As a filmmaker, it's not hard to trace
my influences. John Carpenter (along with John Hughes and other.
But thats a conversation for a different day) ranks high among them
for reasons explored in this blog. But nothing, in my mind, tops his
Halloween film (and the sequels they inspired). It stands as, in my
mind, the best of the horror franchise that never deviated from what
it was trying to do: scare people.
HALLOWEEN: After killing his sister 15
years ago, this is the night he came home. This is my number one, go
to horror film. It holds up and never gets old. I love everything
about the film: the unexplained nature of Michael's evil, the POV
shots, Jamie Lee Curtis and of course, Donald Pleasance. The body
count is surprisingly low and a lot of the blood is missing from what
we would imagine would come from a slasher film. And still the film
is scary.
It works on many levels: it plays on
the idea that the middle class isn't safe, that evil can just exist
within the fabrics of society. It plays to a post modern audience
that understand the tenets of “Horror films” as films like THE
THING (later to be remade by Carpenter) play in the backdrop of the
film. The film works largely do to Carpenter. It's an independent
film in a true sense and his fingerprints are all over the movie,
from the film itself to the score that is iconic. At times, in fact,
he played Michael Myers. The film pushed a genre to the forefront:
the idea of the serialized slasher film with an anti hero at the
forefront. If you've not seen it, punch yourself. Then see it.
HALLOWEEN II: Many call the first
sequel unnecessary. While that might be true, it's a cool film for a
lot of reasons. It begins on the same Halloween night with the final
5 minutes of the original serving as a preface and picks up with
Michael at large, then finding Laurie at the hospital. The set up
works because we don't need to waste time explaining how a new group
of kids have lined up for the slaughter. We can get down to
business of deepening the mythology. An introducing the thread that
will allow the story to continue: that Laurie Strode is Michael's
sister.
An increase (by a lot) of blood and
gore and some great performances added to the Pleasance and Curtis
characters, this film is a worthy successor to the original. And the
hot tub scene is killer.
HALLOWEEN IV – THE RETURN OF MICHAEL
MYERS: The best of the Halloween sequels that truly builds on the
familial theme that runs through Halloween. The film gives us
Danielle Harris, a child actress with amazing chops, as Michael's
niece, Rachel (she would late return and do an amazing job as Annie
Bracket in the Zombie remake). The film follows Michael on his quest
to eliminate his family. The spirit of the first movie is still
here, down to the clown costume that Jamie wears.
The film combines an increase in the
gore factor with a more complicated storyline than most of the other
horror “franchises.” It focuses on family, on being an outcast
and never once does Michael make a joke or end up in space. I love the final scene and the image of Jamie with the scissors. It was great lead in to the 5th installment.
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