Well it’s Halloween and that means this is my last horror post of the week.
There was never any doubt as to which movie I’d be posting about tonight. It is and always has been my favourite horror movie of all time.
Halloween (1978)
If you haven’t seen this film, shame on you! It’s the best horror film ever made, fact!
Directed by John Carpenter who co-wrote it with Debra Hill the film stars Jamie Lee Curtis (True Lies) and Donald Pleasence (The Great Escape) among others.
This is what it’s about according to IMDb:
"Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again."
Why do I like this movie so much?
There are a lot of reasons. I think the main one is that it’s just such a simple idea. So often these days, movies have to have a twist or for the main antagonist to have a reason for doing what they’re doing. They also do the annoying thing of attempting to explain a character’s origin when more often than not, it’s the mystery of that character’s origin that makes them so interesting. That’s definitely the case with Michael Myers. His motivation is simple - he’s just a maniac, that’s it.
In a similar way I love how less is far more with this film. There’s no gore and virtually no blood in the whole movie which is very unusual for a horror film. Also, the way Michael subtly appears in certain shots throughout the film rather than bursting onto the screen in an overused and lazy “jump scare” kind of way shows what a masterful storyteller John Carpenter is.
Finally, the music. The theme for this movie is not only as iconic and creepy as the film itself, but I’d go as far to say that its up there with the likes of the Jaws theme and the opening chord to the Star Wars theme as being one of the most recognised movie themes of all time. John Carpenter composed and recorded the music to this film himself and also went on to do the same for some of his other films. He has a very distinct style and in my opinion it’s as effective as the films themselves.
I could go on and on about this movie but I won’t. It’s time to press play on my remote and I’m sure you’re all busy with your own Halloween shenanigans.
Just do me a favour, if you haven’t seen this film, give it a watch and behold the movie that not only gave birth to one of the best horror franchises of the last 40 years, but also single handedly launched the “slasher” genre as we know it today.
Let me know what you’re watching tonight.
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