Day 31: Halloween (1978)
“I met him, fifteen years ago. I was metformin hcl 1 000 mg told there was nothing left. No reason, no conscience, no understanding; even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes… the *devil’s* eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy’s eyes was purely and simply… *evil*.”
Honestly, is there any way that you could properly end a Halloween marathon other than with Halloween? I mentioned it before that I side effects of metformin hcl 500mg was really pushing for The Exorcist to close us out, because I consider it one of the best (if not the best), but it just didn’t feel right. To keep Halloween from Halloween is criminal, so here we are with the final entry of 31 Days (until the sequel, naturally).
I may have been pimping Wes Craven like no one’s business, but don’t you dare say that I forgot about horror guru John Carpenter. When Carpenter steps behind a camera, memorable films are made. Just look at Escape from New York, Starman, Big Trouble in Little China, and the original Assault on Precinct 13. But when it comes to horror, few others have an ouerve like Carpenter. The Fog (1980), They Live, Vampires, Christine, Prince of Darkness, In the Mouth of Madness, Village of the Damned (1995), The Thing (1982), and, of course, Halloween (1978). When people make mention of legendary slasher films, you usually hear three movies paired together like they were the holy trinity of filmmaking: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Halloween. These movies have become so ingrained in culture that they are synonymous with the idea of horror.
In 1963, on Halloween night, 6-year-old Michael Myers murdered his older sister. A decade and a half later, Myers escapes the mental institution in which he’s been sentenced, and goes on a slaughtering rampage, while his psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence), pursues. In the vein of Scream and The Strangers, the first Halloween is simply about a psychotic person, true evil you could argue, and not a monster, ghost, or demon. It’s frightening, because it could happen anywhere to anyone. Movies like this are why we’re afraid to be alone in an empty house, the reason why we check the backseats of our cars, and why you don’t let your kids talk to strangers. This is a movie about real people and a serial killer with a white mask. There’s no magic or trick, this is simply true terror.
Of course, without a perfect leading lady to guide the film, it wouldn’t be as affective. We feel the scares in any movie, because of the reaction of the actors on screen. If they can’t sell the story, then the movie will fail, or worse, become laughable. Luckily, Carpenter cast the Scream Queen herself, Jamie Lee Curtis, in her theatrical debut. After the success of Halloween, Curtis was the go-to-gal for all things horror in Hollywood, but before she became a legend, she played high school student Laurie Strode, the would-be victim and long-time nemesis of Michael Myers. Curtis is a phenomenally gifted actress who has proven herself over the years, and with Halloween she embodied innocence, purity, and naivete as she is victimized by Myers. Ultimately sympathetic, Laurie Strode represents the everyday teenage girl who is trapped in a horrifying situation, and when she overcomes her adversary against all odds, we cheer and celebrate with her, because part of us survived the journey with her. Halloween is a classic that shouldn’t be missed, and if Rob Zombie’s remake is your only reference to Michael Myers, then you need to netflix Carpenter’s film immediately.
I want to thank everyone for following us through the last 31 days of horror movies. It’s been an incredibly fun experience for us to revisit our favorite scary movies, and we hope that we’ve introduced you to a few must-sees that you’ve missed, or have rekindled your affection for these films and the genre. Keep checking out take148.com for more movie news, reviews, and original features, and if you love marathons like 31 Days, then you’ll want to stay tuned, because we’re already planning for the holidays.
Thanks for playing along with us. Happy Halloween!
