An Inspiration

Rating: Null/10 (9 July 1999)

I've read many reviews of this movie that imply that one cannot enjoy both this classic movie and recent movies like "Scream" and "Scream 2," but this is truly not the case. "Halloween" was made on a very low budget, yes, but everything about the movie reeked of quality. The acting, writing, direction, etc., was wonderful, and succeeded in giving the film a "reality" that helped it enormously. Movies cannot scare you unless you can believe in what is happening onscreen. And it's not that the special effects were bad; there was virtually *no* gore (especially compared to the overkill [no pun intended] of today's horror films), which is much, much scarier. The best movies don't show the horrific sights, they let you imagine them for yourself, and you end up imagining more than they (the filmmakers) could show. "Scream" and its sequel were great, because they both honored true classic horror movies, like "Psycho" and "Halloween," and poked holes in the cliche-ridden flood of slasher films that followed in their wake. "Halloween" fans shouldn't take the "Scream" films as an insult to their favorite horror movie. Still, "Halloween" is infinitely scarier than any other slasher movie made since, and ranks with "The Shining," "Poltergeist," "Psycho," and others as one of the greatest horror films of all time.