A masterclass in horror

Rating: 9/10 (27 June 2018)

That mask. Wow, is that mask scary. The same can be said about the music. Even 40 years later it completely holds up in every way-it's iconic, it sounds great, it's scary and it's instantly recognizable. Amazingly, John Carpenter wrote and performed the music despite claiming that he cannot write a single note.
Before we see any part of the movie, we hear the music. Instantly, we feel unsettled. Then, watching through first-person stalker cam perspective and through the eyes of a Halloween mask, we observe a young boy peep on his sister then murder her.
Fast forward 15 years and this young boy, Michael Myers, has grown into a man while living in a mental hospital, never once speaking a word. As if summoned by some evil power, he breaks out and travels to his home town of Haddonfield on Halloween.
After breaking out and encountering people in the outside world, Michael still never says a word. It's another inspired filmmaking choice. Hearing his voice would humanize him in some way, instead all we hear is his heavy breathing.
Why Michael returned to his hometown is unclear, as is everything about Michael. That's brilliance of this movie-we never find out why Michael killed his sister, we never find out why he escaped the hospital and we never find out why he continues to kill.
We don't need to learn his reasons. No motive is scarier.
Also scary, he's human. He's not some monster with superpowers (if you ignore the sequels, like you should), he's just a severely disturbed person. Think about that. That means this story is something that could actually happen in any American small town. His victims were seemingly random, so they could be anyone. No one is safe.
Although, as I just mentioned, his killings are random, he does seem to take issue with people having sex. This started the now famous horror trope that characters who have sex are as good as dead.
This movie also popularizes the horror staple of victims who consistently make dumb decisions. Stop dropping the knife! Stop assuming he's dead! It's maddening.
Another aspect of the movie that stood out to me is its surprising lack of violence. There's virtually no blood or gore. Michael mostly strangles his victims. He uses his knife too, of course, but the killings aren't terribly graphic. It's refreshing change of pace from the excessive violence in modern slashers.
While Michael may seem invincible since he survives two stabbings and multiple gun shot wounds, he is not flawless. Upon my latest re-watch, I noticed how much he struggles with walking. Michael Myers is a hall of fame level killer, but he's a below average walker.
This likely a deliberate choice by director John Carpenter. Not only does Michael's slow walk build suspense, it also lends itself perfectly to the first-person camera shots. The patient, measured movements give him an eerie feel. He's lurking.
We see his lurking figure in many forms, each equally brilliant in its execution. Sometimes we see his outline as a shadow. Sometimes we see him ease into the corner of the frame behind a victim. Other times we see a distant shot of a house of character, then Michael partially steps in frame near the camera. Carpenter expertly mixes foreground and background in his shots to make Michael just far enough away that the characters don't see him but the audience does.
The movie builds and builds and builds. It's definitely scary from the opening scene, but it grows continuously scarier as we see the extent of Michael's killing spree. All the while, jump scares are sparsely used and are never fake. What I mean by that is when the music jars viewers, it's because Michael appears. The music never blares for fake scares, like when a cat runs across screen or a friend knocks on a door, which is annoying trend in recent horror films.
The only scary part of this film is Michael. Fortunately, he's plenty scary to carry the load.
'Halloween' is considered an ageless horror masterpiece. After re-watching it recently, I can clearly see why that is the case.