Halloween

Rating:
Summary: John Carpenter's Masterpiece
Review: After brutally massacering his sister fifteen years ago Michael Myers has escaped from the mental hospital. Donald Pleasence tracks Michael back to his home town of Haddonfield. Here on Halloween night Michael will terrorize the small town on his rampage.

This is one of my favorite horror films of all time. The music is just chilling and is probably the creepiest part of the film. Halloween is the original that spawned many clones in the 80's and 90's, but none surpassed it. It was made on only $320,000 ($20,000 was for Donald Pleasence's five days of shooting) but racked in over $50 million. This was also Jamie Lee Curtis first staring role and launched here career as the scream queen. Halloween has never looked better and has been remastered in THX. The picture is still some bit grainy but you have to remember its from 1978. As far as horror films go this film has a great plot and proves films can be scarry without having to be gory.

The dvd is presented in both wide and full screen and DD 5.1 surround. It contains the Halloween Unmasked 2000 documentary which was real informative and had plenty of interviews with the cast. Also several radio and tv trailers were thrown in. This is a classic horror film that will always have a spot in my collection. If you are a fan of some more recent horror films I suggest you check this one out.

Rating:
Summary: Overrated...
Review: I watched the 1978 film "Halloween" a while ago and was thoroughly disappointed in it. It's not scary, it's slow moving and there's basically no plot whatsoever. It rips off of 'The Exorcist' (vastly superior to this film). The detective in this movie is a complete knock-off of the detective in 'The Exorcist', (same accents, same appearance). Overall, "Halloween" is pretty, well, hollow. Give it a rent if you're a horror buff.

Rating:
Summary: Lack of gore is precisely the point
Review: This still highly effective 1978 suspense thriller from director John Carpenter ranks, alongside CARRIE and JAWS, as one of the finest horror movies of the 1970s. Its story of a masked maniac who escapes from a mental hospital to terrorize babysitters in his former hometown works because of Carpenter's attention to suspense and atmosphere, as well as the obvious homages to Hitchcock's PSYCHO. And until THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT overturned it in '99, it was the most successful indie-horror film of all time, making something like $50 million on a budget of just $375,000.

I saw one reviewer here who complained slightly about the lack of gore in the murder scenes in HALLOWEEN. I think that this is precisely the point. The psychological shocks and the feeling of utter helplessness experienced by Jamie Lee Curtis' character are more than scary enough; there didn't NEED to be any gore. Interestingly, though set in Illinois, Carpenter actually filmed it in Los Angeles and surrounding suburbs, including South Pasadena.

Even though it was followed by several increasingly listless sequels and a ton of gory, bloody imitators, HALLOWEEN is still one of the finest hours (or, in this case, 99 minutes) in the entire horror genre.

Rating:
Summary: The night HE came home...
Review: This movie wrox. It's about this little kid (6) who stabs his sister to death on Halloween night. He is then sent to a mental institution where he has sat there staring at walls and never talking for 15 years. But the night before Halloween 1978 he excapes for a day of stalking a babysitter(Jamie Lee Curtis). She sees him staring at her, she doesn't understand why. Little does she know what will happen on that cold, windy Halloween night. Will Dr. Sam Loomis(Donald Pleasance) trace down Micheal and take him back to the mental institution? Will Laurie Strode have enough wits to challenge micheal to a challenging, deadly game of hide and seek with knives, needles, and coat hangers? You'll have to watch!

The DVD is great too! Also, Halloween 2 shows the rest of Laurie's night and continues from Halloween!

Rating:
Summary: Along with Exorcist, a very disturbing movie- I LOVED IT!!!!
Review: This is a scary movie, even after 23 years since its release. I had actually never seen this movie until I was in the video store, walking along the aisles. And there it was, Halloween. I had known it was a "slasher flick" and had about 10 sequels, but, I figured, it was Halloween time and I should rent it.

This is one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen. The ending was even more disturbing when you see what Michael Myers is seeing. And you hear him breathing! And when Jamie Lee Curtis thinks she killed Michael Myers and he gets up, man, I was yelling at the T.V. This is a very very scary movie. You actually feel it more than you watch it.

If you want a good scare buy this movie. I bought the DVD and am very pleased with it.

Rating:
Summary: The Quintessential Slasher Movie
Review: This movie's brillance has made it the slasher film most others look to for comparison. We all know the simple storyline, babysitter stalked by menacing killer on Halloween night, but the sheer horror it brings out in some individuals is incredible.

I remember the first time I watched it years back. A bud of mine and I were having a fight over which killer was better, Jason or Michael. Never having seen a Halloween movie myself I couldn't understand why he was so adamant about it. Lucky us Halloween was on TV that night so I flicked to it. We watched the first couple minutes then the scene towards the beginning where Michael jumps on the car with the nurse in it comes up. The famous theme song began playing and after a very short listen of it my friend told me to turn the channel. Confused I aksed why and then he repeated "turn the channel" with some added swear words. I didn't understand what the problem was.

This is the type of fear Halloween brings out in people. When just music will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up then the movie is pretty good. A couple years later still being a young teen I saw the movie was on again. I watched it and needless to say it scared me. I refused to watch the second which came on right after it. Well now I know none of the sequels could ever achieve the pure horror of the first.

In my mind this is the best slasher movie ever. My interest in this genre has been reignited as of late so maybe I'll find one better but I doubt it. Even though I think this is the best slasher film ever I don't believe that the Halloween series is the best slasher series ever. Friday the 13th...

Rating:
Summary: Halloween
Review: Ohh man this movie is down right awesome. An allstar cast of acters such as Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasent.

Story Line 10/10 Micheal Myers at the age of six brutally murdered his oldest sister on halloween night. Micheal was taken to a mental facilaty where he is watched by the awesome Dr. Samuel Lomis ( Donald Pleasent. Fifteen years later Micheal escapes into his home town of haddonfeild, IL. On Halloween night he goes out stalks and butchers babysitters searching for Laurie Strode ( Jamie Lee Curtis) to murder.

If you are a horror flick fan I suggest buying this movie get a sound system and watch in the dark. I have watched this movie over and over and it never ceases to amaze me. Excellent!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Classic terror.
Review: Halloween has often been called by its admirers a classic technical exercise in form and style. This is certainly true, but it is more than that. Carpenter crafted a well-constructed sexual nightmare, the simplicity of which is deceiving. It is the way in which this nightmare interlocks with the film's brilliant execution that makes Halloween so gripping and scary.

Here's something interesting: I had viewed it so many times over the years that the film lost almost all of its effect. So I stayed away from it for a few years. Then I bought the deluxe DVD package about a year ago. Seeing it letterboxed for the first time, after having not seen the movie in about four years... it was as if I was experiencing Halloween for the first time all over again. I was mesmerized and terrified! So if anyone out there is no longer scared by Halloween, try what I did: stay away and then view it again in its proper aspect ratio. The brilliance of Carpenter's film can be regained: it is not forever lost.

Rating:
Summary: Halloween: Classic Terror Never Dies!!!
Review: It began innocently enough: My grandmother and I renting a movie when I spent the night at her house. We watched in silence as creepy, staccato piano music filled the room, and a glowing jack-o-lantern appeared in the darkness. From then on horror had a new face and a new name.

"Halloween" is truly the scariest movie of all time. The premise is chillingly simple: Fifteen years after murdering his sister, a souless, masked maniac returns to his hometown on Halloween, relentlessly pursuing three teenage babysitters, while being trailed by his own obsessive psychiatrist.

That's it. No complex plot twists. No excessive blood-letting. No big-name stars. Just a babysitter going up against evil incarnate.

Everything about this movie is excellent. From the taut, concise screenplay by director John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill, to the fantastic performances of Donald Pleasance as Dr. Loomis and Jamie Lee Curtis (in her star-making role) as the virginal, babysitting heroine Laurie Strode. From Carpenter's chillingly simple music score--reflecting the simplicity of the film itself--to the creepy atmosphere and excellent use of widescreen framing.

The last 92 minutes of this film are the most frightening of all time. (NO JOKE!!)

The film is less of a viewing experience, and more of a nightmare that you can't wake up from. Echoes of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" and Bob Clark's "Black Christmas" can be found--but "Halloween" stands on its own: terror as simple as its title.

If you have never seen this film, rush out and buy it (but make sure you see in in widescreen). Then sit back, turn down the lights, and turn up the volume. This film, although over 20 years old, still has the original, effective power to make you scream out loud. So, skip all the lame rip-offs, and go only for the terrifying original.

From its opening murder scene to the final confrontation between babysitter Laurie Strode and unstoppable boogeyman Michael Myers, you will find that this film will never leave your memory. You'll be sleeping with the lights on for weeks. Nowhere can you find a film as simple or as frightening as "Halloween". Once you reach the end of the movie you will realize that there are no happy endings, and that evil never dies. Neither will "HALLOWEEN"...

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Horror Movie Of All Time
Review: In a word - Magnificent. This is the least gory film in the series, so it is not a gross-out movie. Probably has the best acting in a horror movie to date. Michael Myers, is what makes the movie, you can't have a decent slasher without a great slasher. Just look at Edge Of The Axe, the worst slasher ever. As you know Jaime Lee Curtis plays Laurie Strode, a babysitter who gets stalked by the boogeyman. Even though everyone that I know has seen this movie, you may not have so I won't ruin anything. Anyway the DVD is awesome. It is loaded with extras which are enough to keep you bust for hours. I've been a fan of the film and the series forever. This movie set the standard for horror movies such as Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. However the Halloween movies are better that the 2 mentioned before. If you're wondering if you should buy this movie or not, stop wondering it's a great movie and a great DVD, so buy it now!