What's the Boogeyman?

Rating: 10/10 (20 October 2008)

If you separate John Carpenter's "Halloween" from it's many sequels, remake and the many copy-cat films from the 80's, you are left with one Hell of a suspenseful flick. And if anyone knew suspense back in the day, it was Carpenter. Like his other, older fare, "Halloween" is a slow-burning, tense little thriller that explodes at the very end, making it a movie worth repeating again and again. Thirty years later, despite the fact the film looks a bit old, it still holds up. Having seen it myself hundreds of times (really) I can say that there are still parts that remind me of why my first viewing of the film as a child was so memorable. Afterall, before Michael Myers was stalking his "other" sister or was driven by some mysterious cult, he was at his best stalking a group of babysitters and anyone who got in his path for no reason at all. We watch in an opening scene as Michael brutally slaughters his oldest sister and then looks completely emotionless when he is done. After fifteen years of being locked away in Smith's Grove Sanitarium, he escapes, steals his doctor's station wagon and heads to his hometown of Haddonfield to carry on his grisly killing spree. There is no motivation or reason at all as to why he stalks Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. Keeping that in mind -- and forgetting the back-story that was created in the sequel -- the movie is much more chilling. Stalking the teenagers during the day with an altered William Shatner mask and a mechanic's jumpsuit, he slips into virtual anonymity, unrecognized even as he passes by his own doctor, Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence). Eventually darkness falls on Haddonfield and as the trick-or-treaters leave the streets and everyone settles into their homes, Michael begins the bloodshed. Despite not being an overly gory film, "Halloween" still has a mean streak. Not only are children put in danger, but a dog also meets his fate by Myers' hands. The death scenes were pretty grisly for their time and are built up by an un-matched amount of suspense. "Halloween" is the true predecessor to "Psycho" and part of the reason horror exists today. John Carpneter's film -- with the help of the late Debra Hill -- was and still remains an innovative landmark that is as timeless as it's concept. Granted, with today's audience and the glut of sequels that followed, it's original vision has become foggy, but viewed in the context of it's time, "Halloween" is, quite simply, the best of it's kind.