For all the mindless gore-filled, horror films of the world, there will always be something incredibly effective about a subtle yet viscerally terrifying horror film like Halloween. The first of its kind and most probably the inspiration for 80% of horror films made since its release in 1978, John Carpenter’s Halloween is truly a landmark of contemporary cinema. From its musical score which relentlessly spikes into the nervous system like electrical wires, to the fact that, like the finned antagonist of jaws, Halloween’s masked killer Michael Myers is seldom revealed in full expect as a blank face looming out of shadow, Halloween has all the components that make up a classic piece of horror. The plot is one which has become the default of many a slasher movie- masked killer stalks small American town, brutally murdering attractive, sexually active teenagers. It’s such a common trope of horror films these days that it is sometimes easy to forget that the entire sub-genre stems from this low budget summer movie that stood as the highest grossing independent film of all time, until the Blair witch project came along 15 years later.
Halloween is terrifying, and delivers some true scares but there is also no disguising the fact that it is incredibly subtle and tame in terms of violence when compared with horror films of today. But it is Halloween’s subtlety that makes it so brilliant. The deaths are so few and far between that when they do occur, they are doubly scary as a result and the lack of visible blood leaves us with imagined brutality rather than that which is spelt out for us on screen. The faceless and predatory killer Michael Meyers has gone down in horror movie history as one of its best villains, and part of this probably stems from the fact that there is no clear motive for his murderous actions throughout the film. We find ourselves growing accustom to the idea that both movie villains and real life psychos kill out of revenge or bouts of passion, not because they seem to have an innate urge to kill and are following this urge like guiltless animal rather than reasonable human being. In Halloween someone is always watching, and what is so clever about the film is that we are forced to be voyeurs as well, sharing in Michael’s gaze as he obsessively follows young Laurie and her fresh-faced friends. Whilst watching the film don’t be surprised if you find yourself unable to stop furtively checking behind you, peering into dark corners and out of locked windows, wondering just how safe you are behind the comfort of your own four walls. When Dr Loomis peers out of his own window at the end of the film, to see that Michael has once again disappeared without injury, the look on his face is not surprise or shock but rather resignation. Perhaps this is an acknowledgement that Michael is representative of the very nature of evil- invasive and utterly elusive until the very end. The fact that Halloween presents us with very real and relevant truths like these are what make it one of the most effective and scariest horror films of all time.
Halloween is terrifying, and delivers some true scares but there is also no disguising the fact that it is incredibly subtle and tame in terms of violence when compared with horror films of today. But it is Halloween’s subtlety that makes it so brilliant. The deaths are so few and far between that when they do occur, they are doubly scary as a result and the lack of visible blood leaves us with imagined brutality rather than that which is spelt out for us on screen. The faceless and predatory killer Michael Meyers has gone down in horror movie history as one of its best villains, and part of this probably stems from the fact that there is no clear motive for his murderous actions throughout the film. We find ourselves growing accustom to the idea that both movie villains and real life psychos kill out of revenge or bouts of passion, not because they seem to have an innate urge to kill and are following this urge like guiltless animal rather than reasonable human being. In Halloween someone is always watching, and what is so clever about the film is that we are forced to be voyeurs as well, sharing in Michael’s gaze as he obsessively follows young Laurie and her fresh-faced friends. Whilst watching the film don’t be surprised if you find yourself unable to stop furtively checking behind you, peering into dark corners and out of locked windows, wondering just how safe you are behind the comfort of your own four walls. When Dr Loomis peers out of his own window at the end of the film, to see that Michael has once again disappeared without injury, the look on his face is not surprise or shock but rather resignation. Perhaps this is an acknowledgement that Michael is representative of the very nature of evil- invasive and utterly elusive until the very end. The fact that Halloween presents us with very real and relevant truths like these are what make it one of the most effective and scariest horror films of all time.
