I was a little kid when John Carpenter’s Halloween became a phenomenon at the end of the ‘70’s, and like the boogeyman himself, it was the stuff or urban legend, a movie so terrifying, you couldn’t help but scream your head off all the way through it.
Writer / Director John Carpenter had the vision that made Halloween a horror masterpiece, but is it the greatest horror film ever made? Not sure if I would vote it #1, but it’s certainly a classic of the genre, and it’s nice to see that after all these years it’s still being spoken hailed as a great movie.
There’s an article on Forbes.com that states that Halloween could be the greatest horror film ever made, and the secret, according to writer Tim Clark, is “KISS, aka ‘Keep It Simple Stupid.’ Halloween is a very simple movie.” The other elements that work for forbes.com include Michael Myers’s mask (originally a Captain Kirk mask), the music, the camerawork, which put the Steadicam to great use, the characters, and of course, the holiday it takes place on, which had never been done in a horror film previously.
Not to make anyone feel old, but Halloween is coming up on its 35th anniversary, which is really a trip. Surprisingly enough, I don’t usually put on horror films on Halloween, but maybe this Halloween I should check out Halloween again, and see how well it’s held up. Of course I’ll be watching with the lights off…
