In honor of the witching season, we’ll profile a new Halloween-centric title every day throughout the month of October.
THE COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN ENDS ON THE NIGHT HE COMES HOME…
Article by Adam Mast
HALLOWEEN (R)-1978
It seems only fitting that we end our Countdown to Halloween, the same way we started it; With a John Carpenter film! Before getting to our final entry, I should mention that this particular countdown is comprised of films that were touched upon in the moment. This is to say that quite clearly, there are countless horror classics that we’re downright embarrassed that we failed to cover. We didn’t even write about Universal’s famed monster movies or FREAKS! So many legendary horror films…so little time.
Having said that, we close out our Countdown to Halloween with the one, the only…HALLOWEEN! While there were a handful of slasher films that predate this masterwork (PEEPING TOM and BLACK CHRISTMAS immediately spring to mind), there is no question that HALLOWEEN sparked a slasher revolution. A bit surprising when you take into consideration that there is actually very little blood to be found in HALLOWEEN. This movie wisely trades in splatter for suspense.
HALLOWEEN was released in 1978 and it was shot on the cheap by a relative unknown by the name of John Carpenter. Carpenter had a couple of films under his belt at the time (DARK STAR, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13) but it would be this horror classic–that went under the working title, THE BABYSITTER MURDERS– that would launch his name into a another stratosphere.
HALLOWEEN features scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode–a virginal teen with a good heart. One fateful Halloween night, in their hometown of Haddonfield, IL, Strode and her friends find themselves stalked by a menacing killer known as Michael Myers.
As a boy, Myers was institutionalized after committing a horrific act, and now, much to the dismay of his psychiatrist Dr. Loomis (beautifully played by Donald Pleasence), Michael has come home.
Like all the greats, Carpenter is a master of tone. His style has been studied and duplicated countless times–most recently, in David Robert Mitchell’s IT FOLLOWS–and as previously stated, whenever you watch a Carpenter film, there’s always something unmistakably John Carpenter about it.
Myers himself is an unstoppable killing machine (in the original film, he’s credited as “The Shape”), but his stone cold silence and methodically paced movements are far more terrifying then any potential murder weapon he might be brandishing. And that mask! That gloriously iconic mask! Creepy…As…HELL! What’s really unnerving about it is that you can barely see Michael’s eyes when he’s wearing it. Nothing but deep, black sockets, and that only adds to the terrifying notion that “the Shape” is pure evil; The boogeyman, as it were. It’s hard to believe that it’s just a Captain Kirk mask he’s wearing. It’s amazing what you can do with a little white paint. Of course, it’s the man behind the mask (played by THE LAST STARFIGHTER helmer Nick Castle) and Carpenter’s stellar direction and unforgettable score that really elevate the proceedings.
HALLOWEEN is a truly memorable cinematic effort delivering an ominous sense of quiet and the kind of genuine scares we very seldom see in horror films these days. It also offers up a strong, likable lead in Curtis. Her Laurie Strode doesn’t seem like the kind of teen who could take on the boogeyman, but it’s amazing what we’re capable of when that survival instinct kicks in. It also helps when you have someone like Dr. Loomis in your corner to pick you up when you’re down.
For several obvious reasons, HALLOWEEN is the quintessential Halloween film. I couldn’t, in good conscience, end our Countdown to Halloween with some other less worthy title. It wouldn’t have been appropriate.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!
COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN
October 30th-“Trick ‘r Treat”– Click Here
October 29th-“The Shining” – Click Here
October 28th-“Alien” and “Aliens”– Click Here
October 27th-“The Cabin in the Woods”– Click Here
October 26th-“Blood-O-Ween”–Click Here
October 25th-“Horror-Fest/Guerilla 2015” Recap–Click Here
October 24th-“Jaws”– Click Here
October 23rd-“Frailty”– Click Here
October 22nd- “Psycho” – Click Here
October 21st-“Killer Klowns From Outer Space”– Click Here
October 20th- “Horrorfest 2015” – Click Here
October 19th- “Hocus Pocus” – Click Here
October 18th-“The Exorcist”– Click Here
October 17th-“Prince of Darkness”– Click Here
October 16th- “The Omen” – Click Here
October 15th-“Dawn of the Dead”– Click Here
October 14th- Student Bodies”–Click Here
October 13th-“Habit”–Click Here
October 12th- “The Twilight Zone” – Click Here
October 11th- “Creepshow” – Click Here
October 10th-“Shaun of the Dead“-Click Here
October 9th-“Invasion of the Body Snatchers”– Click Here
October 8th-“The Final Girls”–Click Here
October 7th-“Something Wicked This Way Comes”–Click Here
October 6th- “We Are Still Here”–Click Here
October 5th-“Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn”–Click Here
October 4th- “Phantom of the Paradise“-Click Here
October 3rd-“Poltergeist“-Click Here
October 2nd-“The Babadook“-Click Here
October 1st-“John Carpenter’s The Thing“-Click Here
