NightMans Horror Movie Blog

What other movie could I possibly review on October 31st, than Halloween?

     So here it is, my 31st post in 31 days, and the end of my October horror review oddesy.  I would say I saved the best for last, but in this case I don’t really feel that I did.  Mainly because I like other movies I reviewed this month a lot more than Halloween, but I saved it for today simply because.  I should also mention that this is a review of the 1978 original by John Carpenter, and not the 2007 version.

     So I stayed up late last night and watched Halloween again for the first time in years, and I found myself oddly bored at times.  Perhaps having watched so many horror movies over time has made me a bit jaded.  There are aspects of it that I really did like.  The use of shadow, and the score definitely give you the creeps.  But I found that some things took away from the movie a little bit.  Jamie Lee Curtis does a fine job as Laurie Strode, but the acting done by her two friends in the film is laughable.  Also, it seems that most of the movie is build up, and anticipation of Michael Myers actually doing something, then the action is over as quickly as it began.

     For those who don’t know the story here is what you get.  The movie opens with a 6 year old Michael Myers sneaking into his older sisters bedroom after her boyfriend leaves, and kills her with a large knife.  We see him just standing and staring as his parents come home and find him knife in hand on the front lawn.  Fast forward 15 years, and we meet Dr Loomis (Donald Pleasence) who is on his way to the mental hospital where Michael is kept, to bring him before the courts and advise that he never be let out.  Upon arriving, it seems that the inmates are loose, and Michael steals the good doctors car.  Of course we know he is heading back home, but we aren’t sure why.  The rest of the movie is Dr Loomis trying to convince the cops in Haddonfield that death itself is coming, and trying to track Michael down.  And Myers himself stalking Laurie and her friends so he can go on a killing spree.

     I suppose because of the sequels the loose ends of this movie don’t bother me as much because I already know the answers to them, but they could certainly frustrate somebody watching this for the first time.  For the most part though, this really is a classic that inspired a lot of other slasher films and deserves credit for being great for its time, and for bringing us a horror icon like Michael Myers.  I just find myself not as impressed as I used to be.  I guess now would be a good time to check out Rob Zombies re-imagining of it again, so I can compare the two.