Halloween
| release date | October 25 1978 |
| studio | Dimension Films |
| director | John Carpenter |
| writer | John Carpenter |
| starring | Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles, Charles Cyphers |
| site | halloweenmovies.com |
| trailer 1 | Trailer #1 |
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John Carpenter’s Halloween is the greatest horror movie of all time and of course it will always be my favourite. It has been copied over and over again. One of the most imporstant parts of the movie is the music without the music it will just be 3 teenage girls and a psycopath in a white mask. And of course great acting by all the cast members especially by Jamie Lee Curitis and Donald Pleasence.
The film starts off when Michael is 6 years old and stabs his sister Judith to death. Then another very scary scene of the movie is when Michael escapes and stealing Dr. Loomis’ and Marion Chambers’ car. We are then introduced to Laurie we get to know the character and she is a very nice person unlike her promocious friends (Annie and Lynda) Laurie babysits but still is a virgin and never goes out (Annie and Lynda tease her for that). Annie is planing on droping off Lindsey (the girl she babysits) to Laurie and Tommy (the boy Laurie babysits) so Annie and her boyfriend Paul and Lynda and her boyfriend Bob can have a night of sex and goofing off. But right as Annie goes to pick up her boyfriend Paul she is killed by Michael in her car. Bob and Lynda go to the Wallaces not knowing where Paul and Annie are, Bob and Lynda have sex. After Lynda tells Bob to go get her a beer Bob is pinned against a wall with a knife then Lynda is strangled with phone cord. After Laurie hears the weird phone call thinking it was Annie but is was really Lynda being strangled to death. Laurie suspects something is going on and discovers the dead corpses of Annie, Bob, and Lynda. Then after Laurie is stalked by Michael across the street to the Doyles Laurie thinks she has killed Michael by stabbing him with a needle in the neck. Meanwhile Dr. Loomis and Sherrif Bracket have been searching the streets looking for Michael. Laurie is still fighting for her life after Michael breaks down a closet Laurie is able to hit Michael In the eye with a close hanger then stab him. She sends Tommy and Lindsey to run for help to the next door neighbours. Loomis hears Tommy and Linsey screaming for help Loomis enters the Doyles to find Michael strangling Laurie Loomis shoots Michael 6 times causing him to fall of the front balcony, and kill him. Or so they thought. When Laurie asks one of the most famous lines of the movie Whats the Boogeyman? As a matter of fact that just was when Loomis looks back knowone is there and Michael is gone.
Well I just explained the most of the film but you already know that. Halloween is the greatest horror movie ever. It will always bhe my favourite it has spawned 8 sequels and a remake. And oh ya Michael Myers is the king of horror.
This is definitely my favorite scary movie of all time!!! I absolutely love it! I never get tired of watching it.
The best slasher film. Ever.
The suspense in this movie is SUSPENSE.Really.
One my all time favorites. 30 yrs later it’s still one of the most influential, suspensful, original and scariest slasher flicks ever to be made. truly a genre defining classic in every sense of the word.
In my opinion, this is the greatest horror movie EVER! It is, to this day, my all-time favorite movie! I love it because of the storyline, the characters, the music, the atmosphere of the setting, etc. I’ve always loved the beginning when they play the theme song and show the creepy pumpkin and I love the awesome ending!
my least favorite halloween. mainlu b/c jamie lee is ugly as hell. i was lopoking forward to watching this. it wasn’t thst bad. it was a good slasher. i think there are better slashers such as friday the 13th and stuff. this movie wasn’t scary but at least it would keep u watching it. the on;y movie i like from 1970′s right now is the 1973 texas chainsaw massacre.
Best Horror Movie Ever Made.
great movie also dug the highly underrated remake….
This is a great classic horror movie. Can’t get much better than this.
I don’t know what is going on with : leatherfacekillserinfan1 but Friday the 13th doesn’t even compare to Halloween. Halloween owns Friday. The very 1st slasher not counting Black Christmas. One of the best horror films of all time.
A very suspenseful and scary horror film… but I don’t agree with giving it five stars. It’s wonderful, yes, but it’s not perfect. The dialog between the girls is ear-piercingly terrible, and some of the acting is sub-par. However, it’s miles better than the remake (which I actually liked) and is indeed tied with ‘Black Christmas’ as the best horror movie ever.
one of the best slasher movies ever
I love this film. All I have to say how can you not like seeing babysittes sliced and diced on Halloween.
I tell you this right now everybody that feels this is the best horror film ever made has real class and apprecitates good Horror! I only disagree with calling it a slasher films because it’s far from it it’s straight up horror it doesn’t give you a vishule on everything and it’s not a gore flick a slasher film is friday the 13th. I don’t feel that The remake in underated either I’ve herd more people put it over than I have bash it, I only know a few of my best friends that feel the same way I do about the remake everybody else put’s it on a pedistool because it’s Rob Zombie and that is just being biosed I watched the remake a few times trying not to look at it as a Halloween movie but, that was impossible the only thing I could appreciate was Malcome Mcdowells portral as Dr. Loomis he did and excellent job even with the terrible diologue. The orginal hands down slays the remake and will always be superior to Rob Zombies Bastard child on the series.
Straight up this is one of the best horror movies ever captured on film. It completely took the nation by storm with it’s classic creepy theme, played by John Carpenter on piano, and it’s great and horrifying plot. My favorite movie of all time. Michael Audrey Myers will always rank above all horror movie maniacs, psycho, psychopaths, and killers.
If you want to watch a movie that will give you the Halloween chill this is IT! One of the best horror movies ever made and defenitly the best movie ever by John Carpenter!
Nice Little family film about a misunderstood young man MICHAEL MYERS! Nice performance by Donald Pleasence,who tries to just get everyone to Just get along!
“The story is primitive, but is all the more effective for it: A six year old boy named Michael Myers murders his sister. He spends the next 15 years locked away. In that time, his doctor, Sam Loomis, comes to the conclusion that this seemingly catatonic child is evil in it’s purest. To Dr. Lommis, he’s “waiting” but doesn’t know what for. Sure enough, a now 21 year old Myers escapes only to return to the town he once called home.
Film critic Roger Ebert once wrote that Director John Carpenter played his audience like a piano with this film. That is probably the best description by a film critic yet. The music score in unforgettable and there has never been a movie made that has relied so beautifully on the art of suspense rather than the simple cliché of straight bloodletting, as we saw with so many knock offs after Halloween’s release.
For a movie that was filmed on a shoe string budget to be this effective should be a lesson to Hollywood (and film schools) that some of the best ideas are completed with heart and realistic dedication, not just with dollars, slick sets, and big name actors.
My only regret concerning this film was that it it inspired sequel after clunker sequel, which took away some luster to the average film-goer. This was the kind of film that should have been left alone as a classic to itself: The story of Halloween, a Boogeyman and viewers with questions at the end which they should have had to answer for themselves.” –Mike Cini, imdb.com
my favorite halloween
GREATEST HORROR FILM OF ALL TIME!!!
Accept no substitutes!
John Carpenter did so much on such a low budget, this film is so effective and scary without an excess of gore or crappy CGI. A classic.
The best horror movie ever and the second best in the series(i know semeone is gonna kick my ass for this but the remake was a little BIT better)anyway it haves suspense,a little gore, sex and it scared the shit outta me.
Classic. What can I say that hasn’t been said already?
if you don’t give this 5/5 you need to stick with comedy, not horror.
This movie rules…It’s simply the best horror movie ever…The music is chilling, the acting is great, Michael Myers is easily my favorite horror character, the characters are very well developed and its simply a masterpiece, John Carpenter is a God for making this, its easily one of my favorite movies
John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN is one of the greatest, if not the best, horror movie ever created. Nothing John Carpenter has directed/produced/etc. comes even close to what HALLOWEEN threw at us. The movie created the most recognizable horror icons with such a simple character. Michael Myers brings out the primal fear in all of us, being hunted and not possessing the ability to stop it. I don’t think we’d have Freddy, Jason, Jigsaw, Pinhead, etc. without HALLOWEEN and its iconic killer.
No matter how many movies you or I watch, none of them will ever come close to capturing the same essence that Carpenter achieved. I can watch HALLOWEEN over and over again and still get chills. My favorite horror movie and is worth recommending to anybody who enjoys horror. Even though, I don’t know who you are if you haven’t seen this movie.
(Please Note: This review is a comparison between two of Anchor Bay/Starz most popular re-releases of the 1978 film Halloween, the “Restored” and the “25th Anniversary”.)
Halloween. What a perfect title for a Horror movie. It’s hard to believe back in 1977 that there had never been any movie, let alone a Horror film, that incorporated that title. And what good usage it got. Written, directed, and even musicallly scored by John Carpenter (with great assistance by then girlfriend Debra Hill), this was truly a film that brought Horror to it’s roots, leaving an impact that only George Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead did ten years earlier. Showcasing a deranged killer by the name of Michael Myers who in childhood murdered his sister in cold blood on Halloween night, only to escape his asylum to return to his Illinois home to hunt down babysitter (and eventually known little sister) Jamie Lee Curtis 15 years later, was truly an amazing film that never exploited the genre, keeping the imagination and terror flowing within the viewers mind rather than blatantly on the screen. For it’s time it was the number one profitable independent film ever made, and after almost thirty years, it still terrifies and never grows old. A true classic film. Every single DVD collector should own it.
But which one?
Not in the sense of sequels, but rather in which version of the original should you add to your collection. You see, this film has had the DVD distribution rights by Anchor Bay Entertainment (now known as Starz), and they have re-released this classic now a total of six times. So I would like to compare the two most popular versions to see which one should be for you, the “Restored” or the “25th Anniversary”
Starting with the “Restored” version, this DVD was authored way back in 1999. However, it was personally restored by Halloween original cinematographer Dean Cundey, trying to preserve as much as the look of it’s original theatrical run. This version has been released a whopping three times. But for the film’s “25th (2003) Anniversary”, AB remastered the film yet again for another release “Halloween 25″, this time taking the remastering process in their own hands, something of which Cundey was not happy with. Comparing the two’s video, you’ll notice that each are different in brightness and sharpness. In the Cundey version, overall picture is dark and not as sharp while for 25 the white levels have been raised and it’s overall color saturation has been lowered. To me, while the original with it’s dark blue hue running throughout looks good, at times it’s hard to see certain shots in the dark. The 25th version has fixed that, even going as far as making the film look more natural. As for sharpness, the 25th beats it by far. Audio wise, each film seems on the same level, so a tie there, but it’s the video that should be considered when purchasing: the Cundey-more true to the original film/the 25-a sharper, more realistic picture.
Next would be the use of the disc space. Restored is one of those discs that wanted to cater to the early 2000′s audiences of giving them both a widescreen and a fullframe on the same disc. Because of this, the bitrate is pretty small for both presentations. However, the 25th is a 2 disc set that only offers on Disc One the Widescreen presentation, and it’s Divimax as well. But to be honest, it’s bitrate isn’t up to say Superbit quality. It’s better, but with a total of four audio tracks to choose from, the entire dual layer disc is only used by 75%, and that other 25 could have went to more video bitrate, but alas it’s not. But to me, the bitrate still is higher on the 25, not to mention it’s compression is four years younger than Restored, so 25 wins again.
Finally is Extras, Restored has a 30min doc called Halloween Unmasked 2000, but on 25′s second disc is a whopping 87min documentary called A Cut Above The Rest expanding on the original and gives much greater detail on the film. 25 also includes another ten minute featurette called On Location, and commentary by Carpenter that’s a must listen.
In conclusion, if you want the best overall 1978 Halloween package, go with the 2003 25th Anniversary Edition
(RedSabbath Ratings:
*Restored:8.5/10*
*25th Anniversary:9.5/10*)
if you havent seen this film, you are not a horror film fan
Amazing this was another one of those classics. I loved everything about this movie. Ive watched this on Halloween every year since I was 7. Amazing movie franchise.
great film. A true horror film.John Carpenter is a genius! My favorite horror film of all time!
The classic that started it all.
IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN SCARY BACK THEN,
BUT TO TELL THE TRUTH I HAVE NEVER WATCHED THIS FULLY.
IVE ONLY WATHED ABOUT HALF OF IT BECAUSE ITS A LITTLE BORING. THE REMAKE IS WAY BETTER IN MY OPINION!
518
Classic film,the remake was good also.
“IVE ONLY WATHED ABOUT HALF OF IT”
Good reason to write a review…….
Anyway.
Halloween was the second horror movie I watched as a child. The first was Friday the 13th. While I hold F13 near and dear to my heart for being what got me into horror, next to Hitchcock’s Psycho, I exhault Halloween as the Father of the slasher flick, Psycho being the grandfather.
Everything about the film is top notch. The atmosphere is absolutely delicious, and career making performances across the board.
Halloween is the most effective horror film of a generation.
i agree this movie is what really got slasher pics rolling, although psycho, and black christmas came before it.
It is a classic and music see horror film. With the patented music, and breathing in the mask, the movie will be sure to give you chills
along with the texas chainsaw massacre, this film piloted the slasher film genre. you will find about every slasher movie cliche in this movie, because the film has been copied so much. hardly any blood or gore, but still ranks as one of the scariest movies. just hearing the theme music is enough to scare you. john carpenters second best movie, under the thing.
my all time favorite horror movie
Always a classic. None of the sequels or the remake came close to this bad boy. John Carpentor remains one of my faverite genra directors.
awsome just completely awsome
I don’t understand how this can be one of the greatest horrors ever! I love the character Michael Myers I think he’s scary and brilliant! The first hour of this film is boring, and the film is way to hyped! The last hal an hour is good however with Michael killing a few people! But I think most of it is quite boring and I was waiting for somthing to happen! And Jamie Lee at this stage wasn’t a very good actress she has improved much now however and did a great job in halloween h20 which is my favourite halloween in the series. But if you do want to watch the halloween series this movie is essential to watch first. I give this movie
**
Out Of
*****
It really is one of the greatest horror films because you can tell that this is the movie that set up the slasher film. Introduce your young fun characters, kill them off one by one — simple.
And to Horrorhing95, the first hour is what sets everything up. I personally like slow buildups in horror movies as long as the dialogue is fresh and the story entertaining. It allows you to feel comfortable with the characters before they bite the bullet, or the knife in this case.
Halloween is one of the most suspensful slasher movies of all time. It is a classic among horror movies and it is the movie that started off the masked serial killer ideas. The lack of gore goes to show that a slasher movie doesn’t have to be violent to be good. The halloween theme is one of the best themes I have ever heard. The acting is awesome jamie lee curtis did and outstanding job and the rest of the cast was perfectally chosen. The mask just looks awesome, the plain white, expressionless look really makes me shit myself. The storyline was great! A psycho mental patient escapes, goes into a town starts to kill people on halloween night, and his doctor is chasing him through the streets. The death scenes were directed well and overall this movie was
1. Entertaining from start to finish
2. No gore! (That is extremely rare for slasher movies)
3. Brilliant Atmosphere
4. Full of suspense
5. Great acting
6. Kick ass ending!
This movie was just sheer enjoyment and it will be one that I will watch over and over again.
Perfect movie, and in my opinion the GREATEST horror movie ever made. (DAMN YOU ROB ZOMBIE)
The best horror movie in the world and it was made for just 300 thousand dollars
What can be said about HalloweeN that hasn’t been said a million times already, this film is spectaclar. John Carpenter made one of the most suspensfull, Scary and entertaining films ever. This movie is preety impressive considering that it’s an independant film and was made on a budget of a quater of a million dollars. This is the best horror film I have ever seen, It’s my favourite movie of all time. This film really supprised me because I watched alot of gory movies before this and this has no blood in it, whatsoever.
This is an entertaining film from start to finish with no blood or gore of any kind. A solid full price film pay any price for this film even if its going to put you in debt, It’ll be worth it.
This movie is flawless in my eyes. I think John Carpenter is one of the most underrated directors of all time.
Halloween is a classic no doubt about it. From the story, the story telling, the acting and the sheer rawness, Halloween is a perfect movie.
It is a milestone movie also, It was Jaime Lee Curtis’s first and best film. Donald Pleasence is also a legend. His character’s name is Sam Loomis and I feel this is one of the greatest character in all of cinema. When I think of a role that has had someones soul poured into it I think of Donald Pleasence.
Another best for this movie was from John Carpenter. John Carpenter is the first man to ever scare me. That is an accomplishment right there. I’m not easy to frighten and this man did it. I also live in the midwest so this movie hit a little at home.
Everything about this movie is perfect without it there’d be no jason, no freddy, no other slasher movies. This was the first and the best. can’t be copied. I highly reccomend you see this movie…A ten out of ten.
A true classic
i love this movie.
its starting the slashers!
creative deaths
good story
great acting
and the chase scene!
i love it!
Michael Myers is AWESOME!
Best Horror film ever!
this film will always be a true classic for me. even after 25 years, it STILL scares the shit out of me. it’s raw, it’s scary, it’s startling.
Good movie.
There is a major difference between having respect for a film and being truly captivated by a film. Respect is simply realizing the importance a film had to cinema, or a certain genre, and admiring it for what it was in its time. Captivation is when you watch a film and are truly amazed by what you have just witnessed: in result, you think about it for days; you give it a perfect score; it becomes a part of your life. With that said, let me briefly talk about the two main groups that make up the Halloween fan-base.
Group (1) watched the film when they were 4-years-old or when it first came out, went in their pants, and then childishly force the biased idea that it’s THE scariest movie of all time into the heads of everyone who is even a mild horror fan. Because of nostalgia, they ignore the fact that Halloween is just a generic killer-in-the-house movie, even in its time, and place it high above anything and everything that has come out in the horror genre afterward. It doesn’t matter how original or intelligent a modern horror movie is, in their mind, by God, it can’t touch Halloween. Funny, though, if you ask them “Why?”, they can never answer you. Group (2) watched the film in their teen years, thought in the back of their heads that Halloween was nothing special, but gave it perfect scores out of pure respect and duty. Group (3) is rare, but it’s the few who saw it recently and genuinely thought it was a superior film, without being biased by positive scores. Group (4), which I include myself in, is completely middle-ground. They realize the most of the film is nothing special, but there are enough cool elements to keep them from saying its pure crap.
The reason I bring up the fans is because it’s a subject that no one really wants to talk about, but a subject that is very important when analyzing the film. With millions of “Perfect!” opinions beating down on you, honestly realizing the mediocrity of Halloween isn’t an easy thing to write in a review.
The main reason Halloween isn’t as great as it’s hyped to be is the core story. A juggernaut killer kills. Point blank: it’s generic, unoriginal, and just downright boring, even in its time. As citation, the year before Halloween came out, Stephen King expressed in an introduction that he was sick of “generic killers” and that he could “write this in” his “sleep”. (Note: This was not in response to Halloween or any other movie, but his personal feelings.) When I look at Halloween as a story and as a story alone, I cannot give it any credit whatsoever. It’s pathetic. It’s painfully unoriginal. Much more complex and original horror stories were told in the `70s. For one, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (’74). Another, Alien (’79). Another, The Shining novel (’77). Another, Carrie (’76). Halloween, in comparison to its peers, is just primitive in the way of plot, and that’s the main reason I cannot give it a higher score. Some inaccurately credit it for starting the slasher sub-genre, but because it didn’t, I can’t even give it story credit for that.
However, the reason I don’t dismiss the movie as a total waste of time is because of the atmosphere and directing. John Carpenter doesn’t quite reach the perfection here with these two elements that he later reached with The Thing, but it’s still impossible to ignore how superior they are in Halloween. The opening sequence with Michael as a child is absolutely brilliant. It pays homage to Black Christmas (’74) by doing a first-person view of the killer, then takes it even further with a third-person view afterward. The Halloween night atmosphere isn’t quite done to absolute nostalgic perfection, but it’s done better than any other movie I’ve seen. The camera angles, the reveals of the killer, the shadowed faces–all clichés to us now, but this was the movie where most of them originated. And it did all of this without cheese. This aria is where Halloween deserves its credit.
With that said, Halloween really isn’t scary at all unless you grew up with it. Even in its time, it was a generic killer-in-the-house film, and, as I’ve read some reviews state, it wasn’t scary even on its release night. As for gore, I’m not even sure I saw a single drop of blood in the entire film, and that got a little cheesy. The acting is also borderline cheesy at points, but nothing too distracting. What is distracting, however, is the lack of action for most of the screen time does get very boring. It is obvious Carpenter is trying to make up care for the characters by showing up drawn-out bits of their lives, but that doesn’t work because they’re all just cardboard, personality-less people.
I never write reviews based on my respect of a film, but rather on my view of a film. Halloween deserves the credit it receives. I won’t deny that. What I will deny is that this is the scariest movie of all time, or even one of them. What I will deny is that Halloween is the ascension to heaven that the brainwashed fanboys make it out to be.
Loved it!!! it’s a classic, with good actors, good suspense, and it dosen’t need gore!!!
As we all know, Halloween is a classic. Just want to pay my respect. Although i must say its boring by todays standards.
Micheal Myers is also my favorite slasher movie character
AAAHHH the Granddaddy of slasher’s with less blood than a PG-13 today! What can I say really? its what started it all and introduced my favorite villian of all time! MICHAEL MYERS!!! Jamie Lee Curtis is still the greatest heroin ever(AND SCREAM QUEEN) and the rest of the cast were great too.If you go back and watch it now yes its a little cheesy but hell it was 31 years ago!And still not as cheesy as the 80′s slasher’s now.It’s my oldie favorite.Not Psycho because Psycho to me was never scary…..Michael Myers chasing babysitter’s with a big ass butcher knife was! This and The Exorcist and original Nightmare are my three favorite classic horror films!!!! Well besides Scream!
Brilliant slasher. Can’t think of a single criticism.
for me the single greatest example of old school horror it is just so good. not really scary but plenty of jumpy moments and awesomely done.
haha wow did BD take down my post i wrote yesterday cause i said this movie sucked? which it does!! stop thinking about how scary it was when you were 6 years old way way way back when!! the film is boring, theres no suspense, the deaths scenes are laughable and micheal is a sissy! Rob not only re imagined he did it better and the remake is easily one for the best in the series!! Stop sticking up for this film outa of some false sense of duty or respect to john, john is great and all but he created the worst horror icon out of the top 5, Jason, Freddy, TCM, Chucky.
John Carpenter’s masterpiece,still a great slasher flick to this day.
The first awesome slasher flick. Better than most new horror movies.
wow!!. Clasic . best horror movie for ever . tanx carpenter
Fuckin’ love this movie. Not only a classic but also a masterpiece. I wouldn’t be the same without this movie. Michael myers is the best slasher ever. Thanks carpenter for an amazing film.
A true work of art. The music, creepy lighting, acting, simple storyline. What else do you need. Donald Pleasence gives his greatest performance as the obsessed Dr.Loomis. He makes the film what it is IMO. Loomis is to “Halloween” what Quint is to “Jaws”. Pleasence & Shaw made these films what they are, & neither would have been the same without their incredible screen presence. The climactic ending where Loomis confronts The Shape is one of the great scenes in horror. After shooting Myers six times, Loomis looks down & sees that The Shape has vanished. Pure evil never dies!!! Classic!!!
John Carpenters Halloween is an awesome horror. This a movie I can watch a million times & still enjoy it.
CLASSIC!!!! birth of a legend…
My fav. slasher film! Michael is the greatest!
an instant classic, a must have and definitely worth your money, and is a movie that influences us all!
A classic.
Definitely one of the best horror movies ever, no argument there. What’s astonishing is how the creators achieved so much with so little, making it a testament to indie filmmaking. So much is so good in this film, its hard to pick a single thing, but the soundtrack obviously deserves special mention. My mom always says that when she went to see this she had bruises the next day cause she held her ears closed the entire time because the sound was too scary!
This is probably one of the greatest horror movies in film history. There, I said it. And its one of my biggest influences.
A classic, that still has the power to frighten!
easily the greatest horror movie ever made.
this movie makes me scared to walk to my bathroom to rock a squirt at night.
absolutely terryfying. made with such great direction by john carpenter.
my favorite horror movie.
Classic.
CLASSIC horror
i know it is a classic but i just didnt really like it that much
I love this movie so much!!!!!
Well, I love Slasher flicks and not watching this is a total and inexcusable crime.
I understand why this is considered a classic, but it is still overrated. The first hour is like watching Paris Hilton blab her mouth-UNINTERESTING.
Things did pick up at the final half hour, but the only classic moment there is when Michael’s mask slowly appears at the dark shadow behind Jamie Lee Curtis. That was freaky as hell. And not a speck of special effects was used. Carpenter’s a genius.
Halloween did give birth to its genre, but it’s not worth a perfect score.
Definitely one of my favorite movies of ALL TIME! It’s amazing how John Carpenter can turn a movie with zero gore and few kills into a horror masterpiece. A very suspensful, scary, and classic movie. One that will be remembered forever by all.
Even saying that this film is a masterpiece isn’t doing it justice. I am an aspiring filmmaker and I can say with 100% certainty that Halloween is the reason. I saw this film when I was 6 and was instantly fascinated. From then on, I guess you could say I became somewhat “obsessed” with horror (and to think that horror would be nothing what it is today without Halloween). John Carpenter is a god amongst director’s and it is due to his creativeness and vision that we have this film. I love Halloween beyond articulation and all I can say is Thank You Mr. Carpenter, thank you for this and all of your films.
definetly one of my favorite horror classics. It was a nice suspenseful film with great actors. I enjoyed a nice horror film that didn’t need gore the whole way through to keep people frightened. The orginal Mask is the best.
If you don’t know who Jason is, or Freddy, or Leather Face, you know Michael, because there all classics, there the ones who made it out and the ones everyone knows. Definitely a favorite.
great horror movie difinatly a classic to watch on halloween
wow, John Carpenter really knows what he’s doing!
while there wasn’t really any blood, ‘Halloween’ was kinda suspending and the fact that Michael Myers seems unstoppable is kinda scary
The greatest slasher ever made, not for it’s gore actually for the opposite. It doesn’t depend on gore it uses fear and tension to scare you.
One of the best Halloween theme movie ever made(nd then cam Trick’r'Treat which is amzig jus like Hallowee) with fear and tension to scare u and the famous sary muisc tha lives on to be one off the greatest scary muisc and film on erath. Black Christmas stared the salsher gearn (As I thought it was always Halloween) But has a great unknow cast most of them became famous stared Jamie Lee curties movie carre and became a scream queen lej and stared John Carpenter film making to be a lej inthe horror gener. This film is the 2be the classic Slasher horror movie of all time (same with Psycho, Black Christmas,Friday the 13th,Nightmare on Elm Street and MyBloody Valentine =])
Great movie, though I have to disagree as I dont think this movie is the scariest movie of all time. As much as I dont like his point of view on a lot of his movie reviews, jacques. I think he gets some right but also lacks the eye to see the gem that is in the film. Yea sure maybe this isn’t the most original movie but if you judge a movie simply by how original it is maybe your not seeing why it is so special in the first place. How many movie directors are inspired by the movies they grew up watching? I would say all of them. Some of my favourite movies don’t have the most original stories. For example, the movie May, how many people watched that film and first thing they though about was the movie Carrie, does that mean the movies wasn’t any good? Of course not I very much enjoyed the film and I though they took a good idea and made it there own. Should we never see a movie about a disturbed young woman again? I think not because if we were to boycott a film for being unoriginal, how many films do you think they will release on the premise of being original? I enjoy watching a film I know doesn’t have the most original idea such as a stalking killer or a deadly Alien and seeing what the Director can do with it. How many horror films will be released next year with an original idea? Probably not as many as unoriginal movies. The story of Halloween isn;t the most origianl but it is so primitive in its presentation that it lacks story and creates a dreadful mood and it brings you in and hols you until the final moments. This films was before my time but I respect it for what it has done for the horror genre. I can’t see anybody giving this film anything below 1 4 out of 5 and if you do then you are being a glorified douche.
Great Movie! I personally think The Thing is John Carpenter’s true masterpeice, but this movie is still incredibly good! A perfect movie for halloween!
The absolute one and only classic. Watched this as a kid, and had to lock away the tape because it was so scary. Never fails to deliver upon repeat viewings…even as a 31 year old. This is the grandaddy of horror films. Give it the respect it so rightfully deserves.
Two words, true classic!
Let me first say this, I have been a fan of this franchise since I was 12. I love this movie and have seen it at least 10 times.
I never had the pleasure of viewing it on the big screen, for I was only 8 when it came out. But, I saw the movie trailer on the television and I was transfixed upon that eerie mask that Micheal steals in order to hide his identity, not that he has much of one being that he is a psychopath who also is OCD for his younger sister, Laurie. Thus, starts a franchise that has lasted the tests of time and of its genre.
John Carpenter is a genius for creating Mike Myers and the haunting sound track that I cannot get out of my head at times. I love all of the movies he has created.
I will buy the box set for myself and treasure it always. This is truly the quintessential horror movie to be scared by every year or everyday, because Mike Myers “black magic” is that powerful.
Michael Myers has to be one of the worst franchise monsters in the history of horror. Not because he’s uninteresting, but because the filmmakers of the sequels must have completely skipped over the original installment.
It’s the bare bones story, the mystery, the atmosphere, that makes Halloween spectacular, not Michael. Any generic killer could have done well in this film. Throw in any guy with a reasonably creepy mask and this movie would have been just as great. That’s the problem with the sequels (even Halloween 2, which while as good as it was, started going down that road) and the remakes (christ), they tried to pretend that Michael is the star. He isn’t in this, he’s a backdrop. If you want a generic masked killer romping around, go with the later sequels (4 and up), or the entire Friday the 13th franchise. If you want subtlety, atmosphere, and mystery, go with this very creative story.
I agree with Jacques on this. Sure it’s a classic, but come on people. The story line is good, but the ending is the worst.
The best horror movie ever made. Michael Myers is the original of every character created in any other horror movie. Absoluetly brilliant I just hope Rob Zombie ditches his remakes and filmakers can continue on the original series. That’s what the fans want
Wish more horror movies were like this. Take time to find a good horror theme sound, quit making the movie about comedy and cussing, gore is good to a point but a little goes a long way. Parts one and two were great, but after getting shot in both eyes and burned….we either dont need that ending or we dont need him coming back for sequels with a gay looking mask.
This movie is not as great as a lot of people say it is. P.J. Sole’s acting was horrible, like the part when Laurie forgot her book and Lynda just starts babbling, about books it’s like WTF!?!? Was that in the script?
Classic
Can’t beat the original!
A horror masterpiece!
Michael Myers is forever remembered after this movie.
Reccomended!
classic for a good reason.
It doesn’t get much better than this.
One of the first horror movies I’ve seen (I was 9 years old) and for sure one of the best horror movies ever made. John Carpenter’s masterpiece: the birth of Michael Myers, one of horror’s most iconic characters. Unbelievably suspenseful and creepy with an amazing score and great actors. An outstanding movie!
I love Halloween but for me I believe that the original Texas chainsaw Massacre had more of an impact on my love for horror but anyway Halloween is a great movie that has been worn out every 4th week of October by AMC and other tv stations and you have to take a break from it for years to feel the real impact of this great horror film.
GREAT HORROR MOVIE OF A ALL TIME.
love this film classic horror.
The most influencial slasher film. with the classic soundtrack and Micheal Myers John Carpenter will be forever remembered. Micheal kicks ass and takes names (like the boogeyman). would recommend it to anyone
I love this movie! The atmosphere and suspense are awesome! I’m hooked on this film! John Carpenter’s a genius!
I still get chills everytime I watch this movie..
Okay, John Carpenter is hands down the best at making truly great horror movies. This is him at his best. Loved this movie.
THIS IS ONE IS A CULT CLASSIC. I JUST LOVE WATCHING THIS MOVIE OVER AND OVER. iT TRULY IS ONE OF THE GREATEST MOVIES EVER MADE.
one of my favs:)
It’s a classic. ‘Nuff said.
One of the best of all time!! Up there with all the greats, and deserves to be after all theses years!
10/10 best horror movie ever made
The holy grail of slasher films.
I understand the impact this movie has had on the genre as a whole, and I respect that impact.
However, I think this is one of the most boring horror films ever made. There’s no blood, the ending is incredibly predictable and the characters are vapid and uninteresting.
I wanted to be scared, I wanted to feel uneasy. I even gave it the best chance possible: I watched it alone, at midnight, in the fall, with all the lights off and I STILL had problems staying awake.
All in all, this movie is a classic only because it came first. While I respect Myers, I’m not the least bit scared of him.
Not just my favourite horror film, Halloween is quite possibly my all-time favourite movie. It never fails to give me chills, and after seeing it as an impressionable 10 year old, it would be many years before I’d see it again. It’s truly a nerve-shredding experience each and every time I watch it (at least once a year) with cinemas’ greatest serial killer – that blank emotionless white mask is horrifying. Jamie Lee Curtis is iconic in her signature role (what a set of lungs – no wonder she’s the Scream Queen) and the cinematography and music are inspired. Despite its paltry budget, it’s a simple terrifying slasher film and I absolutely love it.
Classic.
halloween 2 is my fav only reason why 2 is my fav then this one is more action in 2 but this one is still great!!
This movie crabs you right at start with the murder from six year old boy and it next boring at (as it really short too) and it had a great atmosphere from start to end of the movie.
The scenes were Michal Mayer’s were chasing the victim was really scary and creepy with Halloween theme tune add to the scenes make Michal Mayer’s even more scary .
The acting in this movie was really good and for deaths they not gory or nasty however this didn’t want to gross you out with gore but they waned to get under skin make you more scared of Michael myers.
My favorite horror movie from the 70′s. There are much more awesome films from that time, but JC’s Halloween is my favorite.
An absolute classic, but it’s lost it’s edge over the years.
I’ll be the 1st to admit that Michael Myers is my least favorite of the big 3 (Freddy, Jason, Michael)… but he is still a classic horror icon.
Kids these days might not be able to appreciate it as much now as we did then, but I still recommend it to them.
Hobo Approved(TM)
Definitely not for those looking for gore, but it still holds up well thanks to Carpenter’s awesome directing and, of course, the great theme song!
THE scariest movie I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen hundreds of horror films. Still gives me a tingling in my spine, even though I know what’s going to happen. One of the best horror films ever made and my personal favorite.
What else can I say, but classic? John Carpenter’s 2nd best.
A classic that has had its corpse desecrated more times than the average model has had hot meals. As I have said before it is atmosphere that makes movies like this successful, Mike does not talk Jamie cannot act, she can scream but definitely cannot act. Their is no story, directing is good as is the sound editing and this film has such a poor level of pacing that I feel like like I am developing ADD half way through, but it is the atmosphere that holds it together and makes it scary even now and that is what makes this film a classic. It is the tale of the tape it is the longevity of quality that truly stands of the test of time, but for anyone who has not seen this. Watch it by yourself and in the dark otherwise today’s standards will cause you to walk away too quickly.
Just saw this again last night. I understand the significance of the movie, its place in horror history, and back in 1978 it was a cold slap in the face. But upon further review Michael Myers was kind of a doofus in his debut, there are only 4 kills, most are painfully slow, and the overall pace is a crawl. So I can’t give it a 9 or 10 … or even an 8. Sorry, Halloween stumbles with the test of time.
This is one of those movies that I make an effort to watch every year. I love the atmosphere of the whole film, as well as the premise. Michael Myers is one of my favorite movie killers, and I love how he is portrayed as almost non-human, which really makes the film scary. Jamie Lee Curtis was a great choice for the role of Laurie Strode, and has become a memorable and iconic Horror protagonist. The whole setting really gives the Halloween feel, and it has plenty of classic, frightening scenes. Not only that, but the soundtrack really makes this movie what it is. The theme music is truly amazing. Overall, a chilling and memorable classic that cannot be beaten.
I first saw this when I was very young, and was thoroughly intrigued…never scared, by the mythic quality of this movie’s atmosphere. I felt like I was in the spirit of the Halloween-holiday itself. Interesting considering the film was made in southern California and had to ship in fallen leaves from elsewhere! The film’s haunting score is one of the best ever. For me this movie is like a childhood legend, almost a parable. It’s also the first where a lead female protagonist actively fights back and wins just by staying alive by the time the credits roll. Also the white mask stuck in my head since I was 8 as well as being mystified by the character of Michael Myers himself, or, the shape…ITself. :-O
I like taking long walks in the night; preferably before winter is upon us. It’s just a personal past-time; I enjoy the cold air, the ominous winds, and of course, the lights that illuminate the front porch of every house. So, given that I take so many nighttime strolls, it should come to no surprise that I find John Carpenter’s “Halloween” to be one of the scariest, most impacting horror films ever made; an absolutely outstanding example of its genre, with an understanding of atmosphere and fear that shall never die. I like a lot about it, and I’ve seen it plenty of times, but it’s only now that I realize one thing that I really admire, among other things. In the film, like my walks, there are many sights to be seen; the lighten fronts of the homes, the lamps that keep the streets dimly lit, and the darkness itself. The film has a villain that travels on wheels by day; and within the shadows by night. As a “walker”, this scares me, it really does. This is a suspenseful film that delves deep into the kind of paranoia that makes us human. When I first saw it, I began to do over-my-shoulder checks by the minute, hoping that the villainous force that haunts “Halloween”, and the many sequels that followed, would not have found in me his next victim.
The film opens one night, on that titular holiday. The year is 1963, love and anticipation are in the air, and the night is still young. We see through the eyes of a stalker; young Michael Myers, a child that lives in a suburban house…within a suburban neighborhood. It is implied that his long, fun night of trick-or-treating has finally come to an end, although he does not enter his home upon returning, not just yet. First, he looks in the window and sees his older sister fooling around with her boyfriend while the Myers family parents are out somewhere, presumably for a special occasion. After spying on the two lovers for a little while, Myers lets himself in and follows them upstairs. He allows the boyfriend to leave, but then slowly makes his way up to his sister’s room, eventually stabbing her to death with a kitchen knife. He then walks outside, emotionless, holding his weapon in hand, to be discovered by his parents, who return home to a shock.
The year is now 1978. Michael had been sent to a medical institution since that tragic event, and was under the treatment and care of psychiatrist Samuel Loomis (Donald Pleasance), who tried to reach his patient for several difficult years, until finally giving up and taking on a new task; to keep the devil within the young boy locked up for good. He saw evil in Michael; a child who stared at walls, appeared to always be in his own little world, and in the current year presented, had just escaped from the facility. Loomis is on his trail; taking a nurse along with him to retrieve his patient. However, Michael hides in the darkness, as he is known to, and makes his move when the two are most vulnerable. In an instant, he has stolen Loomis’ car, and is heading back home, to the town of Haddonfield (Illinois), for one last night of destruction.
Enter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis, in her debut role); a smart bookworm of a High Schooler. This might seem strange, given how her circle of friends consists of the usual sex-craved party animals and beer-lovers; sinners who love sinning for the sake of it alone. The worst thing that Laurie does in the film is smoke a joint; and according to horror movie or slasher film rules, that’s not enough to make you the next candidate for a stabbing. Laurie is a sympathetic protagonist; she isn’t so-much interested in romance. She would rather be a good student, a good daughter, a good friend; hell, as long as she’s a good SOMETHING, then she’s happy to be existent.
Unless you’ve seen the countless number of sequels that followed this fine horror classic, you won’t know what purpose Laurie serves in Michael’s quest for vengeance. We don’t know what drives him to do the things that he does, other than the fact that he’s sociopathic; and thus, he lives to kill without speaking or showing emotion. I suppose Michael cannot show emotion because he dons the infamous white “flesh mask” throughout the film. At one moment, he is unmasked, although the revelation is brilliantly staged; it doesn’t matter what he really looks like. His physical appearance is not relevant; what has plagued Haddonfield since his first murder is what makes him Michael Myers. He is a hell of a villain, and this is a hell of a movie.
Loomis and Michael play each-other’s opposite, the latter representing evil while the former stands for all that is genuinely, well, humane. This relationship works because as the film progresses, we learn just how close Loomis got to understanding Michael, as his psychologist, and how far he’d like to distance himself from such a disturbing connection if he were given the chance. But Loomis is an intelligent man; and he understands that Michael cannot be shaken from one’s memory just
Good movie
one of the best slasher films ever made. loved every second of it.