Halloween

The moment you hear that iconic melody, you know peace is out the window. This is the pinnacle of 70s horror. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a katana. John Carpenter had an uncanny knack for orchestrating cinematic murders — taking just long enough to make you want to tear your hair out in suspense. (26/07/2022)

Le tout premier scénario historique d'une tuerie classique, élevé au rang d'art cinématographique grâce à ses performances d'acteurs, sa forme et sa musique. Le meilleur film de son genre. Effrayant, sombre, mystérieux, pessimiste. (25/10/2003)

Pure Evil. Fear itself. Michael Myers. One of the most important films in the genre and it’s still effective today, something that can’t be said about many of its sequels. Personally, I would like more murders, but it’d make no sense to reduce the rating because of that. Horror movie of the year. (15/08/2007)

At the beginning, Carpenter dives headlong into it, without much hesitation, immersing himself in a suspenseful theater with murderous interludes. However, as he initially steps on the gas in all directions, unfortunately, halfway through, he takes his foot off the pedal, and with a slowed pace comes an undeniable feeling that what was originally supposed to be suspenseful (and it really could have been) starts becoming boring. While the absence of a plot may be forgivable, especially in the case of masterful formal execution, Carpenter failed to handle it here. If only the scenes had a slightly better flow, giving it a perfect review wouldn't be a problem. In this way, Carpenter's attempt at a perfect slasher film with one of the most mysterious and psychopathic killers in cinema remains slightly unfinished. However, considering the relative perversity of the audience and the acting skills of some of the performers, it is possible to become a fan of the film. (26/12/2005)

Great horror movie. It's not as scary as it once was, but it still leaves most of its followers biting the dust thanks to its atmosphere. They say that you are most afraid of what you can't see, but when you see a killer whose emotions are unrecognizable due to his masked face, it may have an even greater effect. And you'll be whistling the musical theme long after you've finished the film... (23/08/2002)

A cult horror film that, despite decent direction by John Carpenter, never managed to entice me simply because I completely miss the point of these kinds of slasher films thematically. Few subgenres are filled with as many clichés and foolishness as this one. Only Scream and Scream 2 caught my attention in this field because of the ironic perspectives. On the other hand, if there has to be a slasher film, it should be in Carpenter's style. His followers often simply plagiarized him. Overall impression: 45%. (21/01/2009)

A few years later, I have to add that fifth star, because Halloween is a unique film. The unsettling atmosphere escalates to a heart attack ending, John Carpenter does not take it easy on the characters or the viewer, uses edgy long shots from Myers's point of view and shows him as sheer evil, which you have no problem believing. That there is strength in simplicity is 100% true here. And Jamie Lee Curtis is amazing. (22/11/2020)

The cornerstone of the slasher genre and its best representative to this day. At times I had trouble with the plodding pace, but otherwise this is a masterpiece; Carpenter revels in point-of-view shots, unpredictably placing the masked gorilla in a carefully staged and photographed environment, and impressively delaying the climax in favour of a moment of surprise and a crescendo at the end. And there is no need to add anything about the music, no one will ever compose a better horror main theme. (02/08/2018)

Halloween is undoubtedly a classic of its genre, it made Jamie Lee Curtis one of the most famous scream queens of all time, and even after forty long years since its premiere it still manages to evoke suspense and terror, even though the ravages of time have taken their toll. In addition to that, it features one of the most iconic horror soundtracks that manages to strain despite its simple theme and creates a truly uncomfortable atmosphere. A must-see film for fans of the genre, but even a mostly horror-uninitiated viewer like myself will find something to enjoy. (02/12/2018)

It's admirable the simple means John Carpenter employs to create a convincingly eerie and suspenseful atmosphere. The first pillar is his own soundtrack and the second is the seemingly unremarkable shots of empty sidewalks with falling leaves. In Carpenter's hands, however, this is an immensely impressive spectacle that is pure mastery from a creative standpoint. One of John Carpenter's most accomplished (and commercially successful) films ever, it floats right in the middle of the A- and B-grade waters. This is perhaps its greatest strength, since it can seem too simple and cheap at first glance, while the opposite is the case. (12/07/2020)

John Carpenter's most important and successful film, which strongly influenced the 80s wave of slasher movies with masked killers. But while subsequent slashers focused primarily on gory effects, Halloween dispenses with almost all the gore and instead revels in the moments that precede the killing. Carpenter deliberately delays the attacks of psychopath Michael Myers as much as possible. He has the characters take long walks through various locations and keeps the audience guessing as to when and where the expected attack will occur. In doing so, he makes brilliant use of his typical wide-angle compositions, which force the audience to keep a close eye on the spaces around the characters, noting every place where Myers might be hiding (whether behind a bush or a fence in broad daylight, or in dark corners at night). As the film progresses, the scenes take place in smaller and smaller spaces, where the possibilities of escape from Myers diminish. Halloween also makes memorable use of long, voyeuristic steadicam shots. Most notably in the famous opening scene, shot from Myers' point of view, which has gone down in horror film history and has been imitated many times. Myers is completely devoid of personality and character, unlike the subsequent installments which robbed him of mystery by needlessly revealing his motivations. Here he is purely the embodiment of inexplicable evil. There are no close-ups of his reactions, and most often we see him only in outline, blending in with his surroundings (either from behind in a blurred foreground at the edge of the picture, or in the distance in the background). As a result, we cannot empathise with him for a moment. This is also what makes Halloween different from most slasher films that followed, whose central killers gradually became the main stars that audiences cheered for more than their victims. (27/05/2013)

This is simply a classic. Halloween must be known to almost everyone thanks to Jamie and her beginning in her acting career. It's all a bit too monotonous, but Mike is Mike. (27/10/2012)