Better later than never, right? I said I was done with horror after yesterday but figured if I didn't watch Halloween now I wouldn't have the motivation to watch it another time. I'm glad I did end up watching it, even if hiding behind my blanket, because it turned out to be a legitimately good film, comparable to a Hitchcock thriller like Psycho.
Michael Myers. We all know the name. Like Freddy and Jason, he has become a symbol of on screen terror. We don't really know what's wrong with him other than "he is pure evil." That is all the explanation you really need to know. The effectiveness of Michael Myers and the story is in the simplicity of it all. Here is a guy who is essentially a killing machine and for reasons only known to him decides to start snuffing people out. It is horror in its simplest form, the boogyman of your nightmares chasing you. You run, you plead, you fight back, it doesn't matter, he is always there lurking.
Yeah, there are tons of the films like this, but what's great about Halloween is that it creates a genuine atmosphere of terror built through setting and mood rather than cheap parlor tricks. Yes, cheap thrills are involved but they work better because of how well they are set up. It is a film that takes its time to set the mood right and then once you're good and ready takes you for a ride. I loved how the middle of the movie is just Michael silently stalking Laurie and her friends. No, these aren't scary scenes, but they have an uneasy vibe and creepiness to them that magnifies the violence that is to come. Speaking of which, like Psycho, I also appreciated that Halloween isn't actually that violent. For being the quintessential slasher picture, there isn't that much slashing, certainly not much blood. Carpenter takes a page out of Hitchcock's book proving that blood and guts are secondary to a well crafted scene.
One of the things you're always on the lookout for in a horror movie is anticipating when and where the scare is going to come. For instance, if there's a nice empty space in the composition there is a good chance the bad guy is going to appear in that spot. It makes you always pay attention to the screen, eyes scanning for any potential danger spots. What is nice about Michael Myers is the white mask he wears and how it pops out in the dark settings. When the white mask materializes out of the shadows it makes a pretty cool and scary picture. A nice looking shot is when Laurie takes a moment after she thinks she's killed Michael. In the background behind her you can see him pop back up and slowly approach her. The white mask does wonders here, first by making him seem like a ghost coming to life, then by creating a visually compelling shot.
When a film is at the top of its own genre I think it is safe to call it a great film, period, and that is what Halloween is.
Side Note: I think horror must have the highest ratio of dumb characters per capita. This is why you always hear people yell out stuff to the screen like, "Don't go out there by yourself!" Even Halloween is not immune to such behavior. Laurie thinks she's killed Michael not once, but twice, and both time she just has her back turned to his body not even bothering to make sure he's really dead allowing him to creep up behind her. You think she would have learned the first time? Oh well, sometimes you just got to let these things slide for the sake of the movie.
Grade: A-
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