John Carpenter’s classic film celebrates it’s 25th anniversary this week,
and with the event itself on Friday I thought we should celebrate, so you
can expect a review of the entire series this week.
Halloween night 1963, an unknown assailant watches a young couple fooling
around on a sofa. As they decide to go upstairs, the person creeps around
to the back of the house and enters. Once in the kitchen, they take a
large butcher knife from a drawer and proceed through the house, pausing
briefly as the girl’s boyfriend leaves the house. The person then climbs
the stairs and we are forced to watch as the girl is stabbed to death.
What makes this event even more disturbing is that the girl’s parents
arrive home just in time to identify her killer as her 6 year old little
brother.
15 years later, Michael Myers escapes from a state mental hospital and
returns to Haddonfield to continue his reign of bloody terror.
The film that defined the slasher genre, is still as scary today as it was in 1978. The idea that a small town kid could murder his sibling and then
terrorize babysitters in the peaceful California suburbs, was a shocking
wake up call for America, and whilst it happens every other day in todays
society, it still packs a punch.
John Carpenter uses wonderful and at that time groundbreaking techniques
to achieve brilliant results in his first major film, backing them up with
wonderful use of light and mood.
His cast of then unknowns (except for Donald Pleasance) are superb and it
is no wonder that Jamie Lee Curtis went on to have the career she did as
we genuinely feel for her character of ‘Laurie’.
A nail biting thrill ride, packed with suspense from start to finish, is
only elevated by an iconic score, great performances and Carpenter’s
masterful direction.
OVERALL SUMMARY
The daddy of all slasher films is still King after 25 years.
