The First Great Serial Killer Movie.

Rating: 10/10 (11 November 2014)

I shouldn't say it was the first great "horror" movie. Before this was stuff like The Exorcist and Psycho. This wasn't much of a "slasher" but Michael is indeed a serial killer and this beats whatever serial killer movies there were before like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. Although not as scary, this is still better. With fantastic filming techniques and uncanny storytelling, this first-rate psychological horror movie set the bar for horror movies to come that has barely been matched.
The movie starts off in a first person view as Michael Myers murders his older sister for no apparent reason. The way this is down is genius as there is one steady shot and the viewer gets a glimpse at Michael's perspective. Fifteen years later, 21-year-old Michael escapes the mental institution where he was sent and goes on a massive killing spree on Halloween night. The series protagonist, Dr. Samuel Loomis (Pleasance) has known and observed Michael since his first kill and describes Michael as "pure evil" and "without conscience." Loomis may be the only one that knows what to do to prevent Michael from continuing his evil ways. Pleasance is awesome as Loomis and the way he describes Michael is chilling. Also, saying Michael has no motive makes everything that much scarier. It is always worse for people when there is no motive. After Michael dawns his trademark outfit and Captain Kirk mask, Carpenter does a genius move by showing either parts of Michael (like below the head) or Michael from a distance. That keeps the viewer intrigued as they don't really know what the killer looks like or what will be dealt with. We also get to learn about the other protagonist, high-school babysitter Laurie Strode (Curtis) where character development is built to root for her. At night, Michael goes on his killing spree, setting basic horror movie rules (don't have sex, don't ask "who's there?" etc) so there is some predictability. But everything is executed so well, there's no big deal. Laurie is the only survivor of Michael's victims, and this was also what put Jamie Lee Curtis on the map as the "scream queen," and a hero. She was one of cinema's first female heroes as she takes on evil's human force.
The pacing of this movie is also genius. After Michael's first kill, we get to know Loomis, Laurie and Michael with occasionally seeing Michael himself. It takes its time, and is somewhat slow. At nightfall (just before the hour mark) is when things start getting faster and Michael's rampage at night causes the movie to get very fast and scare the viewer. There is little blood and a small- body-count, but the suspense created around each death makes the experience extra scary. The suspense this movie creates is unrepeatable. The movie raised the bar on film suspense, and general horror.