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A true classic of its genre

Posted : 3 months, 1 week ago on 27 January 2024 04:26

There was once a time where I wasn't crazy about horror but over-time I have grown to appreciate it. Halloween really is a true classic of its genre, it is genuinely scary, taut and is pretty much the only movie of the franchise in my opinion that is not only truly effective after all this time but also where everything works.

Halloween is very well made for starters, with atmospheric lighting and camera angles definite things to like. The score is resolutely haunting, the story is tightly paced and compelling, John Carpenter's direction is superb with some inspired, efficient techniques and while I have heard better the dialogue is good enough with some sharpness and nothing really that stands out as too cheesy or stilted.

The acting is very good, and the characters especially Michael Myers are iconic. Jamie Lee Curtis is more than just a pretty face, her acting seems very genuine and she gives her character welcome gravitas. Donald Pleasance is excellent too, while Michael Myers as a character is the personification of terror.

Halloween also works so well because of its atmosphere. It doesn't rely on excessive and cheap gore to make its point, or frenzied camera angles and the like. What it has is real suspense and genuine jolts especially in the last twenty minutes.

All in all, a true classic. 10/10 Bethany Cox


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A true classic of its genre

Posted : 1 year, 9 months ago on 8 August 2022 10:16

There was once a time where I wasn't crazy about horror but over-time I have grown to appreciate it. Halloween really is a true classic of its genre, it is genuinely scary, taut and is pretty much the only movie of the franchise in my opinion that is not only truly effective after all this time but also where everything works.

Halloween is very well made for starters, with atmospheric lighting and camera angles definite things to like. The score is resolutely haunting, the story is tightly paced and compelling, John Carpenter's direction is superb with some inspired, efficient techniques and while I have heard better the dialogue is good enough with some sharpness and nothing really that stands out as too cheesy or stilted.

The acting is very good, and the characters especially Michael Myers are iconic. Jamie Lee Curtis is more than just a pretty face, her acting seems very genuine and she gives her character welcome gravitas. Donald Pleasance is excellent too, while Michael Myers as a character is the personification of terror.

Halloween also works so well because of its atmosphere. It doesn't rely on excessive and cheap gore to make its point, or frenzied camera angles and the like. What it has is real suspense and genuine jolts especially in the last twenty minutes.

All in all, a true classic. 10/10 Bethany Cox


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Halloween review

Posted : 2 years, 5 months ago on 14 November 2021 01:57

The greatest moments of Halloween take their lead from its terrific opening: that legendary, lean musical score, and the film's tricky force of orientation.
Carpenter's fastidiously fashioned film doesn't squander a one second, the top dog of the slasher genre. Apart from the intentions demonstrated by the movie, Carpenter and his crew have also forged a visually rich and well-paced film that generated the model for all subsequent of the genre.



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Halloween review

Posted : 2 years, 6 months ago on 5 November 2021 08:22

In 1963, in Haddonfield, Illinois, the six-year-old Michael Myers stabs his sister to death in the Halloween night and is confined in a mental institution. In 1978, Michael Myers flees from the institution on the Halloween Eve carjacking his psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasence) and heading to his hometown. On the next morning, Michael stalks the high school student and babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) that has a sixth sense that is followed. However, her best friends Annie Brackett (Nancy Loomis) and Lynda Van der Kiok (P.J. Soles) mock her. Meanwhile Dr. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield looking for his patient.

John Carpenter's "Halloween" is maybe the most successful slasher of the cinema history tha became a classic. With the budget of only US$ 320,000, this film surprised with the world with about 47 million-dollar box office only in USA and introducing Jamie Lee Curtis to her fans. Further the franchise, remake, video game, toys, and many other attractions. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Halloween: A Noite do Terror" ("Halloween: The Night of Horror")


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Halloween review

Posted : 4 years, 7 months ago on 8 October 2019 02:26

Conferred as a byword for the seasonal holiday it exploits as a thematic subtext and in-film catalyst, John Carpenter's "Halloween" is also fundamentally synonymous with popularising the slasher subgenre. Despite its basic concept, scope and budget, "Halloween" redefined the maxim and enacted conventions of the modern horror film paradigm, deriving a nascent dynamic whereby the figurehead of the story becomes inextricably linked with the heroine touted as a victim only to become his foe; the pursuit between the two and ensuing human collateral is relentless and inexplicable, instigating a mythology and generating a continuity franchise that appeals to new generations of horror fans.

As is typical for the genre, a remote, condensed narrative, an independent ethos and sparse production values is employed in order to resonate with and satisfying the mainstream audience on a primal level, channelling the suburbanite's subconscious fear of falling to prey to an incarnate, indestructible, implacable evil. Contrary to popular belief, the template of the slasher film formula manifested far earlier within the Grand Guignol and Giallo subgenres. "Halloween" deftly employs the violence and sexuality dichotomy; featuring first-person camera shots first showcased in prototypical slasher precursors "Black Christmas", "Eyes Without A Face", "Psycho" and "Peeping Tom", the execution of this technique distinguishes a disturbing sense of complicity and anticipation. Herein, the aforementioned evil is mute, therefore inscrutable, impenetrable and unstoppable, whereas in "Psycho" and "Peeping Tom", the focal character faces justice and is generally more sympathetic and rooted in reality.

"Halloween" exists within the suspenseful, dread-laden vacuum of Haddonfield, and its driving force is a simple but ingenious plot device: a killer who cannot be detected (because he only kills at Halloween, hiding in plain sight as a masked part of the proceedings). So remarkably effective was the foreboding presence of a motiveless killer terrorising a suburban town that it spawned a national boogeyman in Michael Myers/The Shape, a William Shatner mask (therefore heavy breathing - another tactic to provoke anxiety and build tension) and blue boiler suit-wearing personification of evil (he never dies) stabbed repeatedly by his final would-be victim, a frustrated, repressed girl who fears and therefore believes in him - not the sexually voracious and preoccupied type he previously dispatched - lending credence to the notion that the film is not an allegory or a moral statement, even though such themes are unarguably present, but an insight into the behaviour of a psychopath who stalks and kills on Halloween so as to revisit and relive the initial, defining characteristic in his methodology: the grisly murder of his older sister, who for him represents and embodies all aimless, nonchalant teenagers. Michael Myers blankly and silently surveys the area until the hour of his first murder is reached and therefore the conditions of his first murder are met; it is through this activity we observe the lives of his later victims. It is through this mundane, casual atmosphere, as with the opening scene demonstrating Michael's escape, that a haunting mood punctuated by The Shape's sudden appearances and disappearances and context are generated; the hunting behaviour of our antagonist develops into homicidal intent, juxtaposing the carefree mentality of the residents of Haddonfield and the sense of doom pervading every facet of the surroundings.

Carpenter's allusions to 1960s European and US horror cinema are present from the outset, and his foreground and background visuals are strikingly effectual, but such an exercise in atmospheric thrills with minimal character development, frequent audience identification with the villain and influencing a subgenre that descended into misogyny and gratuitous violence has drawn criticism rather than reverence, as is the case with Alfred Hitchcock's more explicitly violent post-1950 output ("Psycho" and "Frenzy"). However, the film is now considered an unmitigated classic of the genre and enjoys a reputation as such, even with modern audiences, but not so with a minority of seasoned, conservative and liberal critics. Perhaps many misinterpreted Carpenter's intentions - he understands the genre, and can therefore capitalise on it beyond the superficial - but reappraisal of his work has allowed for revision of said negative opinions; the film captures the energy of independent cinema in its singular vision, i.e. a haunted house movie extrapolated within a town, and in Carpenter's adept manipulation of the audience instead of focusing on the more derivative, psychosexual aspects, the use of psychological horror and scares build towards an onslaught of murders relatively restrained by today's standards. At its core, combined with appropriate musical cues from the keyboard score, the exuding dread and classic components of the genre, "Halloween" is a powerful, menacing indie movie that has become a staple of horror cinema, a cogently written, stylishly shot and visceral experience in slow-building terror. Existing purely through inspiration and purpose, it is entirely deserving of its acclaim and worthy of repeat viewings.


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Clásico del subgénero slasher

Posted : 5 years, 7 months ago on 4 October 2018 05:00

"Halloween" es básicamente una de esas películas de terror que todo el mundo ha visto, pero si no lo haz hecho, no sé qué haces con tu vida.

A pesar de que no le jugó para bien el paso del tiempo, es una cinta que tiene todo lo que tenían de especial los primeros slashers: tramas y personajes simples, una producción amateur, pero un ambiente de suspenso bien conseguido y un asesino serial sin una motivación aparente pero carismático.

Lo que más se destaca de esta película es su dirección y fotografía, destacando principalmente la escena inicial y varias tomas en las que se muestra la figura imponente de Michael Myers. De Myers podría quejarme de que no parece tener una motivación para lo que hace, y en ese sentido parece que en el remake de Rob Zombie hubo una mayor profundidad en dicho personaje; sin embargo, creo que está mejor que así lo dejen. El hecho de que sea un misterio contribuye a que sea más aterrador, así como el Conde Orlock en "Nosferatu".

El bajo presupuesto es muy notorio, pero se elogia que Carpenter haya dado todo lo que pudo con tan poco. Y como dije, el bajo presupuesto era parte de la magia de los primeros slashers, y a veces les daba un toque de realismo. La música también es sencilla, pero igual efectiva.

Pero claro que la película tiene defectos. El más obvio es la simplesa de los personajes, que aunque también formaba parte de la magia de los slashers, no puedes simpatizar con todos, en especial con sus muertes. El personaje más trabajado es, por supuesto, la protagonista, Laurie.

Otro defecto de la cinta es el hecho de que acabe con un final abierto y flojo. A ver, ¿cómo es que un sujeto después de recibir unos cuantos disparos y caer de un segundo piso pueda seguir con vida? Es un final que grita a los cuatro vientos <<Secuela>> .

El último clavo en el ataúd es lo mal que la ha tratado el tiempo. Aunque pueda lograr un ambiente de suspenso, hoy en no va a asustar a nadie, no como lo debió haber hecho en su estreno.

Aún con sus defectos, es un clásico obligado a todo cinéfilo, en especial a los fans del terror. Vale la pena verla por sus virtudes y por uno de los asesinos más icónicos del cine.


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Halloween review

Posted : 10 years, 8 months ago on 7 September 2013 09:18

Halloween is classic horror movie with a serial killer. The context is pretty good, a small city celebrating a Halloween night with some idiot teenagers. The coolest thing in the movie is the original thriller song that it can be compared to Psycho unforgettable beat. Some logical mistakes appear constantly along the movie, what makes people look really dumb. In spite of these things, the movie should be watched by everybody because it is, in my opinion, the base and inspiration for almost all the horror movies that come after it.


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Happy Halloween!

Posted : 11 years, 6 months ago on 6 November 2012 12:07

Among the first original horror films to be "raped in the sequels". Others included in this group were Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. Horror movies shouldn't have afters. I feel if it would have been left be, I would still be worried about where Michael Myers went after being shot out of the window.
That said, this is one of the best. John Carpenter at his best, I believe. It is a simple story of the boogeyman and the good girl that has played in horror movies before and after, but Carpenter told the tale in a real way that so many moviegoers could relate to even to this date. Babysitters were depended on then in 1978 and still today to care and protect children when their parents are away no matter if it is a neighborhood girl/boy or a "sister". But what if, what if - the boogeyman showed up?! And in the beginning of the movie... what if the boogeyman was your brother?! Simple, scary & memorable music, plain dialogue and scenes that delivered and still do.
Michael Myers is a scary fellow, but not only him - you can't think of the movie without thinking of the two strong performances of Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance. Without them, I don't believe the movie would have held together and been such a great movie after so many years. It just ain't October Horror Movies without a viewing of the original Halloween.


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A classic

Posted : 12 years ago on 24 April 2012 09:53

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, I have to admit that, each time I rewatch this movie, I enjoy it even more. First of all, it is arguably the most famous movie directed by John Carpenter and it is obviously the ultimate slasher flick. Indeed, it is basically the blue-print for all the slashers that came afterwards. Eventually, I think it is rather funny that some viewers would say that it is rather slow and not really gory or scary. Before watching this, you have to keep in mind that it was made more than 40 years ago, that it was actually independently financed with a very small budget (which is pretty obvious since the whole action was eventually involving only a handful characters and a couple of houses). To be honest, the first time around, I was slightly bothered by the fact that the plot was very basic and neither Laurie, the victims, Michael Myers or the doctor chasing him were really developed. However, after all these years, I really get its simplicity as it is basically the purest slasher flick ever made. Indeed, the mood is actually pretty much pitch-perfect and, above all, the thing I enjoyed the most was the music. Composed also by John Carpenter himself, it is almost as legendary as the movie itself and there is a pretty good chance that even though you have never seen this movie, you would probably recognize the tune anyway. It was also Jamie Lee Curtis debut and she would become the ultimate scream queen for the following 5 years. Anyway, to conclude, it is a classic, I really enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.


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Another classic horror/thriller!!

Posted : 14 years, 2 months ago on 10 March 2010 07:10

Holy shit! What an absolutely amazing suspensful, non-stop, scary thrill ride this was! At first I didn't really want to watch Halloween because I am not a big horror fan but after hearing that Jamie Lee Curtis was in it and also a few people have recommended it to me, I decided to see what it was like. I wasn't surprised that it was good because I think that's what most horror films are like. This film really scared me but that is what I loved about this one! Also, what I love the most about horror films is that they never stop. Halloween is one of the early horror films that received a lot of glory and credit. This is no The Exorcist or The Shining but it is still a classic horror film nevertheless. Halloween is the first of a series of horror films that go worst and worst as they go on. I haven't seen all of them but after seeing what most horror franchises are like; for example, the Saw franchise. For these reasons, I am NOT going to watch anymore of the Halloween films (same with the Saw films.


Jamie Lee Curtis made a very famous debut in almost her very first feature film. This is probably the one film that she is most remembered for but I do still love her performances in True Lies and especially the comedy of all time A Fish Called Wanda. Her performance as Laurie Strode was really awesome! She gets herself into a really awkward and very hard situation on Halloween night because she has to babysit Tommy Doyle. The problem that they have is there is serial killer Michael Myers on the loose who is going around killing people. At the beginning of the film we witness Myers as a 6-year-old murder his 15-year-old sister with a kitchen knife. After seeing this moment, it is so gripping you feels like you're in the situation with Laurie especially when Myers starts to stalk her. When you see Michael Myers in a mask, I sort of recall him as an original villain compared to Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre films.


The directing was absolutely awesome! This wouldn't have been good for a director like Stanley Kubrick to direct but it would have been good for someone like M. Night Shyamalan. However, if he directed it I don't think it would have been half as good as it really was. John Carpenter is a genius at directing this masterpiece! This film was perfectly written because I think it wanted the audience to feel chills down their back or for them to keep their eyes open through the film without falling asleep which both things did happen to me when I was watching this film.


Halloween is one of my favourite horror films of all time! It doesn't quite beat The Shining, Saw or 28 Days Later. This is probably the classic horror franchise alongside Nightmare On Elm Street but there is absolutely no chance that I'm going to be watching that! Halloween is a horrific, terrifying, tense, scary, non-stop thrill ride that thrilled me from start to finish as it should thrill everybody who watches this film!


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