The best slasher film ever made

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2000)

Here is the ultimate slasher movie. "Halloween" is argubly the best slasher picture ever made. It's also the scariest movie I've ever seen. This film sends chills down my spine every time I see it. John Carpenter's first big hit is about a troubled little boy named Michael Myers who kills his sister in a small Illinois town on Halloween night in 1963. 15 years later, he escapes the mental institution that he'd been staying at and returns home to pick up where he left off. Jamie Lee Curtis shot to stardom after this film, and she would become known as the "scream queen". She's terrific as Laurie Strode. Donald Pleasence is also effective as the doctor who treated the killer when he was in the insane asylum, and now tries to stop him before he starts killing again. Nancy Loomis and P.J. Soles provide most of the comic relief as Curtis' best friends. You get to know these characters and you hope they survive the nightmare. That's aspect makes the film even more effective. Also on the plus side: the camera work by cinematographer Dean Cundey is scary especially when the camera comes from the point of view of the killer (Cundey would go on to do the cinematography for big blockbuster hits such as "Jurassic Park", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", and the "Back to the Future" trilogy). This technique comes in the opening shot of the film, and it's very effective. The film score by Carpenter is one of the most chilling music scores I've ever heard for a motion picture. Even the mask that Michael Myers wears freaks me out. As far as the sequels go in this series, the second and seventh movies in the "Halloween" series (which feature Jamie Lee) are good, the third (which had nothing to do with Michael Myers), fourth, fifth, and sixth movies (which do not feature Jamie Lee) are bad. But none of the six sequels top this one. This is a definite must-see for people who love horror movies. Don't miss it!
**** (out of four)