Plot: What’s it about?
Fifteen years ago, a young Michael Myers murdered his older sister on Halloween night, and has been locked up in a mental institution ever since. The tale of the young Myers is well known, but has pretty much become part of the legend of the town, as if it never really happened. After spending all those years inside the mental institution, Myers makes his escape, and he has plans to return home, to Haddonfield, Illinois, the small town where he first killed. Meanwhile in Haddonfield, a group of friends is making their plans for Halloween night, among them is Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), a girl more innocent than her advanced friends. When Myers arrives in town, he follows Laurie around, and Laurie seems to catch a glimpse of him, but never really sees him for long. Myers slowly starts to slash Laurie’s friends into a bloody mess, seemingly working his way toward her. As more and more bodies turn up, and Laurie fights to escape from Myers’ grasp, we slowly discover what the connection between the two is, and why’s he come home after fifteen years.
These days, you can’t turn around without seeing some slasher flick, with a crazed killer preying on teens while they’re trying to get their grooves on, but it wasn’t always this way. Before Freddy was invading dreams, before Jason was hacking up campers, and long before those idiots on Scream decided to don that ridiculous costume, there was Michael Myers. For my money, it doesn’t get any scarier than this guy, simply because he doesn’t seem to be supernatural in appearance, but you can tell something isn’t right about the guy. Throw him off the roof? He can handle that. Stab him in the eye with a coat hangar? No problem, he’ll come back. He doesn’t have a scarred face or other marks, but something just seems downright evil about him, aside from the fact he kills people and seems to be invulnerable. As you can tell, this film has had a deep and lasting influence on the horror genre, and I feel it is a must have for fans of the genre. With a release like this, there’s no reason this two disc edition isn’t in every horror fan’s library, and even those who just want a good thriller should pick this one up.
This film was directed and cowritten by one of the finest American horror directors of all time, John Carpenter. This was only Carpenter’s fourth entry in the motion picture game, and despite budget constraints and other problems, he managed to create one of the most influential horror films of all time. Carpenter uses visuals, atmosphere, and even music to perfection with this film, and it’s easy to see how he achieved so much success in the business. If you like this movie, you’ll certainly want to look up other Carpenter films, especially They Live, Escape From New York, Big Trouble In Little China, In The Mouth Of Madness, The Thing, and The Fog. While this was her first role in a motion picture, Jamie Lee Curtis turned in a tremendous performance, laced with very realistic fear, which was crucial to the film. Curtis (True Lies, Trading Places) gives one of her finest here, in my opinion, and she carries the film, along with good old Mike of course. While he had no spoken lines in the film, Nick Castle played a very important role, that of “The Shape,” or Michael Myers as the stalked Laurie and her friends. His slow, never fast walk and his overall demeanor had an impact on the film, and helped make it so powerful. The supporting cast includes Donald Pleasance (Django Strikes Again, Fatal Frames), P.J. Soles (Jawbreaker, Carrie), Brian Andrews (The Great Santini, Three O’Clock High), and Charles Cyphers (The Onion Field, Death Wish II).
Video: How does it look?
Halloween is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a brand new visual treatment and while it is superior to Anchor Bay’s previous transfer in some ways, the differences are sure to divide the film’s fans. The prior transfer was supervised by director of photography Dean Cundey, who made some changes to the color scheme, in order to more closely represent his own visual inclinations. That meant the visuals were altered from the original theatrical presentation, but the results were splendid. This new treatment restores the theatrical color scheme, which is a move destined to cause some division with Halloween’s fanbase. As nice as the new color patterns looked, I have to be a purist and side with the original theatrical visual touches. There is a little more grain this time around, but the compression problems have been cleared up. In the end, I think fans will want this version, if just to have the film as first shown in theaters.
Audio: How does it sound?
The same Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack returns here, but that’s good news, as it is a solid presentation. Of course, this track doesn’t sound as full or polished as a pure 5.1 track, but it sure sounds much better than previous offerings. The surrounds are used mostly for the eerie music, but plenty of subtle effect occur as well, this track sets a perfect atmosphere for the film. And atmosphere is vital in Halloween, as we all well know. Dialogue is crisp and clear as well, no volume or separation issues at all. I do wish a DTS soundtrack were created for this release, but you can’t win them all, I suppose.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A new batch of supplements is found here, including the much sought after audio commentary track with director John Carpenter, producer Debra Hill, and star Jamie Lee Curtis. This track was first found on Criterion’s laserdisc and fans should be thrilled to have it here, as it is a terrific session. A ton of insight is shared in this track, thanks to talkative participants and some excellent editing techniques. The other substantial extra is Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest, an eight-seven minute retrospective documentary. I love extensive pieces like this, but I have to say, this one has way too many clips from the movie itself. The interviews are worthwhile however, as is the cool behind the scenes material, including video footage and still photos. This release also includes a brief On Location featurette, television spots, some radio promotional spots, a selection of poster artwork & still photos, talent files, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
