Halloween

“The night He came home.”

Welcome to the first theme month from Horror by Harrison. During the month of October I will be covering the first four Halloween films, continuing with the rest of the franchise during the next couple Octobers.

Halloween was written by John Carpenter (The Thing) and Debra Hill (Escape from New York), directed by Carpenter, and released on October 25, 1978. Halloween was made on a budget of $325,000 and went on to gross $47,000,000. While many were critical at the time, the film was a financial success and the film has earned acclaim in retrospect and went on to inspire the slasher craze of the 80s. 

Halloween follows teen babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis, A Fish Called Wanda) and her friends as they are stalked by Michael Myers (Nick Castle, Escape from New York), a masked man who recently escaped from a psychiatric facility where he’d been held since killing his older sister when he was child. After finding her friends dead, Laurie must fight to protect her charges and survive the night. 

Halloween is a classic for a reason. Carpenter and Hill wisely lean into the simplicity that their extremely low budget dictates. The film lacks the brutality and flashy set pieces that it’s sequels and imitators would come to be known for, and instead relies on building tension through subtlety and dread. Even Michael’s mask, famously a costume shop Captain Kirk mask painted white, is terrifying in its minimalism.

The cast is full of likeable characters, particularly our babysitter trio of Laurie, Annie (Nancy Loomis, Assault on Precinct 13), and Lynda (PJ Soles, Carrie). One of the best scenes of the film features these three walking home together from school. The dialogue is funny and it efficiently establishes the bond between these three young women. Donald Pleasence (You Only Live Twice) centers the film, as well as a large part of the franchise as a whole, with his performance as Dr. Loomis.

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention Carpenter’s iconic score. Like the film surrounding it it's simple but haunting. “The Shape Stalks Laurie” in particular is a terrifying piece of music that pairs perfectly with the sequence it accompanies.

Halloween is, quite frankly, a masterpiece. It’s a perennial favorite of mine and I make a point to watch it every Halloween. It’s a masterclass in tension and dread and all of the pieces come together to make a beautiful whole that, for better or worse, led to the aforementioned slasher craze of the 80s. Highly recommended.

            Rating: 5 Jack-o-Lanterns out of 5.

Other Observations:

• Does the Dog Die? Yes. Michael kills the Wallaces’ dog.

• Harrison’s Favorite Scare: Michael disappearing after Loomis shoots him and the resulting end sequence featuring shots of empty rooms in the house with Michael’s breath getting louder and louder. Chills.

• I had the pleasure of seeing this on the big screen at a local theatre a few years back at a midnight showing on Halloween. It was a delight.

• Next Week: More of the night he came home with Halloween II.