Production Year: 1978 - Horror - Director: John Carpenter - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Donald Pleasence, P. J. Soles, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Loomis more
Perhaps the most influential and successful independent film ever made, HALLOWEEN is the movie that put director John Carpenter on the map as a viable filmmaker. An exercise in... more
Halloween DVD
The Night He Came Home Perhaps the most influential and successful independent film ever ... more
made Halloween is the movie that put director John Carpenter on the map as a viable filmmaker. An exercise in simple pure horror Halloween takes us into the wo...
Production Year: 1980 - Horror - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Peter Cushing, Diana Dors, Denholm Elliott, Brian Cox, Sian Phillips
Production Year: 1979 - Horror - Director: John Carpenter - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: John Houseman, Janet Leigh, Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, James Canning
A review by Great_reviewer07 on Halloween (DVD) November 4th, 2009
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Liked it
Story
Outstanding
Characters / Performances
Outstanding
Special Effects
Standard
How does it compare to similar films?
Good
Advantages:
Nail - biting tension, excellent villain in Michael
Disadvantages:
Drags in the middle, very dated
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
On October 31st 1963 whilst most children his age were out trick or treating, 6 year old Michael Myers was busy brutally stabbing his older sister to death. Michael was immediately taken to a psychiatric ward where he was held for the next 15 years of his life. In 1978 now aged 21 Michael has escaped from the institution and is intent on recreating the horror from 15 years ago.
Michael returns to his old neighbourhood to wreak his havoc on anyone and everyone possible, this includes Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) who is a student and babysitter in the area. Hot on Michael’s heels is his doctor (Donald Pleasance) who knows Michael better than anyone and is determined to stop Michael in anyway possible. Will he stop Michael before it’s too late?
This is a classic horror movie that has spawned an impressive 7 sequels to date and has inspired several horror and spoof films over the years including Friday the 13th, Scream, Scary Movie and Nightmare On Elm Street. This is the film that sparked the notion that sexually promiscuous and drug takers deservedly meet a sticky end whereas the virgins and all around good girls in which Jamie Lee Curtis portrays will survive over and over again.
Halloween is rated an 18 however the film doesn’t revolve around gore like the horror films of today do, instead Halloween makes it’s mark by centralising around tension and the sheer terror that Michael Myers brings to the town of Haddonfield. Michael Myers has an eerie onscreen presence, even when he’s not actually in a shot. His presence echoes throughout the film with the use of shadows and reflections that means that even when he’s not there you’ll feel that he is, which in my mind is the essence of the great horror. The character of Myers is nothing spectacular, he’s essentially a stocky man in a painter suit wearing a creepy white mask but with the exception of the mask this is just an ordinary man, you can walk down any street and you’re likely to see a man in a boiler suit which gives Michael that air of normality about him, of course we the audience know that he’s not normal but the way that he’s dressed suggests that director John Carpenter in a way wants to make Michael appear like any Joe Bloggs on the street and the fact that he could be anyone makes him even more frightening.
As the film begins we are immediately gripped with the point of view shots where we follow a man, later revealed to be a 6 year old Michael up the stairs to butcher his sister with a carving knife. The scene, coupled with the eerie music sets the tone of the film excellently and fortunately the film does manage to retain the tension captured in the opening scene throughout the duration of the film.
The way that John Carpenter builds tension seemingly from nowhere is fantastic and with very little bloodshed in the film seems to be an even greater achievement, a lot of this is down to the aforementioned music, which is simplistic but effective much like the spine tingling music from The Exorcist and it is always seen as a signal that Michael is lurking somewhere.
The first half of the film is very docile and is heavily consumed by the setting up of tension and the atmospheric value, this is done very well however I feel that the film does drag a little with the tension setting, I feel that things could have progressed a bit quicker. We see Michael lurking around ominously numerous times and I did get a little frustrated waiting for things to happen, there’s a fine line between tension building and milking it and I feel that John Carpenter waits a little too long before the first killing happens.
As mentioned earlier, there is a distinct lack of gore featured in the film, therefore if you’re expecting something similar to Saw or The Hills Have Eyes you’re likely to be disappointed. As this was released little over 30 years ago I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular in the special effects area. If you’re used to the special effects that are present in the films of today then you’re going to find this film ultimately laughable, the fact that we never actually see any gore whatsoever doesn’t make this film worthy of it’s 18 rating, infact if it was released today it would be lucky to even be rated 15. Despite it’s lack of gore this film is still a huge success; these days an 18 rated horror film wont be considered a success unless it includes a plethora of gut wrenching gore however Halloween remains a successful horror film based on the atmosphere that it evokes, it manages to be genuinely frightening without a hint of bloodshed to be seen. This is a really jumpy film and there are many unexpected (and expected) moments throughout which leave the film understandably predictable but the journey is very unpredictable. It’s one of those films where you find yourself shouting at the scream, urging a character to turn around much like at a pantomime.
Jamie Lee Curtis is excellent as the pure and innocent Laurie, it’s obvious what’s going to happen to her but the sequences where she’s desperately trying to get away from Michael are excellent and she actually seems to be genuinely terrified. Her co-star played by Donald Pleasance is also brilliant as the eccentric doctor who is the only one who really knows how evil Michael is and he reminds everybody possible (including the audience) on a regular basis, this again adds to the scare factor that Michael encapsulates perfectly.
This is a superb horror film, drags a little in the middle but picks up the pace quickly and leads to an fantastic and very apt ending. This is one of the only genuinely scary horror films I’ve witnessed which didn’t include an over the top amount of gore. This film relies solely on atmosphere and is all the better for it.
The DVD is currently available from play.com for £3.99.
Advantages: Highly entertaining Disadvantages: Wooden acting, bad hairstyles
...remember all the hype surrounding Halloween when it first came out, but was way too young to see it, so had to wait a few years. It was really my first introduction into horror films, and, at the time, it scared me to death. Many years later, after watching countless horrors, it doesn't seem anything like as scary, but for nostalgia purposes, it is hugely comforting. Of course, the special effects are not comparable with today's amazing efforts, ... ...And as it is claimed to be the first real slasher film, it is a must for any serious fan of horror.
As so often happens with this genre, the acting is not exactly top-notch. Sam Loomis is played by Donald Pleasence, who probably gives the best performance, although he doesn't feature in the film all that often. His story is more of a sub-plot than anything else - the main story features the teenagers, with occasional flashes to Loomis to remind ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Entertaining and true horror Disadvantages: None for me
HALLOWEEN 1978
FILM REVIEW ONLY
I thought that I'd do a review on this old classic on watching it again this weekend on Sky.
By today's standards I suppose it's not that scary.
Back in its day I was a real wimp with Horror films and it was only as my kids grew up and started watching them that I did too!!
This is the film that scared the living daylights out of generations of viewers (especially babysitters)
It is of course John ... ...a killer who kills on Halloween night and conceals his identity by wearing a creepy white Halloween mask.
Carpenter's merciless madman Michael Myers is, to be blunt, evil incarnate. "No one is ever born evil". I'm not sure who came up with that phrase, but Michael Myers certainly was evil !!
Evil struck Halloween night 1963 when at the tender age of 6, without provocation and wearing a Halloween costume, Michael Myers stabbed his older sister to ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Terrifying, intelligent, masterful. Disadvantages: None. Unless we consider the sequels. Or the remake. Which we won't.
Halloween is one of my favourite times of the year, mostly on account of a lifelong love of horror cinema. Each year, I'll go out of my way to amass a selection of films about me, some of which I'll have seen - for one must be sure of being scared somewhere along the line, and that certainty is not always there with new acquisitions - and some of which will be new to me.
In this spirit, I'm going to be posting a series of reviews of pictures you ... ...First up, the ultimate Halloween picture - John Carpenter's 1978 Halloween.
Halloween's plot, basically, boils down to this - Man escapes from mental hospital, picks up a blank, white face-mask (a William Shatner mask turned inside-out, as it happens), returns to the town where he was raised and sets about slaughtering various teenagers who, with their sex and their drinking and their carrying-on, remind him, one assumes, of his own sister, whom ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Excellent tension building horror Disadvantages: None unless your a person who doesn't like watching older iflms with lesser special FX
...the first instalment of the Halloween series John Carpenter produced not only a classic horror film, but helped to spawn an entire genre of slasher films. The year is 1979. Imagine, if you will, there is no Freddie and there is no Jason. In previous years you may have become accustomed to Carpenters name by such classics as Assault on Precinct 13. Five years ago you were deeply disturbed by the texas chainsaw massacre or the Exorcist, and of course ... ...violence always been on TV Halloween was a member of an era in which it was shocking. Watching it from todays perspective we are equally shocked, the classic horror film surviving not because of gore of violence, but because it builds up tension like the unscrewing of the cap in H.G Wells 'the war of the worlds' novel and then slaughters the onlookers in equally gripping reality. This novel and this film are two of the same, showing a generation ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: A quality example of story telling over special effects Disadvantages: None (unless we're talking about the remake!!)
...paid homage to Halloween throughout).
Not surprisingly as the film was so successful, it spawned its own series of sequels which fell woefully short of the original.
A must for any horror fan's collection - in particular the 25th Anniversary addition which includes a fab documentary with cast and crew. ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
...For information, my DVD version of this film is the directors cut edition, Halloween Uncut. Effectively the same movie, but the cover and features may differ a tad.
So Rob Zombie Directs this movie, which is a re-imagining of the original story rather than another tired sequel. I liked this idea and was curious from the start.
So the story goes that Michael Myers killed his family when he was a youngster, all but his baby sister. He then escapes from the assylum where he is kept, and tracks down his sister, who is now in high school.
I was pretty prepared for lots of blood and guts, as in the other Haloween movies, but was hoping that, under Robs Direction, the movies could become as spine tingling as they were originally, as they had become so commercialised, slasher flicks and I was becoming more and more disappointed...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: A timeless classic of a Teen Slasher film Disadvantages: None that I can think of
...With today being Halloween I thought that I'd write a nice topical review of one of my favourite horror films of all time, this of course being John Carpenter's 'Halloween', a film that I'm sure most of you have seen by now given that it tends to be shown on one channel or another pretty much every year. Tonight the film can be found on BBC1 at a quarter to midnight, so for those of you that have not yet seen the film then there is no excuse not to now. While researching on the internet to see if the version that I have of the DVD is still available, I found that it was actually deleted a couple of months back. I wasn't particularly shocked to find this seen as the version I have was an apparent 'Limited Edition', however after searching around I found that the American version can be bought online from one website for £11.95 which I...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Score, FX, Acting, Not A Straight-forward Re-Make... Disadvantages: Acting, Repetitive Obscenities, It Will Always Remain Inferior To The Original...
...but excells as the movie progresses. I do believe she is under-rated.
So all in all, I actually do enjoy this movie. I also adore the original movie and don't think it can ever or will ever be replaced but a remake was the only way to bring this series back to life and it well and truly is. After an incredible earning of money watch this space for Halloween 2! I think that it is actually possible to improve on the original Halloween 2 so it may be something to look forward to for horror fans.
♥ The DVD Extras ♥
My guess is that there will be a double disc edition released around Halloween time for us so best to wait for that to be honest but completists will always want them all! It's not too bad here though...There are a good number of deleted scenes which include Adrienne Barbeau's role which was taken from the final...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Plot: Classic horror story about a psychotic murderer who killed his sister on Halloween. He later escapes from a mental institution to re-live his crime. What follows is a reign of terror.
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): ANCHOR BAY HOME ENTERTAINMENT; PINNACLE VISION
Perhaps the most influential and successful independent film ever made, HALLOWEEN is the movie that put director John Carpenter on the map as a viable filmmaker. An exercise in simple, pure horror, HALLOWEEN takes us into the world of a mad killer, Michael Myers, who at a very young age stabbed his older sister to death. Locked away for many years in a mental hospital Michael escapes one night and returns to his hometown to continue his killing spree. Jamie Lee Curtis, in her first role, plays the resourceful babysitter who is chased by the killer on Halloween night. Produced for very little money and a tight shooting schedule, HALLOWEEN was a stunning success when it was released. Written by John Carpenter and his long-time producer Debra Hill, the film set their careers on fire, with both of them working together many times over the next 25 years. The film also made a star out of Jamie Lee Curtis and turned the slasher movie into a viable, successful genre. HALLOWEEN has been copied, parodied and even turned into a franchise of its own, but the original is still considered the best of the bunch. HALLOWEEN was John Carpenter's first foray into horror, and remains the standard to which all other modern horror films are measured.
![Halloween [1978] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78486290.jpg)
![England's Halloween [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/96109644.jpg)
![Halloween [DVD] [2007]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78708701.jpg)
05.09.2009
31.10.2006
