LogFAQs > #946308032

DAY 25.4: Halloween (1978)
On AMC

I lost half my post here so bear with me.

I think the original Halloween is the best slasher movie created.

Halloween is about a man who killed his sister as a child breaking out of an institution many years later to start a killing spree.

The narrative of this movie is so tightly wound. Probably the most effective part about it is that it just builds up everything and lets you take in Michael Myers's general creepiness from stalking people, to hearing Loomis talk about him, to just enjoying our characters as we watch Michael Myers prepare for his killing spree.

I think a big reason that this movie is so much better than most others is that each kill is memorable. They take their time with it and let you just absorb each death of the characters and making them stand out as something brutal. It's something you don't see in a lot of slashers.

And Michael Myers himself is just such a good villain. He's silent, but he has so much mystery around him as an unstoppable monster in the disguise of a human. He's just a dude with a regular mask and a knife. He doesn't carry a machete or wear a hockey mask or anything. He's just a monster of a man. And he's not stupid. He may be mute, he may be underdeveloped, but in this movie he is smart and calculated. He knows exactly what he will do. He takes his time, and he plans his kills ahead of time and even calculates hiding them in order to terrify his prime victim: Laurie Strode. Michael Myers can't speak, but you know what he's thinking. You know what goes on in his head. And you know what goes on in his head is terrible.

This also has the most memorable music of maybe any horror movie of all time. Each of the songs are memorable. The main theme is great, obviously, but the others stand out too. And all of the sound cues are outstanding as well. They add to the feel of an already chilling movie by giving you that much more reason to feel tense as the music is unrelenting and ramps up at all the right moments.

The other characters in the film are strong too, specifically Laurie Strode and Dr. Loomis. Laurie, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, just does a great job when things get real just screaming and freaking out and getting you so much more involved in her story. And Dr. Loomis begins in this movie being a stern, yet dire doctor who is trying to reel in his patient. (I do feel Loomis is Flanderized as the series goes on, but that's another discussion).

There's very little to say that Halloween doesn't do an amazing job at. I think it checks every box and I love re-watching this movie. I've done it every few years now. I love Halloween. If you somehow haven't watched it, do yourself a favor and watch it now.

Rating: 10/10

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