Matt Connarton Unleashed: Erich Pilcher reviews John Carpenter's Halloween.

Halloween Night a small American town fifteen years ago, Michael Halloween. I spent

eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him

locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely

and simply evil. I think he'll come back exploring on charted territory, totally

charted us. The only way that the baby would have Halloween. Okay,

come on out Halloween Night, he came home. Slasher films, without a

doubt, are the most popular of all horror films. The subgenre took root

with the release of Bob Cook's nineteen seventy four film Black Christmas. However,

it was in nineteen seventy eight where Novis director John Carpenter made the genre popular.

In the flames of its popularity, Dal Flicker like a freshly lit candle

in a jacket lantern on Halloween Night, Halloween introduces us to Michael Myers,

a man that ten years prior had brutally murdered his sister and boyfriend on Halloween

night. On this night, doctor Samuel Loomis, the late Donald Pleasance,

is set to retrieve Myers for a hearing that will hopefully keep him in an

insane asylum for the rest of his life. When Myers escapes and goes home

to hadd and Field, Illinois, where Lorie Strode, Scream Queen Jamie Lee

Curtis in her first starring role, and her friends are subject to brutality and

terror committed by Myers. This film is really what kicks started the slasher film

subgenre. It is also the film that made John Carpenter a horror master.

Our first two clips are going to be from Carpenter himself. First, in

a brief clip, he explains his view on horror films, and then he

talks about the premise of Halloween, including the idea behind Michael Myers, in

what they were trying to capture and his now infamous mask. You go to

a horror film or a monster movie a sign you know something's coming. I

mean, that's why you pay your ticket. The whole secret is when does

it happen? And how long can you keep the audience waiting for that event

to happen? And how long can you keep this mysterious character, Michael Myers

alive and stalking people without ever having to do anything. And the longer that

that can go on, the more anxious the audience becomes. All suspense is

is you create anxiety in the viewer and they're upset. They want the characters

to pay attention to what's going on, because they're ahead. They're always ahead

of the characters. Now, the original idea for Halloween. My job in

making Halloween was to do an exploitation horror film. Then the basic premise was

given to me by my distributor or when You Blonde. He said, let's

do a movie about these babysitters who get stocked by a killer. He figured

that everybody could identify with babysittings, so many teenagers had done it. And

then a little bit later he came up with the idea of calling it Halloween.

Let's set it out Halloween. I didn't call it Halloween. Never been

used as a title before, never been used at all. It was an

underutilized holiday. So great, and I was a young director then. I

was hungry for experience, hungry for features. I had done some work before

then I said, sure, why not. Well, when we were making

the film, I thought, Gee, it's Halloween at night and people get

dressed up in masks. What better way to have a killer not be identified,

they'd be wearing a mask, and we didn't have any money to make

a mask. So so my production designer, Tommy Lee Wallace, went up

to a magic shop right here on Hollywood Boulevard and bought a William Shatner Star

Trek mask Captain Kirk mask, spray painted it, cut the eyeholes a little

bit different, fix the hair, and there we go. As I remember

it now, maybe it was more, but I had about three or four

days to do the score to Halloween, basically record the whole thing. I

wanted something deadly simple and something that would just eat at you a little bit.

And my father bought me a pair of bongos when I was really young

for Christmas. He taught me how to play five four time on them.

Ba da da da da da Da Da Da Da Da Da da da da

da da da da da. So all I did was too good on piano

and do five to four with an octave then, and that that was where

it came from. One scene that I'm particularly fond of, where after Jamie

makes her discovery in the house, she backs into a corner and it's a

dark corner back there, and she's kind of terrified and hiding for a moment,

and then gradually you become aware that he is standing right behind her,

and he just slowly turned the light up and it just s exposed, just

exposed that mask on film, and uh, that was creepy that I that

may be my favorite scene. Was an odd experience on Halloween. It was

released across the country, uh, in October and November of seventy eight,

two not very good reviews. Somehow it caught on and began to develop a

word of mouth. And I was off directing a TV movie called Elvis.

So by the time I'd finished that, I was invited to New York to

speak at some deal and they were screening Halloween and I was standing outside waiting

to go in, and it was just the screams, over and over go

over again. It was music to my ears. What makes this film so

powerful and so scary, despite a horrible stereotype that slasher films can't be scary,

is that us, the audience or viewer, does not fully see Michael

until a quarter of the way through the film. He stealthily moves in between

the bushes and clothing, and he's never fully visualized his kills are done with

stealth, brutality, and no remorse. This mystery is set up by Loomis.

When he is described by the Doctor, we the viewer become more terrified

of him despite not fully seeing him. To me, that is a credit

to the performance of Donald Pleasance. Our next clip is an example of this.

In this scene, Loomis is describing the hadden Field's sheriff what he saw

in Michael and why he is fighting to stop him for good. Any live

here? I since nineteen sixty three when it happened every kittenhad and field thinks

his place is haunted and they made the right What is there? A dog

still warm? He got hungry? He just kept my mind. Could have

been a skunk could have him. Man wouldn't do that. This isn't another

laugh it ha. And then here she she was sitting right here. He

could have seen it through his window, standing on alone. He could have

seen himself. Hm, you must think me very sentenced to doctor, Oh,

I I do have perment. Seems to me you're just plain scared.

Yes, yeah, I I am uh I met him fifteen years ago.

I I was told there was nothing left, no reason, no conscience,

no understanding, and even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of

good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six year old child

with this blank, pale, emotionless face and the blackest eyes, the devil's

eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven

trying to keep him locked up, because I realized that what was living behind

that boy's eyes was purely and simply evil. What do we do? He's

been here once tonight, I think he'll come back. I'm gonna wait for

him. I still think I should notify the radio and television. If you

do that, they'll see him on every street corner, and they look for

him in every house. Just tell your men to keep their mouth shut and

their eyes open. I'll check back in an hour. A review of this

film, would it be complete or do this film justice? Without speaking on

Jamie Lee Curtis's performance of Laurie Strode. This performance is what the quote unquote

final girl of horror films would be known for. The sweet girl next door

that always does right and is yes, is virginal. Our last scene is

an indication of this. Laurie and her friends are walking home after school.

Two of them are talking about sex and people getting into trouble. Laurie is

more preoccupied with her chemistry book. This shows the traits that make the now

classic horror film Final Girl, and it is all thanks to Jamie Lee Curtis's

performance in this film. We have three new cheers to learn in the morning,

the game is in the afternoon. I have to get my hair done

at five and the dances at eight. I'll be totally wiped out. I

don't think you have enough to do tomorrow. Totally as usual. I have

nothing to do. It's your own fault, and I don't feel a bit

sorry for you. Hey, Linda, Laurie, why didn't you wait for

me? We did fifteen minutes. It totally never shows. That's not true.

Here I am that's wrong. I'm not smiling. I'm never smiling again.

Paul dragged me into the boy's locker room, exploring charted territory, totally

charged, just talk. Sure. Old Jerko got caught throwing eggs and soaping

windows. His parents grounded him. You can't come over. I'll call your

babysitting to me. The only reason she babysits is to have I have a

place for that. I forgot my chemistry book, So who cares? I

always forget my chemistry book and my math book, and my English book,

and my let's see my French book, and well, who needs books anyway?

I don't need books. I always forget all my books. I mean,

it doesn't really matter if you have your books or not. Hey,

isn't that Devon Graham? I don't think so. I think he's cute.

Hey, jerk speak kills God? Can you take a joke? I could

use many words to describe what this film means to not just horror films,

but films in general. This film was the precursor to some of the most

notorious film villains of all time Leatherface, Jason Vorhees, Freddy Krueger, Chucky

Penhead, Candy Man, and many many more. If not for the success

of this film, it's safe to say we would not have the others.

Its worldwide gross was over seventy million dollars. As we heard Carpenter say earlier,

this was done strictly on word of mouth. This made it one of

the most successful independent films of all time. It made Jamie Lee Curtis a

star and John Carpenter into one of the greatest independent film directors of all time,

and finally, it made Michael Myers the face or the shape of a

holiday. The film spawned ten direct sequels. In Shock Rocker Rob Zombie out

of his admiration of the films, did a remake and a sequel to his

remake as well. Despite the hit or miss and disjointed nature of the film

series, this does not take away from the greatness of this film. It

shocks, scares, and makes you cringe at its brutality. It is the

ultimate slasher film and is a mussy because everyone deserves one good scare. I

hope you joined me this Friday when we look at a high school senior living

life to its fullest on one glorious day off, we will take a look

at the John Hughes film Ferris Bueller's Day Off for WMNH and Matt Connorton Unleashed.

This has been a classic film review with Eric Filcher incalculated silence, captivated

by the violence, A replay fifteen years ago today, Oh, an evil

evolution will bring a feeble institution through its niece, O doctor, can't you

see that when the hands of fall of the Midnight Hour Highness mascots of the

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flag. Now hat it feels my battlefield, Your chance won't make it tonight

is madness photo reason I chill with every flight chips to day after day,

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shot a harness, human harness feeds this festival of flesh sucking at the top

stream on the drop silent hut up booths. Let'st good then, what I've

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the look respond multiple fingal in reported on horn Drow map, hoping begetified in

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