Posted on: October 30th, 2009 TEN of TERROR #10: Halloween
No other horror film resonates with the season quite like John Carpenter’s take on the boogeyman archetype. In 91 minutes, Carpenter managed to terrify a generation and create one of the most iconic fictional forms of evil still recognized by popular culture today. That film is our final entry into the TEN of TERROR for this year… Halloween.
The most terrifying thing about Halloween, which often gets over-looked and misconstrued as a paranormal element, is the film’s complete plausibility. Halloween, the origin of the “slasher” genre, does feature a rather unyielding force of a villain, but is too often and unreasonably grouped in with abstract entities like Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees or Pinhead (I never quite understood how Pinhead fits in with these slasher characters). Michael Meyers, the shape, the mask-clad, knife-brandishing killer, embodies the qualities of these abnormal freaks, but the real terror is that he is completely and entirely human. He is the personification of what Dr. Loomis would call “pure evil”, but Meyers puts his pants on one leg at a time. The validity of this becomes weaker the further into the franchise you get, but for all intents and purposes, the first film is incredibly disturbing due to the “real” factor.
What’s even more disturbing, is that although Meyers is a mere mortal, albeit a seemingly unstoppable one, there is no rhyme or reason to his motive for killing. No one knew why Michael killed his family when he was six years old. They couldn’t explain why he came back to Haddonfield fifteen years later to finish what he started. There’s no reasoning with Michael Meyers. There’s no mercy or communicating with him. Like the shark from Jaws, Meyers is a man with a sole purpose, but we know not the release Meyers gets from murder. Is it rage or sadness? Catharsis? My major criticism of Rob Zombies remake was the fact that the mystery was removed and we were meant to feel sympathy for Michael. Carpenter nailed it on the head with Halloween; there is no answer to these questions, it is completely out of anyone’s control. The term “boogeyman” is mentioned in the film by the Tommy character, and there isn’t a more fitting term for Meyers; the inability to rationalize with an entity of pure malevolence leaves one completely and utterly helpless. There’s nothing more terrifying than that, which is why the plight of Michael’s long-lost sister Laurie is so endearing to horror fans.
Michael Meyers isn’t the only amazing part of this Halloween. John Carpenter turned a relatively low-budgeted shoot into a monumentally imitated example of film-making. Halloween shaped the future of the genre and made a defining impact that very few films have ever done. His and Debra Hill’s writing is both inspired and original; the film’s dialogue suffers not from the pitfalls of 70’s genre films, and the pacing keeps you on the edge of your seat. Carpenter understands how to tease the hairs on the back of our neck. Again with the comparison to Jaws, we are shown glimpses of Michael early on in the film, be it his shoulder or shoes, but the big reveals come later in the film, after we’ve been wound up into a frenzy. The first time we see the mask is through a fogged up car windshield when Meyers strangles a poor broad from the backseat; if you don’t find that chilling, even this day in age, then you can’t appreciate true horror. Getting back to the Carpenter factor – the man’s career is legendary, as is his style and trademark. Halloween, however, was his second major studio film (preceded by Assault on Precinct 13) and therefore has a much more subtle touch from the writer/director. Not to detract from Carpenter’s future works (he is, after all, my favorite director), but Halloween comes off as the man’s most serious, concentrated work next to The Thing.
The film features some fairly good performances, especially from Donald Pleasance as Dr. Samuel Loomis, the child-psychiatrist on the trail of the renegade Meyers who was previously under his supervision. Every moment of screen-time featuring Pleasance is a cinematic treat; he is entirely believable and equally entertaining. His conviction to the role and certainty that behind Michael’s eyes exists pure evil, makes for an indelible character in film history. Pleasance had a phenomenal career including some highly memorable roles, including Blofeld in the James Bond series, but none will be as ingrained in our minds like Dr. Loomis. He makes this flick just as much as Michael does. The film is also responsible for introducing us to Jamie Lee Curtis, as the level-headed and virtuous Laurie Strode. For a while there Curtis was dubbed the “Scream Queen”, and although her sobs are a bit green in Halloween, the title is just; Jamie Lee did a fantastic job in the flick and is a testament to Carpenter and Hill’s impeccable eye for casting. Dare I also point out that Jamie Lee is kinda cute in the film. Now, before you start calling me a hermaphrodite lover, seriously stop and take a look, she’s got a fantastic bone-structure, and when she got a bit older in the mid-eighties she was a knockout. Anyways, back to the movie…
You can’t leave a review of Halloween without acknowledging the second monster of the film… the score. Oh, and look at who’s credited for that… John Carpenter. Aside from, oh, maybe Jaws, Halloween features on of the most distinguishable theme songs ever written. The piano keys used in the film act as an aural heartbeat, pounding and thumping, driving us further and further into the atmosphere and darkness. It’s entirely simple and primitive, at times we forget it’s even there, but without it Halloween would be a very different film.
The Halloween franchise is an odd one in that for the most part, the films have been mediocre at best and downright atrocious at their worst. The name and mythos of the series still remains strong and qualitative though thanks to the first, important film.
Trivia
- Being on such a tight budget, the Michael Meyers mask was purchased at a cheap costume shop; the mask is a Star Trek William Shatner mask painted white with the eye holes expanded. The mask cost $1.98.
- At the time of release it was the highest grossing independent film ever made. The film’s budget was $325,000 and went on to gross $47 million.
- Tommy and his friend watch The Thing From Another World on the television; Carpenter would go on to remake that film four years later.
- Tommy Doyle was named after a character in Rear Window, while Sam Loomis was named after a character in Psycho.
- Michael Meyers was named after the distributor of Carpenter’s previous film, Assault On Precinct 13.
- All of the actors in the film wore their own clothes.
- Both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were approached for the role of Dr. Loomis.
- John Carpenter provided the telephone voice for Annie’s boyfriend.
- All of Donald Pleasance’s scenes were shot in 5 days; he was paid $20,000.
- The only female lead that was actually a teenager during shooting was Jamie Lee Curtis; the rest were in their 20’s yet still playing high school students.
- The extended television cut of the film reveals that Michael Meyers’ middle name is Audrey.
With that we conclude our main TEN of TERROR feature for this year. On behalf of GKS, I really appreciate all of your comments and we’ll see you next year for ten more. Have a safe and ghoul-filled Halloween!