This is what fear is---this movie has no equal

Rating: 10/10 (17 June 2007)

What is there to really say? This is a classic by all means and it hasn't truly found an equal in the slasher genre since. While Friday the 13th had a 'party' vibe to it, and Nightmare on Elm Street was over the top and filled with crazy gore and violence effects. This one was different...quieter, subtle, more mature and scary then either of the aforementioned films.
It had very little gore or nudity, and yet it was more of a horror movie then Friday the 13th and all of that film's clones ever was. It was scary because of the realism, the fact that this stalker was roaming a quiet suburban neighborhood and entering dark houses and killing people. It was scary because HE HAD NO MOTIVE. That's why this film trumps all of it's mediocre sequels, because Michael Myers didn't even have a name yet, and he was just some creepy stalker going around murdering teenagers in the dead of night on Halloween. You'll be looking over your shoulder for a while after the credits roll for this one.
Acting is good, especially by Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance. Even the supporting cast and the children did good jobs, odd for a slasher film like this. But this isn't a normal slasher film, again, this is something else. The slow, menacing directing that plunged you into darkness and fear at every twist and turn, splicing your heart with true horror, and that dark, grainy picture quality...this is just amazing. Most horror movies today barely muster a scream or a shudder. You hear me, Boogeyman? The Messengers? Ring Two? This is a horror movie. This is what fear means. And this is far scarier then anything you can think of in the last 10 years. Bah to modern horror, this is where it's at if you're just starting out in the genre.
There is really not much you can detract for this film except for the shoddy picture quality, especially at the beginning of the movie. Very dark and grainy, you can't see anything except for Donald Pleasance's face and his assistant. But it gets better later on, when we're out of such a dark and dank setting. This was 1978 though. So Halloween is excused in this department.
Halloween is a timeless horror classic, and defies any stereotypes of the genre being 'brainless', 'just about gore', or 'pointless.' This is essential, and everyone needs to see it once in their lifetime. Highly, highly recommended.