This is such a brilliant film...but worth seeing with its immediate sequel!

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2013)

I'm a lifelong Halloween fan who just left the theater after seeing this film for its 35th Anniversary release.
The thing that introduced me to the Halloween franchise was seeing "Halloween II" and "Halloween III" on the USA Network each Halloween as a kid. For at least two or three years I would watch Halloween II, which picks up where Halloween 1 leaves off (the two are really meant to go together--more on that later) before ever viewing the original, and so for years I was only getting the second half of the original Halloween story.
That having been said, when I finally was of age was able to rent the original Halloween, I remember feeling like it was an awfully slow movie. It wasn't as gory or as fast paced as some of the Freddy or Jason movies that came after it, and in fact one can make a good argument that its immediate successor, Halloween II, gives it a run for its money in the suspense and horror categories.
But now, as an adult, and being a bit more well rounded and also more well read, I absolutely positively label this film as a brilliant film, and a true classic in most every sense of the word.
Why is that so? Well, for starters, this movie came before "A Nightmare on Elm Street", and before "Friday the 13th" (and, if you know anything about the Friday the 13th movies, you know that the Jason character wouldn't develop into a more Michael Myers-type of character until basically the third film in the franchise). In many senses, Halloween 1 is the original slasher movie. It spawned a whole generation of films. I say that as a movie buff more so than as a horror buff, and I'm sure that more prominent horror fans could and would point out Halloween's own influences. But regardless of that, when it comes to the 1980's slasher films that would follow, and when you consider that this film was released in 1978, it's clear that this movie had a lasting impact on a whole genre of films.
Another point to make that adds to one's appreciation for the film is that if you go and read up on it, you'll learn that this was essentially an independent film that was pitched to a studio and made on a shoestring budget. That shows when you watch the movie. There's no real tremendous special effects here--it was made long before the days of computer generated graphics, and aside from a bit of blood and some creative ways of displaying the deceased in the film, there's not a lot to be said for special effects.
What the film makes up for that with, though, is its cinematography. The camera angles, the use of shadows, and the use of sound (and theme music!) in this movie is just spectacular. It takes mundane elements of everyday life--or things that we all live with each and every NIGHT of our lives, for that matter--and turns the ordinary into the terrifying. That shadow in the corner? What could be there, hidden just beneath the darkness? That tree in the distance? Do you know what's on the other side of it? Those are the questions that Halloween will have you asking yourself for days after you watch the film.
Finally, I'll say this brief word about Halloween 1 and 2. I've not marked this review as a spoiler, and so I'll be careful not to give away much here, but it's worth knowing going into this film that Halloween 2 picks up where Halloween 1 leaves off, and not just in a generic sense that most sequels would, but in that the sequel is set on the same night as Halloween 1, meaning that if one imagines the first movie ending at 11 pm or midnight (no exact time is given in the film), then Halloween 2 is the story of what happens between that point and dawn the next day.
That having been said, I used to believe that Halloween 1 and 2 should be viewed together if at all possible, and I still think I'd make that case. Halloween 2 is an outstanding film, and too often it doesn't get the credit it deserves compared to the original, so I'd very much recommend seeing it as soon as possible after the first movie.
However, having just seen this film in the theater for the first time in my life, I think I left with a newfound appreciation for it as a standalone thriller. As I said earlier in my review here, I was introduced to the franchise by seeing the sequel first, and for several years I never even knew what happened in the first movie to lead up to the sequel. I think that it was because of that that for many years I'd always find myself feeling like Halloween 1 was an incomplete movie. In a sense, I still feel that way, as the sequel adds a fair amount of character and plot development. And so, as such, I continue to argue that the two belong together.
And yet, having now seen the film in a theater, this time around I could very much see how the first movie ends on a satisfying note. Indeed, the ending--particularly the last sixty seconds or so just before the credits roll--adds to the film's thrill factor. That's pretty much as much as I can say without spoiling things here. Suffice it to say that a first time viewer will find that the film is both brilliant in how it is self-contained, and yet at the same time my argument for why Halloween 1 & 2 belong together will be obvious to anyone who has ever seen both of the films.