The Original Slasher

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2005)

The music. The mask.
It's the best slasher movie ever made and the first mainstream slasher movie that spawned a generation of imitations. Halloween singlehandedly started the trend of the unstoppable, teenage-hunting murderer in film and - regrettably - the sequel-after-sequel cash cow of slasher horror that we've witnessed from Friday 13th, a Nightmare on Elm Street and many others. But John Carpenter's original is the flagship. To this day, it's one of the most successful independent films of all-time.
Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), a prudish high school babysitter feels like she's being stalked. And she's right. The person doing the stalking is none other than Michael Myers, an escaped killer who was sent to a detention center after stabbing his naked sister in her bedroom on Halloween, back when he was just a child. Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance) warned anyone who would listen that Myers was too evil for a minimum security facility, however doctors argued there was no "diagnostic evidence" to support Loomis' assertions. Now that Myers is on the loose, Loomis has to stop this maniacal killer before the body count gets too high.
Halloween takes place in a middle class suburban community called Haddonfield, Illinois. This setting and its characters might have been a large factor in the film's success because it looks and feels like YOUR town. The main character Laurie is also a very likable, modest girl that you truly wouldn't want to see get harmed.
Halloween doesn't hit home runs with gore or action, but rather suspense. It's not an overly violent film and may not appeal to younger generations that grew up on more blood and guts fright flicks. Those who appreciate great horror, great suspense and a higher degree of believability should enjoy watching this with the lights off.