John Carpenter's Halloween review
Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. For those who know me you know about my love for horror films so once a month I’m going to review and discuss a scary flick. We’ll look at the classics, some new films, and I want your suggestions on what I should review. I’ll do my best to cover all the different genres within the genre – slashers, ghosts, monsters, etc.
SPOILER ALERT! – These will be reviews so if you haven’t seen the movie you’ll want to watch it first before you read this. Let’s do this.
JOHN CARPENTER’S HALLOWEEN
Ah the masterpiece. I’ve waited awhile to talk about this film and what better time than on the best day of the year. Haddonfield – October 31st – Halloween. Is it the greatest horror film ever? Maybe. People always ask me what my favorite scary movie is and that’s a hard question to answer. It’s like asking a parent with multiple children who their favorite is. Halloween is certainly near the top of the list though. When Halloween was released in 1978 it was met with so-so reviews. It took a good review from a New York paper to finally get the buzz going and the rest as they say is history. Even those that may have seen it in theaters certainly couldn’t expect the impact it would have. A little movie that could that has gone on to spur endless sequels (please read my next review for more on that) and became the gold standard for slasher films.
You’ve seen it right? The creepy, low budget film about a 6 year old boy who murders his sister, gets locked up and then escapes years later on Halloween night to stalk and kill teenage babysitters. Interesting that the original title of the film was The Babysitter Murders. The film opens with a great POV shot of someone watching two teenagers engage in foreplay from outside a house. This person eventually makes it inside and then murders the young woman. The murder somewhat reminds you of the shower scene from Psycho. After that we get the blow your whole budget reveal crane shot that this is just a child who killed this woman. The stunned father removes his mask to ask confusingly “Michael?” It just gets better after that. After being locked away for 15 years, Michael Myers returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois to murder again. His target this time is the innocent Laurie Strode whom you of course know by now was played by Jamie Lee Curtis in her very first role. On Halloween night he murders Laurie’s friends as he makes his way to her. I could write you a synopsis of the film but let’s just talk about how really great the movie is.
Let me be very clear on one thing. John Carpenter has his name above the title and he deserves it. A bold move for a young filmmaker who didn’t have much of anything to his name at the time. His direction makes this film what it is. Produced for roughly $300,000 it was more of an experiment than anything. Almost the whole cast and crew were doing this for the first time. Working with a limited budget there were a few things Carpenter had to do. Shoot the film on 35mm Panavision, develop it at the best lab in town, and utilize the Steadicam. Good decisions I’d say. Using all of these made the film look like a big Hollywood production. The steadicam was a new tool that let the shots glide around and through streets and houses. It could follow the characters anywhere so smoothly. Carpenter is at his best in this film. Really using filmmaking to tell the story. He uses the whole frame and has a great understanding of composition. There seems to always be something just at the edge or outside the frame waiting to scare you. Now this may be a film about a murderous psychopath, but there really isn’t much blood. Suspense! Yes you can make scary movies without it being a bloodbath. Great pacing and tension. This movie has some of the best shots in horror. The scene where Laurie is slumped over the doorway while Michael Myers is lying down and then slowly rises up in the right side of the frame. The crane scene at the beginning of the film as we mentioned earlier. Pretty much all of the steadicam shots. How about when Michael strangles Lynda with the phone cord and then picks up the receiver to quietly listen as Laurie talks on the other end. The best though is the scene where Michael just seems to appear out of the darkness behind Laurie. Are you kidding me? It’s so great and simple. Just turn up the dimmer on a small kicker light to illuminate his face.
Saying all of that, Halloween is NOTHING without its music. Oh man. I think I read once that when Carpenter screened the film to execs without the music they didn’t like. He went back, only added the music and screened it for them again. They loved it. Carpenter scored it himself and used a 10/8 time signature. It’s very simple and very scary. I’ve always joked that if I became President I’m replacing the national anthem with the Halloween music. In the credits it’s listed as being composed by the Bowling Green Philharmonic Orchestra.
What about all the themes in Halloween? Sex and drinking and/or drugs are a big one. Laurie is a virginal good girl who doesn’t participate in any of those while all her other friends who do are killed off. This ends up becoming the #1 trope in horror after Halloween. I also see kids who don’t have any sort of parental influence either. Very vulnerable. This also takes place in a small, quiet town. How could this happen here? Small town America is no longer safe. Halloween also shows us one of our first Final Girl characters. If you really want to get into that aspect of the genre read my previous article - http://www.hilltopvideos.com/horror-film-reviews/2018/3/22/women-in-the-horror-film
Let’s get to Michael Myers though. That name has been in my vocabulary for as long as I can remember. They do mention him by name in the film but the character is credited as “The Shape” at the end of the film. It makes sense. Michael is pure evil. Not truly human. He is unstoppable and one of the more terrifying characters in horror. He will stop at nothing to kill his victims. Who knew making a few adjustments to a Captain Kirk mask could be so scary? Of course the flip side is Dr. Sam Loomis played by the late Donald Pleasance. A think a lot of fans believe he might actually be crazier than Myers. He has spent his whole life trying to stop Michael from ever being released and it certainly does not go as he had hoped. The battle of good and evil I guess.
I’ve seen Halloween so many times I can’t possibly count. For a horror fan it’s just becomes part of your DNA eventually. We know all the lines and the scenes. If you ever visit LA you have to make a pilgrimage to South Pasadena where they shot the film. Yes you can really visit the Myers house. So Carpenter did those few things that we mentioned earlier that he felt would make the movie work. Mission accomplished. Halloween may be the only movie that I can think of that actually gets better each time you watch it. No offense to Bob Clark and Black Christmas but Halloween started the slasher genre. Oh, and how genius to name it Halloween? No one had made a movie involving the holiday. The best ideas are right there under your nose. For those that think Halloween is a depraved, immoral film I’ll remind you that the Library of Congress deemed it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”
There are certain things in life you have to do on certain days like light off fireworks on the 4th of July, or take a trip to the beach in the summer. I have to watch Halloween on Halloween night. Preferably with the lights off and in surround sound. After the last scene where we hear Michael’s breathing through the mask and we see each place where this night of terror unfolded I smile because I know I just saw a great movie. Whenever you see a movie on TV you hit the info button to see the quick summary. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a better description than what they say about Halloween – “John Carpenter’s chiller about an escaped maniac who returns to his Illinois hometown to continue his bloody rampage”
Enjoy the trailer and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHuOtLTQ_1I