Halloween - 1978

You can’t talk about Horror movies without talking about the movie, which started a franchise that created one of the scariest movie “monsters” of all time. Of course, I am talking about the 1978 John Carpenter classic, Halloween starring a very young Jamie Lee Curtis. This film holds a special place in my heart because it is told as a family story that this is the very first horror movie that I ever saw. (Granted, I was 2 months old, but ya know, it was the first that started a love that continues to this day).

This movie is scary in so many more ways than just the jump scares. It plays on that fear that most girls have at one point or another when babysitting. As well as the theme that became almost canon in all horror movies, that if you are doing something “naughty” you are going to be targeted and most likely killed in a gruesome manner by our killer. And to me, this is a tip of the hat to the old 50’s and 60’s creature features that had the “creature” always targeting teens at “Lover’s Lane”.

Halloween is a horror movie collection staple, right up there with Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. And part of this is because they are lasting horror movies. They are not like some films that you watch once and forget it. Everyone, whether you know the movie or not, can recognize the “Halloween Theme” and that speaks for the staying power of this film. I know many people that are not horror fans that hear that music and can identify it as the “movie with that creepy guy in the white mask”. That if asked "Did they mean a hockey mask?" they reply “No that other guy”. Now, I am going to admit that some of this notoriety is because this film is a programming staple during October for many cable channels.

So what is it about this movie that has made it be able to stand the test of time, spawn SO MANY sequels (some much better than others), and a couple of remakes? There are a lot of reasons. First off, the cast is awesome, You have stars like Donald Pleasence that were already legends by the time this film came around. To a teenage Jamie Lee Curtis, daughter of film legends, that was just getting her career off the ground. Along with a great group of actors that played the ill-fated group of friends for our heroine.

Let’s talk about one of our favorite movie “monsters”. When it comes to the “monsters”, Michael has always been my favorite. In all the films in the series, Michael stays pretty consistent in his intentions. He never speaks, with 1 exception in this film and one other instance in another film, you never see the face behind the mask, Even then it is not a clear full face shot. So in my opinion, because of the mask and no voice, you get to put a voice and face to him that fits your fears. However, since Michael has his own “theme” that plays whenever he’s onscreen that almost becomes part of him and the two become inseparable.

It is hard to talk about all the great gory pieces and great scares of this film without giving away spoilers. But I can say that this film uses so many of the classic horror movie scare tactics, from the jump scare, the “Did I just see something move?!" or the ever-popular “refrigerator door” scare. A movie will always be able to capture my heart if they don’t just reuse the same scare tactic throughout a 90-minute film

Let’s talk about our cast. We briefly touched on them earlier, but let’s give them the respect they deserve. First up, we have the screen legend, Donald Pleasence, who plays Dr. Loomis, who is almost as iconic of a character as Michael himself. Dr. Loomis is the psychiatrist that has been spending most of Michael’s life trying to reach him and understand why Michael committed the crime that caused him to come into Loomis’ care. Loomis is a caring and gentleman, but he knows what the devil looks like because he has looked into those eyes for many years. This man’s career had already been going strong since its start in 1952 by the time Carpenter decided he was the man to play Loomis. He had already had successful roles in 1984, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Fantastic Voyage and even after agreeing to participate in this little low budget horror movie, his career did not stall, it continued to blossom with roles in the TV movie version of All’s Quiet on the Western Front with Richard Thomas, Escape from New York with Kurt Russell, just to name a couple. And he continued to play our favorite doctor up until his passing in 1995 at the age of 75 one of his last films was Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers.

The next cast member we are going to talk about is our heroine, Laurie Strode, or rather her actress, Jamie Lee Curtis. Jamie Lee Curtis has acting greatness in her blood. The daughter of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. So there should be no doubt at how amazing a 19-year-old Jamie would be as the shy, bookish heroine of the film, Laurie. Before Halloween, Jamie had played a few roles in TV series, so it is safe to say this is the movie role that made her not only a household name but a pretty hot commodity. Her career has flourished and she has been in 5 of the films. (She is uncredited for her role in Halloween 3, she is the Curfew announcer/Telephone operator). And she has never really strayed far from the genre that put her on the map, having roles in such films as 1980’s “Prom Night” and “Terror Train”, 1994’s “Mother’s Boys”, and most recently in the popular horror-comedy “Scream Queens” with Lea Michele and Emma Roberts.

P.J. Soles had already had a successful horror film, (she played Norma in the 1976 De Palma classic, Carrie) when she was approached to play Lynda in a low budget film for John Carpenter. The role of Lynda was written for her after Carpenter saw her in Carrie. P.J. went on to have quite a successful career after Halloween, though it seems most people associate her with Lynda and Norma.

Halloween is one of those movies that you watch with excitement around October just like you wait for “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” in December. It has come to symbolize the holiday season for horror fanatics. And if you have not seen it, or have only seen the Rob Zombie remake, do yourself a favor and check out the original and see where all of this started.

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