It's funny, but I can honestly say when I first saw John Carpenter's Halloween, I was disappointed. Maybe it was the hype; maybe it was the setting--whatever it was, I can now say that with each subsequent viewing I continue to discover subtle nuances that really creep me out.
Everyone knows the plot; I won't rehash it here. Instead, let us examine two key elements that makes this Halloween the classic it is.
- Pure evil. There's no better explanation. There is no why or how behind Michael Meyers. He is simply evil. The idea of sheer madness is chilling enough. Michael just wants to kill, especially Laurie. Why? We don't know. That is haunting. Such randomness is inconceivable for our logic-based existence. That alone is frightening.
- Subtlety. Carpenter is masterful at every level. He replaces blood and gore with shadow and sound. He crafts each frame with purpose and detail--sometimes the viewer's in on it; sometimes not. Each moment is more menacing than the next. The film may be low budget, but the scares a highly satisfying. Much is made of the mask and the minimalist score {both decidedly perfect}, but ever notice the lighting? Or the the body language of our protagonist? The plot is deceptively simple, but intensely creepy.
John Carpenter's Halloween joins the likes of Psycho and Night of the Living Dead as some of the most influential films of the genre. Films like Halloween never get old or boring; they becomes part of our collective conscience--they live and become the rule by which cine-piles judge all others. This film lives and breaths like no other, and it is beautiful.
No comments:
Post a Comment