| Halloween (1978) Dir: John Carpenter Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Loomis, P.J. Soles, Nick Castle Rated R, Approx: 90 minutes A Compass International Release/Anchor Bay DVD |
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| Matt's Rating: ***** out of 5 |
| Reviewed by Matt Serafini 11/03/04 |
| It's tough to even begin talking about a movie like this, I mean, so much has already been said. Is there anything left to talk about regarding John Carpenter's most famous film, a movie considered by many today to be the quintessential horror film? For what it's worth, I'd say so, after all, there are very few films of Halloween's ilk that are as well crafted, shot and executed as this one. The story revolves around the escape of a mentally disturbed young man, Michael Myers, who returns to his hometown some fifteen years after brutally killing his older sister to relive the crime. He sets his sights on a trio of high school girls, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), Annie (Nancy Loomis) and Lynda (P.J. Soles) and is pursued by his doctor, Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence in his most famous role) who is the only one aware of his intentions. This premise was hardly original even at the time of its release and would certainly see its share of imitations in years to come. But what really separates Halloween from just about every other film of this sort is the spot on brilliance of its director. Consider any one of Halloween's imitations, any stalk and slash film that utilizes the now infamous killer's point of view perspective. As good a film as, say, Friday the 13th is, it completely fails in setting up the atmosphere and suspense of something like this. All the proof resides in the opening scene of Halloween, that one shot, four minute take beginning in front of a quaint, quiet suburban home and crescendoing into the violent stabbing of a teenage girl. Carpenter, with his Panaglide camera invokes the style of Brian DePalma, establishing an atmosphere that immediately captures its audience. We're sucked into the voyeuristic style because of how masterfully this scene flows with nay an edit. As a result, the audience and the camera become one and by the time we're a top of those stairs, butcher knife in hand, the audience feeling and response is visceral. We've felt everything and this is only the beginning Much of the success here must be attributed to the way in which Carpenter chose to shoot Halloween. Even before Michael Myers begins stalking the heroines, there's a creepy vibe to the film. The way that Carpenter's camera spies on its characters rather than shoot them straight on works to provoke a feeling of violation in the audience. Combined with the virtually empty neighborhood streets that make up the majority of this film's setting, not only does the audience gather a steadily mounting degree of tension, but a feeling of isolation. Carpenter places us right there with these characters and that's the mark of a master. I pride myself on being a connoisseur of slasher films and it's always been my humble opinion that the killer should always be masked and the more menacing, the better. It's one of the reasons I think films like He Knows You're Alone and Final Exam don't have much impact. On the flipside, the blank visage of Michael Myers' mask is about as terrifying as you're likely to get. The pale, expressionless mask emerging out of the darkest shadows (particularly toward the film's ending in my personal favorite scene) is an image likely to stay with you. Not only is it scary, but also it's a perfect compliment to the character of Michael Myers himself, its expressions are blank and cold, incapable of any sympathy or remorse. The subtext of Halloween is as enthralling as the film itself as I've always thought of it less about the beginning of an epic story (as the sequels and its fans may have you believe) and more about the personification of evil. I'm not sure when the foolish misconception arose that slasher films were actually thinly veiled morality tales, but trust me, that ideal holds no truth, particularly here. It's certainly more allegorical than anything else. It's an allegory suggesting that evil is everywhere, in the shadows all around you and will never die. When one of the children characters in the film deems Michael the "boogeyman", it's not really an exaggeration. Like the old bedtime story, this film's boogeyman could also be lurking in your closet. It's tough to cover all of Halloween's perfections in this little review, but for all of the praise I've heaped upon it, special note must be made of the now classic musical theme. Written by Carpenter himself (who has scored most of his own films), the chilling music is perfect and has a symbiotic relationship with the film itself. Without the music, it wouldn't have the same effect. However, by that rationale, if you attached this score to The Majorettes, that film would certainly still be a failure. Finally, one more golden attribute would be the great cast assembled here. In her debut, Jamie Lee Curtis is an engaging Laurie Strode. She's not the unattainable high school hottie (a casting trait that would be a severe detriment to slasher films of the 90's) but more of an "every woman" in the sense that it's easy to identify with her. Nancy Loomis and P.J. Soles are perfect supporting characters that bring some memorable character quirks to their roles. As the reluctant small town sheriff, Charles Cyphers is likable despite the fact that he's given very little to do. In the immortal role of Dr. Loomis, the late Donald Pleasence is the character fans have come to love over the years. What's wonderful about Pleasence's character aside from the fact that he would return to each Halloween sequel up until his death was that he always succeeded in putting an interesting spin on the part taking Loomis a tad closer to madness with each new installment. John Carpenter has made lots of wonderful films in his career, but this probably remains his best. A real milestone in the horror genre, there's a reason why this one basically jumpstarted and entire decade of masked killers in slasher films (and a whole slew of its own sequels beginning in 1981 with Halloween II). For its scores of imitators though, there really are no substitutes. It wasn't necessarily the first, but it will probably always be the best. |