HALLOWEEN (Carpenter, 1978)

Perhaps the ultimate October Movie, John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN is stylish and cool and scary all at the same time. There has been a body of literature written about the film over the years, ranging from its influence on the slasher sub-genre to its treatment of female sexuality to its impact on the independent film in Hollywood. I'm not going to pretend that I can bring something new to the table. I'd much rather shed new light on something like MANIAC than try to present an original thought on something like HALLOWEEN.

Two things, though:

01. I'm really excited about Rob Zombie's remake, though I'm sure I didn't come across as too glowing in my review of THE DEVIL'S REJECTS. I think that REJECTS proved Zombie can make a good film, and I went as Captain Spaulding to a couple of Halloween parties this past weekend (visual proof!), and I think he can bring something really fresh to the basic concept of the story.

02. One thing I only caught onto recently, despite having seen this film probably twenty times, at least, is the way that Carpenter portrays suburban life. I think my absolute favorite moment is Laurie running to her neighbor's front door and banging on it, pleading for help. The porch light switches on, someone is home and hears her, but then it flips off, and the door never opens. Carpenter is saying something with images here, much like the way the tree-lined streets cast ominous shadows, or how a jack o' lantern sitting on a porch seems creepy. HALLOWEEN is Americana turned blackly sinister, layers of the suburbs peeled back to reveal something creepy and crawly sliding around underneath. Teenagers fuck while their parents are out of the house and murders happen in living rooms and garages. These symbols of prosperity and safety turn out to be the things that trap us, in the end. We'll discuss this more in our next entry...