Halloween [The movie] Review

[Mister Phes]

*** WITH MORE SPOILERS THAN YOU CAN STICK A KNIFE IN ***

I just watched Halloween (1978, directed by John Carpenter starring Jamie Lee Curtis), I'd seen it years about but forgotten it - and now I know exactly why.

The question that immediately comes to mind is "Why was this movie so popular?" This has to be the most boring movie I've seen in a long time!

We all know the premise... A psychotic child, who is the personification of evil kills his family and is then institutionalised. 10 years later he escapes and returns to the house where he once lived and begins killing teenagers in the same neighbourhood, while his doctor, Loomis (Donald Pleasence) sets about trying to stop him.

The premise doesn't sound too bad...

However... This movie is soooooo slow. After the prologue and an introduction to the main characters there's over 45 minutes of filler. Ok, so John Carpenter is trying to build tension as well as create suspense and atmopshere, but it just drags. Scenes like Annie (Nancy Kyes) getting locked in the wash house and getting stuck while trying to climb out the window don't further the story whatsoever. Its not even funny. In fact it kills any the tension and forbidding atmosphere.

Next the characters are obnoxious and annoying giving little reason to feel sympathy for them. Good riddance to them! By the time the killing spree begins it's a relief something interesting is happening to them. The dialogue is also quite pathetic in some scenes such as Lynda's (P.J. Soles) "I always forget my books" speech which dragged on unrealistically long. The inadequate and shallow acting didn't really help things either.

As for the good-two-shoes Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), she's not obnoxious but she is extremely uninteresting. She's also quite unintelligent too. After being chased by Michael Myers from the house where she finds the bodies, she goes next door (obviously a safe distance from a psychotic killer) whose occupants ignore her, then to the house where the children she's suppose to be minding are asleep. Excellent! More fodder for the killer. Some may defend her by saying she was in a state of panic and not thinking clearly, but it was executed so poorly in the movie it

[SuvieD]

Nice review. Never saw it. Will never see it. Don't care about it. But nice review.

You should review a movie favorite of mine, 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. I would like to see you review on that.

[MattZitron]

Now I'm a huge fan of Halloween and I can explain why it was successful.

The point of the film is to be atmospheric. You don't know where Michael Myers is, he could be anywhere ready to jump out and stab you in the dark.

The point is- Myers isn't an alien or monster; he's just a normal (slightly stronger) man.

Carpenter sets the audience up to jump at every given thing as its a normal American town, at night and there's this lunatic wandering about.

The point is: IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!

The music, isn't dated. Its off cilter and unnerving and adds to the whole ambience of the piece.

And as for the characters being annoying and obnoxious, have you met many teenage girls? They're all like that. Had a mentalist attacked the girls at my school I would have bought him a pint.

I love Halloween and I think its a classic film, that alot of modern movies need to take note of. It also has one of my favourite endings in Cinema history.

I can't understand a fan of "B" movies who doesn't like it.

[Mister Phes]

Now I'm a huge fan of Halloween and I can explain why it was successful.

The point of the film is to be atmospheric.  You don't know where Michael Myers is, he could be anywhere ready to jump out and stab you in the dark.

The point is- Myers isn't an alien or monster; he's just a normal (slightly stronger) man.

Carpenter sets the audience up to jump at every given thing as its a normal American town, at night and there's this lunatic wandering about.

The point is: IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!

I find Carpenter fails to do this FOR ME. This atmosphere he's trying to create just gets weighed down too much by the things I've previously mentioned.

The music, isn't dated.  Its off cilter and unnerving and adds to the whole ambience of the piece.

Thats probably a matter of opinion. They don't make scores like that no more! I'd agree its off kilter and unnerving, but its used so much it just becomes irritating.

And as for the characters being annoying and obnoxious, have you met many teenage girls?  They're all like that.  Had a mentalist attacked the girls at my school I would have bought him a pint.

Maybe American teenage girls are like that. But they certainly aren't like that here. Not even the really obnoxious ones! But seriously, do American girls really crap on incessantly about something like forgetting books. That dialogue seemed so riculous and artifical I couldn't buy it. If fact I met some American exchange students which happened to be teenage females and they were nothing like the obnoxious charcters in Halloween. Maybe they'd be councilled and reprogrammed after entering the country, because they wouldn't last long here acting like that.

I love Halloween and I think its a classic film, that alot of modern movies need to take note of.  It also has one of my favourite endings in Cinema history.

I can't understand a fan of "B" movies who doesn't like it.

Yes, modern movie makers should take note of it. One of the fundamentally important rules of writing a screenplay is to never make the characters more stupid than you are. So John Carpenter and co must have been really stupid when they were 20, because what fool would think they can kill someone with a piece of wire in the neck then leave a knife next to the killer when they see him incapacitated? TWICE within 5 minutes on top of that! Its so obvious what's going to happen.

I wonder how long its been since MattZitron has seen Halloween. I have often have fond memories of movies I last saw over 15 years ago, then I see them again and become very disappointed.

[MattZitron]

I watched Halloween less than 6 months ago.

And I'm from the UK, and from my experience most English speaking teenage girls are whiny and annoying. I'm not saying non-english speaking girls aren't; I just wouldn't know.

Anyway its a matter of opinion on the Movie. One man's classic is another Man's boring piece of poopoo.

Lets agree to disagree.

You stinky person you.

[Mister Phes]

If I were an animal I would be a skunk! Wait a minute... I am an animal!

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I've noticed mine is different to the majority, which isn't uncommon, but in this instance I cannot understand why.

Maybe if you're feeling up to it MattZitron, you could write your own review of Halloween then compare it to mine.

Does anyone else have comments and opinions to share?

[MattZitron]

Well I shall!!!

I've just started back at Uni doing Film and Media, so I'll watch it again and write a review for ya!

[Mister Phes]

Excellent! Will you be able to get it assessed as part of your studies, or will you do it on the side?

[MattZitron]

Excellent! Will you be able to get it assessed as part of your studies, or will you do it on the side?

It'll be on the side, but I think I can stick the review in my Uni paper.

[Mister Phes]

Actually, I've been writing one all week and preparing a presentation. Ironically it took me 10 minutes to write my Halloween review while its taken me weeks to do this university stuff I have to do!

[Mister Phes]

The point of the film is to be atmospheric. You don't know where Michael Myers is, he could be anywhere ready to jump out and stab you in the dark.

I think I'll add this:

The most scariest thing I've ever view on a screen was this documentary on the History Channel. It was about this journalist and he crew that went into this haunted dungeon with a medium. The dungeon was hundreds of metres below the street and no exterior noises could be heard, so any noises were coming from within the dungeon.

As they explored the dungeon the medium would explain what he saw while paranormal occurences would happen around the crew. They were screaming and freaking out not know what was going on. A couple hundred years this psychopathic doctor would capture people and take them down into the dungeon and conduct horrible experiments on them. The place was riddled with the stench of death and had a negativity engery so strong I could feel it while I was watching the screen.

I remember one moment when the medium begins describing two disheleved men he was seeing huddling together while chained to the wall. They wimpering because they new their gruesome fate was only minutes away.

It was so real and effective no horror movie has ever freaked me out as much as that documentary did. You'd have to see it to understand its intensity. No words will do its terror any justice.

[MattZitron]

This is the scariest thing I've ever seen.

[xwingyoda]

This is the scariest thing I've ever seen.

Would you care to review it for us Matt ????? :D :P

[MattZitron]

This is the scariest thing I've ever seen.

Would you care to review it for us Matt ????? :D :P

No it is a painful memory that I can never return to.

[Mister Phes]

Have you seen Halloween, Master Yoda?