Halloween

Rating:
Summary: The Night HE Came Home!
Review: 1978's "Halloween" is considered by many the greatest horror movie of all time. It introduced Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, a shy intelligent girl who babysits on Halloween night, and gets a evening of horror she will never forget. Laurie is stalked by Michael Myers, the most brutal and frightening horror killer of all time. With his huge butcher knife & classic pasty white mask, Michael Myers is a classic. Laurie turns out to be Michael's sister (see H2) and that is the reason he stalks her. This flim is loved by both fans & movie critics as a staple of horror culture and a truely gripping film. While it doesn't feature much blood, it suceeds on terms of true suspense and shocks. Halloween is an awesome film, the absolute BEST of the horror genre. It should be in any movie fans collection. I also recommend the excellent "Halloween II".

Rating:
Summary: One of the best horror movies of all
Review: Halloween is about a baby-sitter who gets stalked by a killer who just escaped a mental hospital. No horror movie is good without good music. The music in Halloween is the key for making it scary. John Carpenter does the whole score himself. And the dvd is totally remastered. Halloween's opening 5 minutes have been said to be the scariest shots ever to be made. Watch it in both widescreen and full screen. Halloween has good acting from scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance. Don't think this movie is scary watch it at night with the lights off.

Rating:
Summary: "It was the Boogeyman..."
Review: I've written two reviews for this film before, and I still haven't paid proper homage to it. How can you really being to praise one of the few true timeless thrillers? A film that works so well on so many levels and continues to work to this day with its amazingly haunting musical score, terrific (and much ripped off) visual style, and creepy villain...? Well, I guess you go back to the beginning.

This film is largely autobiographical for me. I first watched it when I was six years old. My mother, not being the sharpest tool in the shed, didn't realize that this probably wasn't the best idea, but she prepared me for the violence by informing me of movie trickery and all the whatnot they used to make it look good. I watched the film. I was terrified by it. But I was also fascinated. I would watch it again and again over the succeeding years (I can now recite the dialogue in my sleep with the music playing in my head to the exact beat and tempo). Some of my earliest memories of childhood involve role-playing games I would engage in with my soul sister Lisa, who was the only other kid my age I had known to have seen the films. She would be Jamie Lloyd (from "Halloween 4 and 5"), and I would be Michael of course. She has since untangled herself from the web of John Carpenter's universe, but I'm still as helplessly enthralled as any legless fly. If I had to pick one film that has affected me on an almost biblical level, this is it. I have the stories, the scripts, and the swelling ideas to prove it.

"Halloween" defies all logic that a thriller becomes less compelling with sequential viewings. And while the jumps and bursts of music do become somewhat moot after repeated viewings, the film still works. John Carpenter's score still has the power to send chills down your spine. And the look of that mask with its zero expression and clammy whiteness permeating through the dark like a beacon of evil still has the power to give a nightmare or two. The performances all around are convincing and good. How many times can you really say that about a horror film, especially one in the seventies or eighties? Very few. And the ripoffs of this film, not to mention the incessant harrang of sequels that continue to spill out of the Hollywood toxic waste facilities to this day, only make this film stand out more.

This is moviemaking in its highest form. And to think it was just a bunch of kids who made it really opens your eyes to the possibilities of filmmaking. It's not just another dumb slasher movie with predictable sequences of action and gratuitous nudity. This film gave birth to all the ideas that made stupid movies like that later on, though. But what they still have yet to learn is that you can't rip this film off. Perfection has a way of shielding itself from the mindless antics of big budget producers who try to milk the success of another film by reproducing the formula and shooting it with more breasts and pyrotechnics. Sorry guys, but John Carpenter continues to show you up to this very day. "Don't mess with the bull, or you'll get the horns."

Rating:
Summary: John Carpenter rules!
Review: "Halloween" is the greatest movie ever made.

Rating:
Summary: Best Horror Movie Ever!
Review: This is a great horror movie. In my opinion, it's the best in the horror genre. It's scary and it has a great story. You should definetly see this movie if you like horror movies because you haven't seen a horror movie until you've seen "Halloween".

Rating:
Summary: Halloween Is THE Hell-oween Movie!
Review: During the early 1980s horror films were steadily becoming very popular among moviegoers. Movies such as: Friday the 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street and Evil Dead to name a few were growing a frenzy fanbase. But none of them would have been made had it not been for the film "Halloween" which was released in 1978. All of the aforementioned movies were greatly and mostly inspired by Halloween. Halloween was the most successful independent movie made for its time with a budget of only $300,000, a very modest budget by Hollywood standards, no doubt.

The setting takes place in a nice little quiet town called Haddonfield. The plot revolves around a teenager named Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) babysitting a couple of kids on Halloween night. Little does she realize that this is one particular Halloween night that she will soon not forget. A deranged psychotic killer named Michael Myers (Nick Castle) just broke from a mental hospital and is on the loose in Haddonfield, who has a very committed task of doing some Halloween carving, with Laurie as his main target. Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode is outstanding as the lead, considering that this film was her very first, at the tender age of 18. She plays the role with a sense of vunerability and naiveness. Her next-door portrayal greatly receives the audiences's appeal and sympathy. Her friends, Linda (P.J. Soles) the bubblehead cheerleader, Annie (Nancy Loomis) the cynical and head-on-her shoulders girl, also give memoriable performances. Nick Caste as Michael Myers is to be commended for his performance as he moves with such scariness and determination. And finally, veteran stage and film actor Donald Pleasance is solid gold as the heroic Dr. Sam Loomis, who is desperately searching for his patient Michael Myers with intentions of recapturing him and locking him up for good, or killing him if necessary. Mr. Pleasance plays the role with a degree of authority and subtlety.

Director John Carpenter does an excellent job of creating a very creepy and dark atmosphere within a typical American surburban town. Mr. Carpenter shows his mastery of the camera by providing scary shots such as dark spaces and ominious camera movements, coupled by some sound effects known as "stingers" and "alarms", along with blue-light backgrounds that greatly enhances the scary tone of the film. In addition, Mr. Carpenter also wrote the music for Halloween. The Halloween theme is played on a piano synthesizer in a staccato-like rhythm, which signifies terror, tension and an impending sense of doom. The film is well-made and contains in-joke references for film buffs.

As for the DVD quality, it is top notch. It contains widescreen presentation, as well as full-frame presentation reformatted to fit the tv screen. In addition, it has original theatrical trailers, television spots, radio spots, talent bios, still and poster gallery, behind-the-scenes still gallery, a documentary, and the DVD Halloween television version. An interesting note here about the television version. In 1980, NBC acquired the rights to the original Halloween film but was unable to air it on network television due to the fact that it was way under two hours. NBC insisted to John Carpenter and his people (using the crew of the Halloween 2 production team) to shoot 12 minutes of additional footage, in order to complete the 2 hour time slot (coupled with commericals, of course). Aside from that, there really is not much of a big difference, except that in the tv version, there is a scene where it is revealed that Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis)is the sister of Michael Myers, something that was never featured in the theatrical release. So, go ahead and rent it, or better yet, buy it because it's a classic and is considered a worthy successor to the original "Psycho". To prove that, co-writers John Carpenter and Debra Hill used the name of Dr. Sam Loomis from Psycho, the character of Janet Leigh's boyfriend played by John Gavin. You'll get a good scare out of it, even if you're not a horror fan.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: This is what I call a scary movie. Some people believe it is the scariest movie ever. I disagree, but if you like it your okay with me. It isn't as scary as The Boogeyman or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but it is much better than Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. 90% of america think The Exorcist is the scariest film ever made. People that don't like popular movies tend to say The Evil Dead is the scariest, but for people that just don't believe in the terror of the devil's existence, then they think this is the scariest. Well choose for yourself. This is a great scary movie, but The Exorcist remains supreme.

Rating:
Summary: John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN
Review: THE NIGHT HE CAME HOME! Michael Myers spent 15 years in smith's grove under the watchful eye of Sam Loomis but escaped in 1978 and headed straight for his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinosi he seemed obsessed with killing his own sister Laurie Strode and everyone that stands in his path John Carpenter & Debra Hill the masters the legends of Escape From New York Escape From L.A. & The Fog
the original creators of the masterpiece HALLOWEEN at last this amazing film is finly on DVD in THX 5.1 sound you will also see Halloween Unmasked 2000 with exclusive cast & crew interviews & you will also see Halloween the television version that includes 12 minutes of additional scenes this is absolutely one of the all time best horror movies truly a must own

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Summary: Excellent slasher film
Review: Maniac Michael Myers aka "The Shape" terrorizes babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut) and her two friends on October 31, 1978, while his psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (the late Donald Pleasance) must travel to his hometown of Haddonfield to track him down before it's too late. Excellent slasher is practically the one that started the whole craze of the 80's-maniac-in-a-mask-with-fancy-weapon horror flicks. The film has absolutely no blood or gore, it relies on suspense to keep the viewer on edge and the performances from Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasance and the rest of the cast make you feel and care for them so much that the viewer really doesn't want anything to happen to them. The "Halloween theme" is a classic among modern horror themes and certainly will never be forgotten, along with some other themes. Chase scene at the end ranks up there with A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, Part 2 as having the best Heroine vs. Villian standoff! Followed by several inferior sequels.

Rating:
Summary: October 31st, 1978--Halloween Night
Review: John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN, is my favorite horror film, and is for sure the best of its kind. On Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers, kills his sister in cold blood, and is put away in a mental hospital. His psychaitrist, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) soon discovers that his patient is "waiting for some secret silent alarm to trigger him off". Fifteen years later, Myers (Nick Castle) escapes and heads back to his home town of Haddonfield Illonois, to continue his reign of terror. This time he goes after three high school friends, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), Annie (Nancy Loomis), and Lynda (P.J. Soles). Dr. Loomis rushes to Haddonfield to try and stop him.

The film's story and simple style has been with me ever since I saw the movie when it first aired on NBC-TV in 1981 From its script, effective cinematography by Dean Cundey, and that unforgettable theme and film score from Carpenter. It is that winning combination and fine acting from Pleasence and Curtis that set this film apart from any of its wanna be contemporary clones. It's hard to put into words but its magic. I forgot how little gore was in the film until I sat down recently to watch it. The film's "style over substance" approach really works. The amazing thing about all of this, is the fact that part of the style was by design, and the other part was dictated by a limited budget. It is what I like to call "filmmaking on the fly".

Before I get into the extras on the DVD, first, a word or two about the television version, which is now avaible as part of a limited edition 2 DVD set, (that is the version that I own), or as a separate purchase with no extras. The T.V. version adds 12 minutes of footage that was shot to satisfy network execs, who wanted to pad the film, after some of its more violent and objectionable material was edited for broadcast. Carpenter stated that he doesn't care for the additional scenes, but I kind of like them, since they were part of the film, the very first time I saw it. Either cut of HALLOWEEN works very well.

The extras are available on the theatrical version of the film. There is a great 30 minute retrospective documentary with folks who were there, trailers, t.v. ads, radio spots, still galleries, and talent files for cast and crew. The film can be viewed in both widescreen and pan and scan The DVD also has a nifty hologram for its cover. It is also mastered in THX sound that is killer. Any of the film's mutiple releases from Anchor Bay Entertainment is highly recommended.

2003 marks the film's 25th anniversary, I heard via the net, that Anchor Bay is working on yet another DVD release of HALLOWEEN to commemorate the occasion of this great horror classic...