Halloween (1978)

Haddonfield Reviews

>>

It's no secret. This one has become the "must-see" Halloween tradition for me every years, and holds a special place in my heart. However, nowadays, people can use it as a starting point to a forked path. One path will bring you through the originals, continuing 'Halloween II' and concluding with 'Resurrection'. But now a whole new path has been set with 2018's 'Halloween', meant to be a direct real-time sequel to the 1978 classic, 40 years later. This continues with 'Halloween' kills, fresh out of the oven this year, and will eventually conclude with the aptly named 'Halloween Ends'.

​Now, the originals are something I can still have a good time with, but 2018's 'Halloween' added a real edge to things, made Laurie a total badass, and thankfully does away with a lot of the more supernatural element of Michael Myers. Hell, they even go so far as to retcon Laurie being Michael's sister. But any way you slice it, it all starts here with the history-making 'Halloween'. This is another one of those movies I appreciate for a lot of what went on behind the scenes; like the idea of getting Jamie Lee Curtis, being the daughter of 'Psycho's Janet Leigh, and bringing the slasher genre a little more into the light. Or things like wanting Peter Cushing to play Loomis, which honestly would have been awesome. Or how about the fact that there's no blood in this movie? Seriously, really watch it with that in mind. It's brilliant!

The story, however, is pretty plain and simple. It all opens with young Michael Myers (Will Sandin) murdering his teenage sister on Halloween night, 1963. He grew up in an asylum after that, under the care of Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence), and one fateful night escapes, steels a car, drives away, and heads back to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois. There, on Halloween night, 1978, he returns to his old, abandoned house, and stalks three teenage girls around the neighbourhood; Annie (Nancy Kyes), Linda (P.J. Soles) and our favourite survivor girl, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis).

While the girls are fully aware that there's some weird guy in a William Shatner mask (it's true, look it up) creeping them around the neighbourhood, they pass it off as a case of someone being a jerk on Halloween. However, later that night, the trio would find themselves in separate, deadly situations, and Laurie even gets to be responsible for two kids, Lindsey (Kyle Richards) and Tommy (Brian Andrews). It all culminates into a thrilling and chilling climax, complete with perfect atmosphere set by the right lighting, camerawork and soundtrack. To this day it is one of my all-time favourite horror movies, and a go-to every year for the season - I don't need to see anything else beyond it. I've seen this one countless times whereas I can probably count on one or two hands the number of times I've seen any of its sequels.

Michael Myers is credited as "The Shape" here as well. His name IS more or less established though, as Laurie has to drop off a key to the "Myers House", and Michael is referred to by name in the beginning. That said, I really like the term of "The Shape" because that's largely what he is here. He's just this very non-descript creepy guy who seems to let you know he's there before he strikes. And then there's the way Loomis describes him, as a sort of pure evil with lifeless expression and no sense of good or evil. Before Jason sort of took his title, and even though I do tend to lean towards Jason more, one can't deny that Michael was the original when it comes to a big, killer lug in a mask.

As mentioned before, 'Halloween' definitely has its place in the cinematic history books, and is widely regarded as the true start to the slasher genre. Movies like 'Psycho' and 'Black Christmas' before this breathed life into slashers, but slashers came to life with this. Hell, 'Friday the 13th' and all of its success owes 'Halloween' a debt of gratitude, as they fully admit to basically copying things, right down to having a special holiday title. So next time you're watching a good, classic slasher flick, just remember, these movies wouldn't have been the 80s madhouse they were if it weren't for 'Halloween' taking its risks, and ultimately succeeding with its cult of Halloweenies.

Body Count: 5
​Total: 5

​5/5

---