Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Halloween is a landmark of American horror cinema. Carpenter's widescreen compositions and innovative use of the Steadicam (particularly the iconic POV opening shot) set a visual template still imitated today, earning top marks for cinematography. Its conception of the silent, unstoppable Shape — evil incarnate with no motive — was genuinely novel and spawned an entire genre of slasher films. The plot is deliberately minimal, which is a stylistic choice but limits its complexity. The acting is competent with a strong Jamie Lee Curtis debut and a memorable Donald Pleasence, though the supporting cast is uneven. The ending, while effective in its dread (Myers simply vanishing), is somewhat abrupt rather than truly satisfying in narrative terms.