Review Number 3

Halloween (1978)

 Oh yes, a very good film. I found it absolutely gripping from start to finish. The story is about a young boy who kills his sister and then gets put in a mental asylum. But 15 years later, he returns, stalking a teenage girl who doesn’t believe in superstition. The stalking then turns into killing, which is done well, not dwelling on the dying process for too long and its fairly simplistic so the use of prosthetics and special effects isn’t needed. The overall effect is rather good.  

   It is definitely a suspense horror, the theme music just adds to it. It made me think that anything could happen at any time, you could never tell what was going to happen next. The build ups weren’t false though, and never lead to nothing. The music played every time just before Michael appeared, but it wasn’t predictable, you couldn’t tell when or where he was going to turn up.

    I also thought the fact that it was set at Halloween made it even better because it makes you think, people must cry wolf all the time so people, especially on Halloween, probably won’t believe you if you start banging on their door screaming, “Help me! Please!”

   But back to the film, the acting was good, it was believable and certainly over dramatic. The deaths were very convincing and you could see the relationship between each of the characters. The actors and actresses they chose for the characters fitted perfectly. A very good casting.

   The way in which each character is killed differs. There isn’t a set way Michael chooses to murder, but he does favour a large knife. This makes sense because that is weapon he used to kill his sister. However, as he just wants people dead, he isn’t particularly choosy about how it does it. I like that because it keeps the film fresh and makes it a lot more intense.

   The pace of the film was good, I didn’t bored or fed up, urging for something to happen because I always felt that something was just around the corner.

   The only downfall in my opinion is that it would have been nice to have a few more deaths, mainly because they were all in the second half of the film. It also took awhile for Annie to die.

   I liked the little touch towards the end where Annie was laid on the bed with Judith’s headstone above her. It brought the film together and gave the murders a personal touch.

   I had heard good things about this film and that is why I decided to watch it. My expectations were lived up to and it is definitely a film I would recommend to others. As well as most likely watch again myself, on Halloween if I’m brave enough.  I can safely say Michael was very creepy and sent shivers down my spine. This film completely deserves its 4 shiny gold stars! 

Other People's Thoughts and Feelings about 'Halloween'

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