Halloween [1978]

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Suitable for 18 years and over Starz Home Entertainment Release date: Monday 25th of September 2006 Starring: Nancy Loomis, Donald Pleasence, P. J. Soles, Jamie Lee Curtis, Director(s): Format: PAL, Region code: 2 Running time: 87 minutes Language: English (Original Language)

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Trick and Treat
Review date: 2008-11-11 Rating: 8 out of 10

Halloween surely remains, thirty years on, the definitive `Teens in peril' film. I use this term because `Horror' or `Slasher' do not apply here. Halloween is economical, if not entirely bereft, of either horror or slash and it is this economy which gives the film most of its strength, although many may consider it dated. There is very little in the way of story, special effects, characterisation, gore and even the body count is surprisingly low. The killings do not start until well into the film, apart from one at the start of the film, which sets up the story, such as it is.

There's a killer on the loose of course and the late, great Donald Pleasance is wonderfully sinister as the psychiatrist who is on his tail. In addition there is a supernatural element to the killer which is nicely underplayed and reinforced at the end. Unfortunately the ending leaves the door open for a sequel and many more to follow, as well as a considerable number of imitations, all of which pushed the genre well beyond its sell-by date.

But Halloween is Director of Photography Dean Cundy's film as much as Carpenters. He creates a wonderful atmosphere of menace in the first section of the film, shot in daylight in the autumnal town of Haddonfield but once night falls, the creepy atmosphere moves from strength to strength. Using wide shots, perfectly composed frames and economical but highly effective lighting and colour, he has you searching each shot for a sign of the killer. Sometimes he's there, sometimes he's not and the effect is to crank up the tension to an unbearable and exciting degree.

It's a film which doesn't demand to be taken too seriously and I imagine that this was Carpenters intention. One character says, `It's Halloween, everybody is entitled at least one good scare', and you'd be hard pressed not to be jumping out of your seat at least once. Carpenter plays tricks with his audience (`Halloween is the night when people play tricks on each other', says another character), and he creates a good deal of jump moments. He knows his audience (and his films), and judges these moments with perfect timing. Frequently they happen when you're not expecting them and often don't happen when you are.

Halloween is knowing enough to almost exist as a parody of all the tripe which followed it, more so than the overrated Scream which appeared many years later. It won't satisfy those fans who like their horror steeped in gratuitous violence and buckets of blood but it should remain a satisfying experience for those who like to see the job done properly. On the strength of that, it's not dated at all.