Well, so I just saw this movie for the first time yesterday. Almost 40 years after it was released. A bit late yeah, but it never really seemed interesting enough to check out. And what can i say? To be honest, I expected the movie to be pretty bad considering how much praise it gets (usually in horror that's a sure sign it's only trendy to like it somehow). But I never expected it to be this bad. - The characters are just a big mess. The acting is atrocious and the casting choices are very weird. Everybody looks way to old for the role they play, and the dialogues are just some of the worst I've ever heard. My favorite being Laurie saying "was that the boogeyman?" which had me burst out in laughter. Great stuff. Anyway, none of the characters ever sound realistic in any way. And there is NO chemistry with any character and I mean zero. Michael Myers himself is just nothing special at all. The opening scene with him is pretty great tbh (when he's a little kid), but after that, it's all downhill, and we don't get to know anything about him at all whatsoever. He's truly lacking any character whatsoever. He doesn't speak or even have motives. He just goes around strangling people. Yeah very creative. - The story is among the worst I've ever seen. Almost not a single thing makes sense, and it becomes very slapstick at times. It is the perfect example of all the archetypes everybody hates in horror movies like "go randomly into the closet" and "stab the killer and toss the knife away afterwards and sit and wait for him to get up" or my personal favorite "just give him the car". The main storyline itself is extremely narrow and it truly feels random. For like 70% of the movie there are no real interactions of any kind between anyone and some overgrown babysitters just sees spooky things and gets killed in (extremely) predictable and stupid ways. There is a doctor too, but that part is so ludicrous that it almost seems to be for comedic relief. He's sure funny when he breaks out his doomy and gloomy speeches, I'll give him that. Especially when he's peeking on the kids from behind the bush. That was hilarious. The ending is atrocious too. Worst end sequence I've seen in a while. And that brings us to... - The directing is simply awful. Some shots drag out for a laughable long time, so much that it gets really awkward. And there is so much repetition too, and some parts that (I guess) is supposed to be scary just looks very funny. Like the times when Michael collapses. Or when they are being tailed by a car accompanying the "creepy music" for like the 5th time in like 10 minutes. The editing is poor also, like when Michael cracks the car window. And the movie is shot in such a way that not many scares are unexpected. It's a very predictable movie. Like the music will always let you know well before hand when something creepy is about to happen. Which brings us to... - The score is very amateurish and very often plain bad. Yes the main theme is kinda good, but not after you've heard it slapped on like 50 scenes. It starts to get funny after a while to always hear that tune. Not very scary. Overall, the movie felt like a very bad low budget horror of it's time. But would it have been better back in the days? Hell no. It's a bad movie, no matter what time period it's from. It's just a very trendy movie, and now that I've finally seen it, I can safely say that I wasn't missing out on anything. Phew.

Great classic horror. Simple but effective. The score is really well done and sets the tone perfectly. You don't know much about Michael Myers and that kinda makes him even more scary. Watching this for the new one coming out and it still is great. There are some great shots of seeing Michael for a second that are really scary. You don't know if he is really there or if you're seeing things. There are some great pov shots, including the oner to open the movie. Again the score is really good. That main theme is so iconic and instantly recognizable.

When I heard good things about _Scream (2022)_, I decided that it was probably time to go back and watch the original, which somehow I have never seen. However, I also knew that the original _Scream_ was very influenced by and possibly included direct references to many classic slasher films; all of which I have also not seen. So, in order to fully appreciate whatever nuances may exist within the slasher genre, I must first catch up on all the classics, starting here, with John Carpenter's _Halloween_. If I had seen this movie back in 1978, when it was considered a groundbreaking entry in the horror genre, perhaps I would have been more impressed and generous with my rating. Alas, here we are 44 years later, and what was once groundbreaking, is now a poster child for overused tropes and clichés. Of course, I understand this film likely invented some of those tropes/clichés, but at the end of the day, for a modern audience watching this movie for the first time, that doesn't really matter. Large swathes of the movie felt familiar because I've seen a dozen newer films that followed the same formula. Now, that doesn't mean the movie isn't effective. It's a lean story with a simple set-up that very much accomplishes it's goal. Michael Myers is a truly creepy character; his heavy breathing and iconic mask an ever effective way to amp up the tension (especially when combined with the signature soundtrack). His overbearing presence throughout almost every scene in the movie does a good job of keeping the viewer on their toes, trying to anticipate how and when the next victim will meet their end. I will say, the violence is quite tame by modern standards, which somewhat deflates the payoff moments. Additionally, the ending was a letdown, providing an excellent example of one of my least favorite tropes: [spoiler]when the protagonist doesn't confirm that the villain is dead or at least restrain them, which happens, not once, but twice[/spoiler]. I'd also say that the acting was rough in many places. Ending on one positive note, I think it's crazy that a movie this iconic was still able to take me by surprise with it's opening scene: [spoiler]somehow I wasn't aware of Michael Myers' origin story and so I was not expecting a child to be the initial murderer[/spoiler].

One of, if not THE best, old-school horror flick! Every horror movie buff has to watch Halloween, even though it looks a little outdated today. The score however passes the test of time, its a perfect match for the movie and still gives me goosebumps. I think this is John Carpenter's best (horror) movie, which is sad, because if he could have repeated what he did with the original Halloween movie, I would have loved his later horror flicks, too!

**T**_heme_- 8.5/10 **R**_ewatchibility_- 9/10 **A**_cting_- 9/10 **K**_inematography_- 8.5/10 **T**_ime_- 9/10 **Total** - 44/5 = ==8.8== "Death has come to your little town, Sheriff." So it begins... the long and splintered story that is 'Halloween'. What I loved about the first installment is the greatness in its simplicity. There is no motive, only evil; there are no rules, only chance; and there is no man, only monster. Laurie Strode is an excellent survivor girl, an evolution of the archetype in the right direction. She has the capacity to make smart choices, but as the fear increases, her decision-making becomes less effective. Donald Pleasence as Sam Loomis, a driving force and heart of the movie and franchise as a whole. It doesn't take a third of the film to set the stage either; it just gets started immediately and fills in blanks along the way, hoping you won't get left behind. That's not to say it's fast-paced, as it's as methodical as Myers himself, but Carpenter is simply utilizing every single minute of his runtime efficiently. John Carpenter's original, in my estimation, is a cornerstone of horror movies and a fundamentally must-see film.