Sure, It's not "Pieces" but still....

Rating: 8/10 (18 February 2014)

An escaped murderer stalks teens on Halloween while his doctor runs around looking for him. Halloween isn't the first to do that (Black Christmas? Scream Bloody Murder?) or the last (Offerings, which resembles this almost to a 'T') but what this film does is tick every box, as it includes one thing that's missing from most slasher films: the killer is almost always present in every scene.
It's like he's stalking the characters like a cat stalks a mouse. I'm sure it was deliberate that the only scenes he's not hanging around in are the ones that include Donald Pleasance, a clear indication of who's smart than who.
The constant appearances and stalking just lead to the build up of this one, and although it's hard to truly rate a film I first watched decades ago, and one that has so many imitators, I could still appreciate what Carpenter was doing here. It's full of suspense, some actually decent jump scares, and all round good acting. There are hints to the unstoppable killing machine Michael would become in the next film too.
However, also through the benefit of seeing the film so many times: Do you think it was deliberate in the portrayal of Dr Loomis being also some sort of lunatic. He keeps going on about how Michael is evil but Michael a) Hasn't spoken a word since he was six and b) Has barely moved...who was paying this guy to study him?
Nonetheless, it's a good un!