Greatest horror film ever! Pure terror.

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2001)

Halloween is simply the greatest horror film of all time. The film creates an eerie atmosphere that will easily frighten just about any viewer. Relying on this atmosphere of terror, John Carpenter creates a masterpiece in fear. Excellent camera shots add greatly to the film, and Carpenter's original score remains the freakiest I have ever heard. The film plays with your emotions terribly, and Donald Pleasance's performance as Loomis is one of the greatest cinematic performances I have ever seen. *SPOILER ALERT* While speaking of Myers, he explains him not as a man, but as an evil being devoid of reason, conscience, fear or remorse. When Myers is seen disguised in what is probably the scariest looking mask I have ever seen, it seems to add to his inhuman nature. I really can't say enough about this movie..... certain scenes where Donald Pleasance is loomising Myers to Sheriff Brackett (like the scene in the Myers house) attests to Pleasance's acting abilities to portray the Captain Ahab-like obsessed doctor. Many of the daytime scenes are also fantastic, such as when Myers is seen driving the wagon around Haddonfield, menacingly passing Loomis and Laurie repeatedly, or following Laurie and Annie down the road-- unnoticed!! This gives example of Carpenter's ability to create fear without death... when Myers is prowling the streets, always in the background and always unnoticed, the feeling I get is relentless terror. Finally, certain lines throughout the film are brilliant and chilling... most of them coming from Loomis, such as, "he came home" or "as a matter of fact, that was", and others. It is too bad that many films throughout the 80's and 90's tried to copy certain things introduced in Halloween, turning them into cliches over time... so I can only imagine how much better this film would have been back in '78... although it is still the "original" slasher film. The death rate is very small in Halloween, but Carpenter proves here that death is not necessary to create fear. A technique used by Carpenter that makes the deaths scarier, however, is limiting them to strangulations or slow deaths, while showing the facial expressions on the victims as they die. This is a very terrifying effect. I would enjoy ranting and raving about the film for another hour, but I should stop now. The point is that this is the greatest, scariest horror film I have ever seen and it should be viewed and appreciated by all. It is unparalleled in generating a feeling of fear and terror within the viewer. 10/10!