 Synopsis:
Every
now and then a movie comes along that truly scares you. I'm
not talking about the gross-out films of today's horror
genre. I'm talking about a movie that SCARES you so much you
don't want to go outside at night for a day or two. A movie
that makes you check your door and window locks. Most
importantly, a movie that sticks in your head and rebirths
the fear it instilled in you each and every time you think
of it. For me, this film is Halloween. I was hooked on the
early horror films (1970s & 80s) as a child. I'd sneak
downstairs, trying to watch them when my parents were
asleep. I even remember sneaking out of the house once to go
to a friend's house to see one while his parents were out of
town. I was so scared afterwards that I ran all the way home
(about a mile).
The Freak's
Rating: A : On Halloween night this year we decided to watch a scary
movie, and what better one to watch than the one that
started it all...Halloween. The fact that it was just
released on Blu Ray only made it that much better.
Halloween tells the story of The Shape (he would come to
be known as Michael Myers in sequels). After an
unexplained snap in morality at age 6, Michael kills his
sister and is commited to an insane asylum (you could call
them that in the 70s). After fifteen years, Michael breaks
out of the asylum and heads back to his hometown of
Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again. The film follows
Halloween night in the small town and the mayhem that it
causes for local teenagers when Michael is on the loose.
Halloween
is unlike any film before it and is a true horror classic.
The writing isn't as sharp as it would be nowadays, the
acting is more horrible than I remember it, but all other
aspects of the film are gold. The cinematography in this
film is beautiful. Creepy far-away angles of the killer
approaching, fly-on-the-wall positioning of cameras and
claustrophobic angles (especially in the closet) are done
wonderfully. The music is unreal in the film, sure to
render any audience motionless in fear during certain
moments. I recently reviewed the remake,
which you can read here. There are many parallels and
some shots that are identical. Overall I prefer the
original, but the remake sheds light on unexplained areas
of the original such as Michael's slip into insanity at a
young age and what exactly happened at the asylum during
the 15 years and the escape. The ending is better in the
original, but the remake does finalize Rob Zombie's take
on the film, which has its own appeal. Halloween inspired
decades of sequels and copycat filmmakers. It continues to
be scary after nearly 30 years. Those two points say a lot
for the film and allow it to merit a solid A.
Angie's
Rating: A :
Of course a classic! The best villian of all
time, in my opinion, is Michael Myers. Never
runs after anyone, just sort of walks intently
toward his victim. More sophisticated than
something that jumps out at you or runs after
you. It is movie greatness to take something
that almost everyone has experienced and think
of as safe or enjoyable. In this case
babysitting and a holiday celebrated by dressing
up and receiving candy, and turning it into a
nightmare. It's horror movie brillance. I have
rerented it to watch with friends and my sister
who hadn't seen it. If you haven't seen it and
you love horror, see it. Let me know if you
need popcorn or some jujubees :)
Jen's Rating:
B- :
I would give it a lower rating if
this movie came out today of course. But (as with all
older movies) you have to think back to when it first came
out. This movie was revolutionary. There was one specific
part where Michael was in the background laying on the
ground. I knew he would sit up and look at her. But as my
husband told me, this was the first movie to do that. It's
only because I've seen several more horror movies since
then that in my mind it was cliche. Other than that, it
was pretty scary considering but most of the acting was
poor and several parts were non-believable. Not to mention
there are the typical friends who "cry wolf" which is a
common thread throughout most horror films but still
really annoys me. Overall - the "classic-ness" of the film
will always be there and I guess I don't want to go
outside by myself on halloween night so it did accomplish
something.
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