It's that mask that does it... (Halloween [1978] (DVD))

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Product:	Halloween [1978] (DVD)
Date:	18/09/05 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Truly terrifying and brilliant soundtrack

Disadvantages: Looks dated now

Halloween, directed by John Carpenter, was the film that really invented the slasher genre, and paved the way for films such as Friday 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. It also made a star out of Jamie Lee Curtis, and earned her the nickname of "Scream Queen", which I always thought was quite stupid, but anyway, let's get down to business and review this film.

Halloween starts off on Halloween 1963 with the murder of a girl, seen through the eyes of the killer as he walks slowly round the house in a mask with a sharp knife in his hand. As if this wasn't scary enough, when he gets outside, the camera changes, and we see that the murderer was in fact a young boy in a clown costume. His name is Michael Myers. The story picks up 15 years later on Halloween, and Michael has escaped from the mental asylum where he has been imprisoned, determined to wreak havoc in his home town of Haddonfield, Illinois on the scariest night of the year. A psychiatrist (Donald Pleasence) is on his trail all the way, and the main focus of the film is a babysitter called Laurie (played by Jamie Lee Curtis), who ends up fighting for her life when Michael comes after herself and her friends.

Although the plot could be better, this is a slasher movie, so what were you expecting? This is all about the tension and the scares, and on this front it more than delivers. The suspense is ratcheted up in the first half of the film, leaving the second half to deal with the actual violence and killing that you might have been expecting right from the start. This is similar to the way Alien starts slowly, and it means that when the action does come, it's all the more startling. In fact, it's the first half that is more scary in my opinion. This film shows that scary doesn't always have to mean violent, because for me, most of the terror comes from the appearance of Michael himself. His white face and black boiler suit is so simple yet terrifying that all he needs to do is walk round the corner and it has me jumping off my sofa.

Director John Carpenter uses some interesting techniques in this film, the most important of which is the way we always hear Michael's breathing when he is in the shot. This manipulation of the sound adds a lot of suspense, and always keeps you waiting for something to happen. The special effects are probably even better than those seen in Jason X (a terrible movie), and considering this was made over 30 years before, that's saying something about both films. The violence is not too gory or graphic, but it is quite shocking and disturbing, and that's why the film is rated 18. For example, Michael lifts somebody up in the air by his throat, stabs him through the stomach, then stands there looking for about a minute as he is impaled against the wall. The camera doesn't show any blood or anything, but it's just so weird that it's truly scary.

A review of Halloween wouldn't be complete without a mention of the music and sound effects. This is what will remain for you after watching the film; the haunting piano tune which lingers in virtually every scene and then explodes in the final credits to make you even more scared. Carpenter also makes good use of sound effects to make you jump. I recall one part, where Michael suddenly walks into the shot, and this is accompanied by a noise which sounds like a skidding car. These days all horror movies have a cheap shock like this in which a character turns round and bumps into somebody and a loud bit of music makes you jump, but I've never heard anything like this skidding car noise, and it's just so original and unexpected that it completely catches you off guard.

The acting is pretty much what you'd expect from a slasher movie: lots of running around, looking worried and screaming. Although I have to say that Jamie Lee Curtis does convey a sense of fear very well indeed, she doesn't do much else. But then again what else would you want her to do? I really can't think of any bad points to this film, except maybe that it looks a bit dated now. It slightly slows down in pace in the middle, but that gives you a chance to learn more about the characters and establish the situation. The ending is also great; I won't give anything away to those who haven't seen it, but although it's not quite as shocking as The Wicker Man, it's certainly not what you'd expect from a typical film in this genre.

Halloween has to go down in history as one of the scariest pieces of cinema ever made, along with Nightmare On Elm Street (only the first one, obviously), Scream, Alien, the last 5 minutes of The Wicker Man and, more recently, The Grudge (yeah I know it's a Hollywood re-make, but it really made me jump). It is far superior to its more hyped but utterly un-scary companions The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I can even forgive it for spawning the shockingly bad Halloween Resurrection, it's that good. Watch it and find out for yourself (if you're brave enough).

Director: John Carpenter
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles, Charles Cyphers, Kyle Richards
Running Time: 91 mins
Classification: 18

The DVD is available from some online stores. The cheapest price I could find is £9.99 from www.dvd.co.uk, but I would recommend getting the 25th anniversary special 2 disc edition, which is £13.99 from www.dvd.co.uk . I think it is probably cheaper on the high street. I am only reviewing the film, so I can't comment on the extras.

Summary: A creepy rather than gory slasher