A milestone.

Rating: Null/10 (19 June 2002)

Halloween is a huge marker in the history of horror movies. As a low-budget, independent film with no known stars it still managed to become one of the highest-grossing independent films of all time. This, of course, led to many sequels with higher budgets. Back in 1978, it was said that people were jumping out of their seats because they were so terrified. Maybe people in 1978 never saw scary movies, but to jump at a movie like Halloween today would be ridiculous. Over 20 or so years, I think the film's scare tactics are dated. In fact, the whole film is dated. There is absolutely no gore, only a few deaths spread far apart, and no nudity (spare a brief flash of breasts). Still, while this may point out how old the film is becoming, it also points out that John Carpenter didn't need these things to make a good movie. Sure, the film doesn't make people jump or scream anymore, but it still has the power to scare. This film will make you think differently about how safe you are in the comforts of your own home. That's why the film works. Carpenter brings evil home to an innocent and unsuspecting neighborhood. Shots of Laurie, the heroine, show her walking down her neighborhood sidewalks alone, with "the shape" watching in the background. It'll change the way you think about walking down your street alone. While it's clear that "the shape" is Michael Myers, the kid who killed his sister in the opening of the movie, that fact is never stated. We never see Michael himself put on the mask and murder kids. He's just left as a being...an entity...devoid of identity. This makes the shape seem more like a thing than a man, which works very well and explains why he keeps coming back after being stabbed, shot, etc. Perhaps the most terrifying thing about this film is how true it is about our modern day society. In this film, forgetting the explanation in the sequels, Laurie and her friends are stalked and killed by the shape for no apparent reason. Later it was revealed Laurie is the shape's (then called Michael, losing that non-person feel) long-lost sister. A bogus explanation. It's much scarier to think that this man is killing these kids for no reason whatsoever. Meticulously stalking them. This is true today with all the serial murders and kidnappings. Were they chosen at random, too? This film also began the trend of mask-wearing psychos. After Jason and many others, the shape's mask is still the most frightening because it has no features. No emotion. I'm not sure if Carpenter hinted at these things on purpose or if they just came out, but Halloween stands as a terrifying reminder that evil lurks out there. No matter where you are, you're not safe. In a world where predators lurk in everyday society, Halloween is a shining example of the threat even an innocent neighborhood can hold. And while the film is very dated, the message still holds true.