Written by John Carpenter And Debra Hill
Directed by John Carpenter
Sam Loomis (re Michael Myers): "I met this six year old child with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes; the devil's eyes. I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply…evil."
There are no words to describe how much I love this movie. Heck, I'd even go as far as to say that I've enjoyed some of the sequels, even if the majority either a) fail to live up to the original or b) have a tendency of contradicting their own basic continuity but either way, this is a movie I hold in a very hight esteem.
It's now thirty five years since this movie came out and seven sequels and two remakes of the first two movies later, it's still an all time classic with Michael Myers, aka the Shape (Nick Castle) being the most frightening of movie killers ever to hit the silver screen as well.
So, what was it that made Michael so scary for me? I think the opening sequence of him as a six year old boy in a clown costume stabbing his sister to death certainly did it but it was more than that really. The fact that nothing seems to slow him down for any length of time is a major factor in how frightening he can be. The fact that he killed several teenagers in this movie was another thing (and animals aren't safe from him either) but I think it's the quote from his shrink Dr Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) that really summed it up for me.
Michael literally is an emotionless character, maybe possessed by the devil (which would certainly explain the fact his can't be killed) but predominantly just simply evil. He seems to have no motive at all for killing, certainly doesn't say anything aside from the odd grunt and his pursuit of babysitter Laurie Strode (played excellently by Jamie Lee Curtis) throughout this movie and at least three of the sequels is probably the closest to a driving force Michael seems to have, even if the connection they share is made patently obvious on several rewatches of this particular movie, let alone the follow ups with the two of them.
Personally, he's a character that for over three decades and ever since I saw this movie as a child that has continued to fascinate and scare me a little bit. While the likes of Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees have their moments and Ghostface has an air of sophistication about them, it's Michael Myers that truly continues to terrify the living daylights out of me.
Every year I remain a little disappointed that this movie doesn't seem to air during the Halloween period, but I make up for it by actually watching it on the very day itself. Once again this year, I intend to do the same again. There's a reason this movie is a classic as well as a reminder of just how modern day horror movies pale in comparison. If you've never watched this movie before, certainly do yourself a favour and check it out on one particular night. You might not thank me for it if you're unable to sleep that night but you'll be grateful for checking out a horror movie that really does deliver on the scare factor.
Rating: 10 out of 10
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