Violence/Gore: Surprisingly little on-screen blood, although some classic slasher movie kills are accomplished in full view of the audience, like a backseat car strangling, a phone cord strangling, and a stabbing attack that pins the victim to the wall.

Sex/Nudity: There’s a brief glimpse of Michael’s dear departed sister sitting in her bedroom topless in the opening sequence, but the rest of the film’s limited waist-up only nudity belongs to the almost annoyingly cute and perky P.J. Soles.

Best Line: “…the blackest eyes…the Devil’s eyes…” (the best part of a speech by Dr. Loomis about Michael Myers)

Score:

It’s always difficult to go back to the beginning of a long-running franchise and evaluate the original film with any degree of objectivity. Ultimately, we’re doomed to interpret that viewing experience through the lens of everything that followed, and that makes writing an honest appraisal of a movie like HALLOWEEN so difficult. The fact that it’s universally hailed as a modern horror masterpiece and a watershed moment in independent cinema does nothing to ease the pressure.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember in watching HALLOWEEN all these years later is just how little the movie really provides in the way of an explanation for the sheer terror we’re witnessing. At this point we don’t know Michael is Laurie’s brother; we have no inkling of the insane Thorn cult connection that would be grafted on a decade later; in fact, until the final moments of the film, there’s no real evidence to suggest that the Shape is at all supernatural, inhuman, or immortal. He’s just a cold, methodical killer driven by an unknown psychological impulse to murder babysitters and anyone else who gets in his way. Why did he crack that night in 1963? Why did he kill his sister? Why did he wait fifteen years and then escape to cause more mayhem? There is no explanation, no reason - and that is why we still find HALLOWEEN so scary three decades after its release.

Surely we all know the various bits of the legend, from the launching of Jamie Lee Curtis’ career as the Leader of the Scream Queens, to the brilliant choice of a pasty white William Shatner mask for the killer’s emotionless face, to the inclusion of famed character actor Donald Pleasence as the somber voice of doom and relentless pursuer of his one-time patient. Haddonfield comes alive in this movie as well; its leaf-lined streets and party-minded high schoolers feel real, genuine, not at all ‘Hollywood’ choices in casting or performance. And when the murders begin - for the most part bloodlessly and with more suspense than gore - they shock and sicken because of the normality of the community we’ve come to know. In a strange way, Haddonfield invites us by its very warmth and reality to come home with Michael and watch this nightmarish reign of terror descend on that familiar middle American town again and again.

Then too, there is no denying the incredible power behind John Carpenter’s unmatched musical score. Most fans know the story about the advance screenings that omitted the music and fell flat with audiences before the score was completed, turning a run-of-the-mill indie suspense film into a box office juggernaut as unstoppable as Michael Myers himself. The HALLOWEEN title theme and related themes are burned into the brains of generations of horror fans, and are as elemental in their effect on our psyche as Bernard Herrmann’s legendary PSYCHO shower scene score.

HALLOWEEN is justly considered a modern classic, and Michael Myers quickly took his place in the pantheon of undying slasher stars, but we all know that his subsequent appearances never lived up to the power and promise of this first great film. As soon as the story moved forward, we demanded to know why he killed and what he truly was. And just like comedy, true horror can never be explained. Its power is in a direct, visceral attack on our senses, and in this way the Shape calmly stepped forward and advanced on us with unwavering determination. Michael Myers is the embodiment of pure evil, and evil knows no reason…nor does it need one.

DVD Extras: Thank Anchor Bay for releasing about five million editions of this film, each one with different extras and packaging until no one can figure out which one to buy. I bought the anniversary edition with the lenticular “flicker” cover, but there are countless others, many with documentaries, commentary, trailers, radio spots, etc. Do some comparison shopping and find what works for you - but be warned that another edition is doubtless on the drawing boards even as we speak. Gosh, thanks, Anchor Bay. Hard to believe they have time to even think about HALLOWEEN when they’re so busy re-releasing the EVIL DEAD films every other month. Sigh. Oh, and make sure you get a version that includes all the extra footage shot for television airings of HALLOWEEN during the production of HALLOWEEN II. While they slow down the pace a bit, they add a few very exciting bits for Loomis and Myers continuity fans - just fast-forward through the useless “P.J. Soles borrows clothes from Laurie” scene.

ATB