The year is 1978. The director is John Carpenter. The film is Halloween and the boogeyman is the terrifying Michael Myers. John Carpenter's Halloween is the original 'stalk and slash' movie, the predecessor to movies like Craven's Nightmare on Elms Street (1984) and Friday the 13th (1980). Halloween is a masterpiece in suspense horror. It is also marks an historic moment for the horror genre as it laid the rules down for 'stalk and slash' films from that day forth.
The Plot of 1978's Halloween
The film begins on Halloween night of 1963, where Michael Myers (a young boy at the time) murders his older sister after she has sex with her boyfriend. Shortly after murdering his sister with a kitchen knife, Michael is unmasked by his parents who arrive back at the house after a night out. The film then moves forward to Halloween of 1978, where we learn that Michael Myers has escaped from his asylum to return to the town where his murderous tendencies first took hold. Michael begins stalking and killing a small group of teenagers. Enter the film's heroine Laurie Strode (played by a young Jamie Lee Curtis) who becomes the iconic 'final girl', locked in a game of cat and mouse with Myers.
"It's Halloween, everyone's entitled to one good scare"
Halloween is a frightening excursion into atmospheric horror. Carpenter builds atmosphere and suspence from the beginning, where a Halloween masked Myers is watching his sister's bedroom closely and subsequently murders her. Carpenter's subjective point of view shots from Myers are saturated with suspence and are a stroke of genius from the directors part. The shadowy, boogeyman figure of Myers is eerie and takes on an almost supernatural element that is haunting. Myers is reminiscent of a ghost like figure; he appears out of nowhere and disappears just as quickly leaving a dispatched body in his wake. Although the film doesn't have a high body count, the murders are terrifying nonetheless.
The film is rather conservative in its message. Premarital sex ends in death, so does drinking, smoking and other 'deviant' activities. Carpenter's virginal heroine Laurie Strode is now an iconic figure within the genre. She is the only character that defeats the killer and survives to the bitter end. In short, the good girl rules. Jamie Lee Curtis is perfect as Strode, the shy, awkward girl that outwits Myers.
What makes this film the masterpiece that it is, is John Carpenter's simplistic direction. Carpenter's use of camera angles is a lesson in film directing to behold. It is simple but effective; the gliding camera angles, the jagged handheld effect at the beginning, the way the action takes place in a supposedly safe environment. Halloween is the perfect example of what a 'stalk and slash' movie should be and the fact that it doesn't rely on gratuitous violence or gore is a credit to Carpenter. A true horror classic.
Author Paul Linus
The Plot of 1978's Halloween
The film begins on Halloween night of 1963, where Michael Myers (a young boy at the time) murders his older sister after she has sex with her boyfriend. Shortly after murdering his sister with a kitchen knife, Michael is unmasked by his parents who arrive back at the house after a night out. The film then moves forward to Halloween of 1978, where we learn that Michael Myers has escaped from his asylum to return to the town where his murderous tendencies first took hold. Michael begins stalking and killing a small group of teenagers. Enter the film's heroine Laurie Strode (played by a young Jamie Lee Curtis) who becomes the iconic 'final girl', locked in a game of cat and mouse with Myers.
"It's Halloween, everyone's entitled to one good scare"
Halloween is a frightening excursion into atmospheric horror. Carpenter builds atmosphere and suspence from the beginning, where a Halloween masked Myers is watching his sister's bedroom closely and subsequently murders her. Carpenter's subjective point of view shots from Myers are saturated with suspence and are a stroke of genius from the directors part. The shadowy, boogeyman figure of Myers is eerie and takes on an almost supernatural element that is haunting. Myers is reminiscent of a ghost like figure; he appears out of nowhere and disappears just as quickly leaving a dispatched body in his wake. Although the film doesn't have a high body count, the murders are terrifying nonetheless.
The film is rather conservative in its message. Premarital sex ends in death, so does drinking, smoking and other 'deviant' activities. Carpenter's virginal heroine Laurie Strode is now an iconic figure within the genre. She is the only character that defeats the killer and survives to the bitter end. In short, the good girl rules. Jamie Lee Curtis is perfect as Strode, the shy, awkward girl that outwits Myers.
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What makes this film the masterpiece that it is, is John Carpenter's simplistic direction. Carpenter's use of camera angles is a lesson in film directing to behold. It is simple but effective; the gliding camera angles, the jagged handheld effect at the beginning, the way the action takes place in a supposedly safe environment. Halloween is the perfect example of what a 'stalk and slash' movie should be and the fact that it doesn't rely on gratuitous violence or gore is a credit to Carpenter. A true horror classic.
Author Paul Linus
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