SPLATTERdrome

Release Date: October 25th, 1978

Director: John Carpenter

Screenwriter: John Carpenter & Debra Hill

Genre: Horror

 

 

After decades of critical accolades, a multitude of sequels, and a larger-than-life reputation it's easy to forget that this first film was made for the price of a ham sandwich. John Carpenter’s Halloween settled a black cloud of claustrophobia and death over Anytown, America and did so with a negligible budget, unknown cast, and virtually no gore effects. Despite being panned upon its initial release this film became a multifaceted success, serving as a master class for young filmmakers and, perhaps more impressively, continuing to excite generations of new audiences long after a film of this kind should have become irrelevant.

 

Halloween’s chilling effectiveness can be attributed to a handful of simple and well executed filmmaking elements which became staples of Carpenter’s future work, beginning with the music. The credit sequence opens in darkness and introduces us to the now instantly recognizable three-note piano theme, immediately creating the subtle dread which comes to characterizes the film. We slowly approach a glowing jack-o’-lantern as the credits continue, establishing Carpenter’s creeping, deliberate technique and cinematographer Dean Cundey's brilliant lighting. This signature marriage of camera movement, music, and photographic direction works just as well for this no-frills opening as it does throughout the most suspenseful moments of the picture, quietly and masterfully illuminating dark corners of the frame in a slow reveal that keeps your nerves on edge. Carpenter’s shadowy, Panaglide-driven aesthetic is a large part of what makes the film timeless and why it continues to captivate viewers who would otherwise have no interest in horror films.

 

Carpenter and producer Debra Hill’s screenplay is probably the most frequently overlooked element of Halloween’s lasting success. It provides excellent balance and pacing, particularly early in the film when the audience is continually shuffled between various years and locations while the principle characters are introduced. We begin with the infamous POV opening where a young Michael Myers murders his sister on Halloween night after suffering an unexplained psychotic breakdown. From there we jump ahead several years and are introduced to Donald Pleasance's Dr. Sam Loomis, a character who would become a fan favorite and franchise staple. After a quick carjacking scene we’re bumped forward a few more days to the quiet Illinois town of Haddonfield where we meet our chaste heroine Laurie Strode and her two useless friends. All of these scenes occur within the first 20 minutes of the film and the pacing feels about as natural as you could hope for. It's terrific storytelling.

 

Carpenter delicately escalates the tension scene after scene by balancing Dr. Loomis’ detective work with a seemingly innocuous night of babysitting for Laurie and her girlfriends. Loomis’ perpetual dread and the quiet movements of our pale-faced antagonist make it clear that territory is being staked out on these quiet streets without anyone being the wiser. It’s so frightening to watch Michael, who we know to be a psychopath, continually demonstrating an enormous amount of patience, his dark form lurking in plain sight as he studies the habits of his prey. Michael Myers possesses a maturity that not many of his horror counterparts share and displays a set of deeply intelligent predatory instincts. We never see him behaving impulsively; Michael doesn't run, panic, or posture, he moves inconspicuously, waiting for you to drop your guard. What a marvelous way to frighten an audience without assaulting them with cheap scares.

 

I want to devote some time to discussing Michael’s mask because it’s a big part of what makes the scares in this film work. Certainly part of the effectiveness of that blank white face is due to Cundey’s cinematography but also the outstanding editing which never shows Michael on screen too often or for too long. Cundey never fully reveals the mask to the audience, it’s either skillfully hidden in shadow or briefly revealed as contrast to dark surroundings. When Laurie is making her grim discoveries near the end of the film she leans against an open doorway in shock just as Cundey brilliantly fades Michael’s mask into what we thought was an empty darkness behind her. It’s one of the best scares in the film. Nick Castle, who did the majority of body work for “The Shape”, brings a vocabulary of elemental, child-like gestures to his performance which perfectly match the forbidding simplicity of that expressionless facade.

 

Halloween features many gripping and unforgettable moments and the greatest of these just might be the ending. Once Dr. Loomis understands that Michael has somehow survived several gunshot wounds and fled the scene Carpenter’s camera cuts to previous filming locations where Michael has performed mischief throughout the picture. The piano theme returns, this time accompanied by the sound of Michael’s deep, muffled breathing growing in intensity. It’s a powerful moment where you realize that you are now the one wearing the mask, you can almost feel your own hot breath blowing back at you and the bitter scent of cheap rubber. In this way Carpenter tells us that Halloween is not about the menace of a single person on a single night; Michael Myers is merely a vessel, a physical representation of dark, repressed impulses. We understand at the last that Michael is the spirit of violence made flesh and the shadow of his malice will be cast eternally on every place his feet have tread. He is everywhere and nowhere, outside of our comprehension and yet residing within all of us.