The Horror Of...Halloween (1978), Halloween Night's Finest

Is it Halloween time again?

...I'll take that as a yes.




Halloween 2018! The way I like to start Halloween is with the, to me, quintessential Halloween film. Halloween.

No, it isn't just because it has the right name. It isn't just because it is popular. It isn't because of the new sequel out this year. Halloween is the warm mug of something you love on a chilly Fall day. It is this fine blend of setting, mood, and style.

This film is referenced, looked back at, and adored by many. It's often seen as the progenitor of the slasher horror film, though it isn't the first of the genre. And it's a series, much like it's murderous antagonist, that will not die.

From the start, we get the simple image of a lit jack o'lantern. And then the soundtrack, composed by director John Carpenter starts. The notes on the piano instantly take a nostalgic image and add that needed level of ominous dread.

Throughout the film, the music even takes the slowest and quietest scenes and adds discord in their backgrounds.



The story makes the effort to keep itself simple and calm as long as possible. The world is normal, the world is sane, the world isn't out to get you. And then the world comes crashing down.

For some, particularly in this age, the film is seen as slow. But for me, the build-up to the massacre, the normalcy, the day slowly crawling into the night (as the music promises misfortune), gives a parallel to what is happening to the film's antagonist, Michael Myers. He is waiting, fomenting, eager for the night to arrive. And we dread the night's slow approach and the gruesome sights to come.


As a certain doctor once called. "Antici...pation."


The beauty of the story is that it is all so simple. Once upon a time a young named Michael picked up a knife and stabbed his older sister to death. It was Halloween 1963. It was a horrific sight for his family and the town of Haddonfield.

"It was...Young Man Carruthers?"

The child was locked away, to be treated and understood. And slowly the doctor working with him realized that the child was beyond understanding or healing. He was a darkness, that only grew over the years.

From that point on he was obsessed with containing the child, soon enough a man.

But come October 31, 1978. He makes his escape. Halloween has come again for him.

And then we meet Laurie Strode.

The film never explains why, but she quickly becomes of interest to Michael Myers.

She is now his focus. The end goal for his Halloween plans.

But it is the afternoon. The night is hours away. He will have to wait, and we will have to fret.

But soon, Laurie will be in a struggle for her life.

And survival will not be an easy path for Laurie to reach the end of...

"Get up Laurie! Look behind you!"



Halloween is one of the season's great films. And with a new direct sequel coming this month, there are plenty of reasons to watch and share this film. Whether you see it Halloween night, or before.


Oh, and Happy Halloween.