Happy "Halloween"! (1978)

If you're at all curious why I watched the poll winner a day earlier than normal, here's your answer! Of course, never having seen John Carpenter's Halloween before, I had to save it until the actual day itself! Thus, our Halloween Movie Marathon comes to an end. I got a lot of classic horror movies I've never seen before finally taken off my list of shame, and it seems kind of ironic that I end with a film that basically started the entire "slasher" genre, having come before all others of it's kind. This is also the film debut of Jamie Lee Curtis, which caught me by surprise. Hit the jump for my thoughts on this classic slasher flick!


It all started in 1963. A young 6 year-old boy named Michael Myers kills his older sister with a large kitchen knife on Halloween night. That was 15 years ago, and it's now 1978. Michael has been institutionalized ever since that fateful night. Just a few days before Halloween, Michael is scheduled for a court hearing to see if he should still be kept locked away. Unfortunately, something went wrong, and he escapes the mental facility and drives away after stealing the very car bringing his doctor. Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) wanted to make sure Michael was never set free at his court hearing, but now that he's on the loose, Loomis has to do whatever he can to try and catch him again. Meanwhile, in Michael's hometown, young Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends are planning to hang out with their boyfriends while babysitting on Halloween night. Unfortunately, fate has other plans for them.

Jamie Lee Curtis makes her film debut in Halloween

First of all, I never realized Jamie Lee Curtis was in this movie. Since I've only ever seen her in movies from later in her career, like True Lies, I'm not used to seeing her so young. She may have only been 20 when Halloween was made, but her acting style was already recognizable to me. That combined with the fact that I think she already looks like an adult, actually made it hard for me to believe that she was only just a teenager. This actually took me out of the film numerous times as she just seemed far too grown-up to be a highschool student. Her acting was good, well, all except for her annoying whine/cry she would make when trying to be scared, but the rest of the time was fine. It was just weird seeing her in this role.

How is this guy so unstoppable?!

As for the Michael Myers character, this is one that has me a bit confused. As far as I could tell, there's nothing special about Michael. He's a crazy, murderous, psychopath who never talks, or makes any sounds aside from breathing in his mask. But even though he should be a normal man, he takes quite a number of blows and what should be mortal wounds, and just keeps on ticking. Sometimes he seems to have the mind of a child, like when he simply looks at a victim he's just killed. The kind of curiosity a child might have when finding a dead bird on the side of the road. And yet other times he'll act like an intelligent adult; being able to drive, taking out phone lines, stalking in the shadows and being so patient. He also seems to die/play dead a lot. It has me doubting that he's just a man.

The tides have turned!

What I did like about the movie was that it was set in a normal neighbourhood. It wasn't at a haunted campgrounds, an abandoned farm, lost cabin in the woods, or even in a dreamworld, or another dimension. It was just the house across the street, and then when he's done there, he'll just walk over to your place. That's pretty freaky! I also liked that it had a strong female lead who was actually able to defend herself quite well. I'd say her one flaw is always dropping her weapon the instant she thinks she's OK. Hey Laurie, give him a few more stabs! Remember when he got back up last time? Stop taking chances!

Halloween was an interesting film to watch. I didn't realize it was basically the first slasher film, or that it was the first film to have Jamie Lee Curtis. It was also kind of amusing to see the kids in the movie watching Forbidden Planet and the original The Thing which John Carpenter remade 4 years later. I don't think it was a great movie, but it's definitely a significant movie. Overall I came away thinking it was "alright". Check it out if you haven't seen it, it at least has some interesting characters in Michael and Laurie.