Scary Piano :F

Eeep!  This was by far one of the Scariest movie I have ever see!  It may seem cliche to say that, and you might find it odd that a film this old can still be as scary as modern horror stuff, but my Goodness this thing is creepy!  You’re reading my review of Halloween.

Basically this film does in miniature well what every modern horror film tries to do extravagantly. Every element pulls together to make this honestly terrifying – the cinematography, music, acting – all just awesome!  Truly phenomenal filmmaking that I was so excited to see.  I was riveted to my screen the whole time.

First and foremost, they need to STAB that steady-cam guy because he is bleeping creepy!!! The entire first scene was amazing!  The long-shot stalker cam set the mood, pace, tone, etc in the best way I have ever seen.  I loved how they created the POV style (and how much the breathing played in!) and really showcased that new technology.  What really made this scene, and the whole movie really, was how LONG it took! We honestly watch this scene play out for about 5 minutes!  And then they reveal that it is a KID!!!  WHAT!?!?!?

Again what really made this film was the time which they took with it.  Every shot involves long, backtracking walks that make every corner, ledge, etc a potential spot for Myers to pop out and stab them.  Also the fact that [SPOILER] it takes nearly three quarters of the film to get to the actual attacks, and even then they are so spread out that it makes you jump at every turn of the corner.

Very much like The Shining, it has a very slow ramp to the exciting bits so the tension and anxiety are profoundly expanded, enhancing this film tenfold.  The creepiness comes from the visible unknown. We see Myers stalking the girls for an hour before he does anything which makes for a nigh 0n Jaws like tension – we know he will strike, we just don’t know WHEN he will.  And that is what made this movie so actually scary to me.  I wasn’t waiting around for the monster to come out of the shadows and reveal how terribly CG it is or how poorly created it is.  I saw Mike Myers the whole time and was screaming at Jamie Lee Curtis the whole time to GET OUT OF THERE!!!

That does bring up my one negative about the film:  Jamie Lee Curtis never looked like a teenager. For over half of the film, I thought she was a mother who was going for her high school degree.  She honestly just doesn’t look young at all and that bothered me because it became hard to relate to her.  I was trying to see a scared girl my age and all that I could see was Freaky Friday.  However, she did do a great job with the role, so I can’t fault her on that. Just wish they found someone physically capable of looking not like a soccer mom 🙂

Eeep!!!

Finally (and most famously), the music turned out to be one of the most haunting parts of the film.  I had grown up hearing the main theme and I always thought it sounded a bit….”hokey”. It never had any sort of scary-ness to it, so going in I thought it might lessen the effect. However, as previously said, it did nothing to weaken the film and I think I know why.  The theme is rather silly if played out of context and if started harshly, straight into it. If you let it build though, starting early and never letting up, it becomes a constant presence. Think of it like static electricity – if it jolts it shocks but then quickly becomes comical;  if it builds up for a while, it raises the hair on the back of your neck.  Truly great work, Mr. Carpenter.

Overall, if you haven’t seen this film yet and you are interested in a truly good scare, PLEASE go see the classic Halloween.  It tops my list of horror films right now and I highly recommend it.  One of the best thus far on the Summer Film Challenge 2011 (which I am horribly behind on right now).

Rating:  10/10

I would like to say that I want to see the remake of it from 2007 just to compare styles.
There you go!  Thanks for sticking around and I would love to hear your thoughts on my review here! Just leave a comment down below!

Coming Attractions include my review of Assassin’s Creed II and, if my soul feels up to it, I have another Film Challenge review to do on that…………film…..Being John Malkovich……yeah.  That one is one you aren’t going to want to miss.

Thanks again for hanging around and if you haven’t already, head over to the Art of the Trailer and check out the new Muppets trailer there!

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