Great, Classic, Scary Fun!

Rating: 10/10 (23 October 2011)

Halloween – 1978
"It's Halloween, everyone's entitled to good scare" ~ quote by Sheriff Leigh Brackett, Halloween
What can I say? "Halloween" is in the best of the best group in the horror-film genre. It has all the right ingredients to scare the crap out of you. It's campy enough to be almost laughable at times and scary enough to make you jump out of your seat. When it was first released in 1978 by a young John Carpenter as a little Indie film with a budget of about $300,000, movie-goers were in for a real Halloween treat.
Following in her mother's footsteps as a scream-queen, Jamie Lee Curtis (in her first movie role) was picture-perfect as Laurie Strode - the nerdy, goody-two-shoes babysitter who ends up in a tête-à-tête with the infamous, maniacal killer - Michael Myers.
It starts out on Halloween night (of course!) in 1963, in the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, where trick-or-treaters are wandering the happy, suburban streets, clad in costumes and masks. Jack-O-Lanterns are on every porch. Young Michael Myers, in his plastic, child's Halloween mask (and seemingly in some sort of trance), enters his house, climbs the stairs to a bedroom above and stabs his older sister to death for no apparent reason.
So, there's a scary start. Love it!
The story jumps forward in time to fifteen years later in 1978 and once again it is yes – you guessed it – Halloween - and the grown-up Michael Myers (played by Nick Castle and by far the best Michael Myers) is in a mental institution, apparently in a catatonic state, having been devoid of emotions for the past 15 years. Donald Pleasence is marvelous as the intense and driven Dr. Loomis, the psychiatrist in charge of Michael's medical care and who has deemed him unfit for release into society – ever. To Dr. Loomis, Michael Myers is far more dangerous than a sociopath or a psychopath; Michael Myers is evil incarnate. He is a monster.
But, as is predictable in this story, Michael Myers escapes from the mental institution, steals a car and heads back to his home town of Haddonfield – the site of the grisly murder of his sister. How he has learned to drive a car and how he even knows how to get to Haddonfield after being locked up in an institution since he was a 6 year-old boy, is something we ignore.
Laurie Strode is unnerved when she first spots the very creepy Michael, who now dons a very creepy Halloween mask, standing outside her classroom window while she is at school. For some reason, he seems to be fixated on her. (There's a back story here but we don't find out all the details until the 1981 sequel, Halloween II, is released. But no matter, one does not need to know the back story to appreciate this film; on its own, this film is enough to make your heart jump out of your chest). Later, when she is walking home from school with her rather insensitive and obnoxious gal pals, she spots the masked-Michael once again, staring her down from behind a hedge. He disappears from sight before her girlfriends see him. Oh, geez, he is one terrifying dude.
Later, Laurie and her friend Annie are both babysitting some neighborhood kids. Annie is the local Sheriff's daughter and she is a spoiled, wise-cracking bad girl who would rather spend time making out with her boyfriend than babysitting; so she unloads her babysitting responsibility on Laurie, who agrees to take care of little Lindsey in addition Tommy Doyle, for whom she is already babysitting.
There are some heart-thumping, skin-crawling scenes of Michael Myers' ghost-like image appearing in the shadows, tilting his head to the side (just that gesture alone will make you wet your pants!) as he watches Annie in the laundry room, washing her blouse, and later, during her fatal encounter with him in her car.
Another teenage couple shows up at the house where Annie is supposed to be babysitting but no one is at home. They soon discover that Annie has dumped the kid with Laurie so they decide to stay and fool around. From here on in, there is non-stop terror while Michael Myers runs amok. Meanwhile, Dr. Loomis is frantically trying to track down his patient, knowing for sure that Michael is on a quest to return to his hometown and get revenge. He joins forces with the local police to hunt for the deranged Michael Myers before he kills again.
In the end, Laurie Strode must protect herself and the children in her charge. She must take on the evil -and seemingly indestructible Michael Myers - all on her own. You go, girl!
"Was it the bogeyman?"
Thrills and chills and a good amount of gruesome gore abound in this "mother" of the modern slasher-flick. John Carpenter's direction and his unforgettable, spine-chilling music score make this an all-time favorite for horror movie fans.
It just wouldn't be Halloween without watching "Halloween".