The film that spawned more than two decades of imitators...

Rating: 10/10 (13 July 2002)

"Halloween" is truly a remarkable film. It broke the mold in many regards. While seeming tame compared to contemporary horror movies, "Halloween" was quite violent for the time and it could be argued as "Psycho's" replacement in the category of horror/thriller. "Psycho" appealed to one audience, "Halloween" to another.
The character of Michael Myers is more of a realistic serial killer compared to that of Jason or Freddy. Michael is smart, he's smooth, he fades in with the shadows. Jason's more of a brainless behemoth and in Jason X they scanned his brain and declared that it was abnormally small. No matter the circumstances, Michael always manages to come out on top.
The storyline of Halloween is more developed too. We see a clear progression of the Myers character through his actions and the actions of his chief adversary, Dr. Loomis. The movie starts out with a brutal murder and moves slowly along until Myers jolts you back into the movie with his seemingly senseless murders.
The ending builds with suspense until the final moment when you're still left terrified and hoping for a "Halloween II." That, in itself, is the sign of a good horror movie.