Halloween
Cast
Donald Pleasence .... Dr. Samuel 'Sam' J. Loomis
Jamie Lee Curtis .... Laurie Strode
Nancy Kyes .... Annie Brackett (as Nancy Loomis)
P.J. Soles .... Lynda
Charles Cyphers .... Sheriff Leigh Brackett
Directed by
John Carpenter
Rater #2 has description and review.
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie
Rater #2
4/10. Each of the three pivotal teen slasher movies had one rising star. A
Nightmare on Elm Street had Johnny Depp, Friday the 13th had Kevin
Bacon, and Halloween had Jamie Lee Curtis. While the former two were
just side characters, undeveloped and there for slaying, Curtis was
given the lead role of Laurie Strode (her first movie role, too).
And, amazingly enough, she performs quite well. The rest of the movie
doesn't perform as well, though.
Michael Myers (Tony Moran) killed his sister when he was six years
old, and then locked up in a mental institution for fifteen years. He
escapes and returns to his hometown, where babysitting
highschool/thirty-year-old Laurie (Curtis) is. Myers proceeds to
wreck havoc on the town for no reason at all�well, he doesn't really
wreck havoc, all he does is indiscreetly murder a few people while
Jamie Lee Curtis screams.
I've heard this referred to as being "the scariest movie ever," blah
blah blah. There was almost no horror to it; the way director John
Carpenter sets it up is so blas� and dull. He didn't create any
tension leading up to anything: all he did was have a couple murders,
a bland sex scene, and young kids. Usually those three things can be
put together for an entertaining ride, but here they don't add up to
anything.
Technically, however, Halloween was good, considering its small
budget. Its cinematography was almost too good for the movie itself.
Many shots seemed like on take, and the angles were impressive. I've
always liked when first person shots were done, and many times we saw
things from Michael Myers's point of view, which was more impressive,
too.
On the other hand, not only was it not scary, but it wasn't
believable. I know that movies weren't as violent back then, but
there was absolutely no blood throughout the entire movie. I'm not
much of a gore hound, but I actually wanted some to add some
authenticity. When someone is stabbed, blood comes out, whether the
knife is taken out or not. Also, I find it kind of sad when I know
more about and care about the cold-blooded killer than the heroine.
The character of Laurie is not only the world's worst babysitter but
isn't a pleasant character. I almost hope that Carpenter remakes this
movie.
One thing I abhor about movies like this is that they almost know
that there's going to be multiple sequels, so they don't explain
everything, especially about Michael. I won't be seeing the sequels,
that's for sure, so I would have liked to know what actually
happened. Then again, that's some clever plot to make me see them.
Although I may grow to like it more, which I probably will, Halloween
is not the horror classic everyone makes it out to believe
Rater #3
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #4
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rated R for scary situations.
Running time: 101 minutes
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