DVD Challenge #26: HALLOWEEN

Halloween
1978
R
Run-time: 1 hour, 31 minutes

Directed by: John Carpenter
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasance, Nancy Kyes



I don't remember the first time I ever saw Halloween, but I do remember the fright that the image of Michael Myers has always brought me. Those of you who've been reading me recently will know that I consider Myers to be one of the scarier horror villains to grace the silver screen, and that the film itself is near the top of the list of films that have traumatized me during my lifetime. So, it was quite the decision to try to take the film in again, considering how much it has scared me in the past. And so, to celebrate Halloween, I re-watched the iconic movie whose namesake stemmed from the scariest holiday of the year.

The film is actually pretty simple when you think about it. It starts with a young Michael Myers viciously murdering his older sister then fast-forwards fifteen years to then-present day 1978. Myers finds a way to break out of his mental institution and make his way back to his hometown, where he starts to stalk babysitters on a fateful Halloween night. That's the exact premise that John Carpenter and fellow screenwriter Debra Hill started with, and they ran with it from there. I watched one of the interviews on my copy of the film, and Hill talked about how they listed out a number of potential scares for the movie then worked the screenplay around each of the scares. It's not as though the storyline is going to blow you away, but the thrills and chills should do the trick.

Most of the fear in the film comes from the suspense that the atmosphere creates, but a big chunk of that fear also comes from our villain himself. Referred to on-set as the Shape, most people know him as Michael Myers, a man who is purely evil and wears a modified William Shatner mask to keep his face hidden for most of the film. There's something inherently creepy about the mask itself, but the reason that Michael scares me so much is the fact that he's completely silent for the film's entirety. Never once does he speak (even in the prologue where we see him as a child), and the most we ever hear in terms of a sound from him is his breathing behind the mask. The white, expressionless mask, combined with his complete silence, makes Michael Myers one of the scarier villains I've seen grace the silver screen. I've had many a night where I thought I saw him standing outside my own window. He's that ingrained into my subconscious.

The rest of the cast does it's job relatively well, but it's not like we're getting A-grade acting here. The film was shot on a budget of $300,000, so there really wasn't much in terms of quality acting to be bought. However, we do get a decent (if drawn-out) performance from Pleasance, and it's a nice introduction to Curtis, who would go on to be known as the "scream queen" after this role.

While the scares aren't necessarily as terrifying as I remember them, you can't take away from the overall creepiness of the film, which is greatly accentuated by the musical score that Carpenter created. The score landed as the second best horror film score on the list I posted a few days ago, but it's simplicity is where it gets you. While not quite on the level of the Jaws score, which almost becomes a character itself, the score for Halloween is utterly fantastic.

Ultimately, Halloween isn't quite as scary as I remembered it, but it's still quite the fright-fest, and it's the golden standard when it comes to Hollywood slasher flicks. Many franchises have attempted to imitate this film, but nothing will ever quite reach the bar in the slasher genre that Halloween set. So, if you're in the mood for a scary movie tonight, give this one a shot. It's sure to give you a scare or two.

Movie Review: SUPERMAN

SUPERMAN

1978
PG


You can watch the trailer here

I realize that this is one of those movies that I probably should have seen ages ago, and in retrospect, I think I've seen bits and pieces over the years. However, I had not seen the entire film, so it was probably a good thing I put it onto my NetFlix queue. As usual, I have a few things I would like to say about the movie. The film was directed by Richard Donner.

Let's start with the story. By now (meaning 2010), everyone and their mother knows the basic story of Superman: he was born on the planet Krypton and sent to Earth by his parents as his home planet exploded. Once on Earth, he was taken in by a small-town farming couple who raised him into a young man. Upon the death of his surrogate father, he made his way north to the Arctic where he witnessed the construction of the Fortress of Solitude, where he would learn many of the secrets of his heritage. Upon reaching full adulthood, he entered the real world as Clark Kent, aspiring journalist. Taking up a job at the Daily Planet in Metropolis, Kent continued life, balancing his day job with his alter-ego, Superman.

You can fill in the pieces where need be, but that's the basic gist of it. In this particular film, Superman takes on Lex Luthor (played well by Gene Hackman, who's given much too little screentime), who's planning to sink the western coast of California. I don't have any major qualms with the screenplay, but I don't think it was spectacular by any means. The first hour of the film, which shows the demise of Krypton and Kent's beginnings on Earth, prove to be the film's most intriguing pieces. Once "Superman" actually appears, everything loses a little bit of luster. Don't get me wrong, it's still entirely entertaining, but it goes from a movie with a hefty amount of drama to a somewhat goofy action flick. This would be totally fine if things didn't seem to go perfectly for Superman. Everything seemed a little too gift-wrapped as it happened; I would've liked to see a little bit more negativity thrown his way.

The acting is fine all-around. As I previously said, Hackman did a very good job as the evil genius plotting against the world, but his screentime left something to be desired. Maybe I'm just a little used to the 21st-century influence on superhero flicks where the bad guy spends a lot of time as the center of attention. The late Christopher Reeve is good as Superman/Clark Kent, and Ned Beatty provides a couple of laughs. If anybody's gonna take the acting cake this time around, it's Marlon Brando as the ill-fated Jor-El. His small role in the beginning of the film lays the groundwork for Superman's upbringing, and his presence on the screen is unmatched by anyone else in the movie. He is the godfather, after all.

The movie does have a couple things going for it. The special effects, although cheesy by 21st-century standards, were probably state of the art back in 1978. Aside from the obvious green-screen (well, probably blue-screen back then) effects with the flying, the rest of the effects are actually pretty well-done. However, the one major selling point for Superman is definitely the musical score. John Williams, who in the three years prior to this film had scored both Jaws and the original Star Wars film, continued his role of classic scores this time around. It may not be as memorable as the other two films I just mentioned, but it fits the Superman saga perfectly.

Although I have my grievances with the screenplay, Superman still set the standard for the superhero genre. It's only been in recent years that that bar has begun to be re-set, but this one should always be able to stand the test of time.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: B+
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