What's the Bogeyman?

Rating: Null/10 (8 July 2001)

There's not much I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said before. It's a classic in the horror genre. It didn't create slasher movies (Black Christmas did), but it made them popular. The creepy thing about this movie is it's real world setting and the way Carpenter directs.
STORY: Simple, but this movie didn't need a complicated plot. Complicated plots don't work in most slasher movies. The pace is slow, but the interaction between the characters and Michael's stalker habits keep it interesting. The script is surprisingly weak because of it's huge logic holes (Loomis found Michael's car across the street from the Myers house, yet he had been waiting there all night...how could he not notice it earlier?) and much of the action relies upon unlikely coincidence. Loomis just happened to stop where Michael had hid a dead body?
ACTING: No bad performances here. Everybody is decent, but Pleasence, Curtis, and Castle stand out. Pleasence is instantly likeable as the madman's doctor and I really wanted him to suceed in stopping Michael. His dialouge gave us insight into what made Mikey tick and what kind of man he was. Curtis is PERFECT as the anti-social babysitter who wishes she was more outgoing. She made her character seem real and she wasn't the typically stupid horror movie chick. Nick Castled, who played Michael, was a very believeable serial killer, especially since he had to use only body motion. One of the, if not the best, Michael of the series.
DIRECTING: I don't think that the lack of Carpenter was why most of the sequels failed, but without Carp this one would've sucked. This movie IS the directing. Instead of mindless blood + guts, Carpenter concentrates mainly on building up mood and making the audience wait as long as possible for the killer to strike. It simply works. I also liked how he showed the murders from start to finish. No wimpy cutaways here and no over the top gore.
MUSIC: Two 70s pop songs. One I liked, another I didn't. The score is awesome. The Halloween theme by itself is fine, but the distortion in the background that made it seem that much more creepy and foreboding. The music played during the chase scene is better than great.
OTHER: The stabbing of Judith Myers in the beginning is brutal and probably the bloodiest thing in the film. The other murders are brutal but bloodless stranglings or shrouded in darkness. It works for the film rather than against it. For those who dig T&A (like me), we do get some in this movie but not alot. There is also a pinch of black humor here and there that you may or may not be able to pick up on (like how Wynn walks...it's really funny.)
All in all, it deserves it's classic status. Rent this and the sequel and you have a perfect way to kill three hours on some dark, lonely night. An essential film in the horror genre and no serious fan should forsake seeing it. I give it ****