simple story of a masked maniac going on a senseless rampage on Halloween night in a small suburban community and the determined psychiatrist hot on his trail still rings true even to this day. For the longest time, I avoided this movie, I'm not sure why. I don't normally like "slasher" movies, although I do consider "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984) to be the best of this particular genre. I would guess "Halloween" follows at a close second. This is often cited as the one that started it all, even though earlier slasher flicks such as "Black Christmas" (1974), "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974), and Alfred Hitchcock's classic "Psycho" (1960) could definitely be seen as influences on Carpenter's work here. Compared to the horror movies of today, what's most striking about "Halloween" is that the violence and gore is actually very minimal. The surreal, minimalist violence and gore is far more frightening than anything produced in the sequels or any of its countless knock-offs. Carpenter instead relies on his direction, actors (especially Jamie Lee Curtis as would-be female victim Laurie Strode), camera-work, and overall atmosphere and suspense to get his chills here. Rob Zombie's 2007 remake couldn't even compare! Carpenter's moody score (most effective in the opening sequence) sets the tone for the rest of the film, a series of relentless shocks and ever-mounting tension; "Halloween" is the sole reason why Carpenter is oft-cited as the master of suspense. What we have in "Halloween" is one of the greatest and scariest horror movies of all time, a horror movie that influenced an entire generation of filmmakers. Trust me, Halloween was never the same after that night when HE came home!
10/10