Halloween isnt a movie, its a machine whose purpose is to thrill audiences, and even after nearly 40 years, it still works better than any of the sequels, remakes and rip-offs it spawned. Drawing inspiration from everything from Touch Of Evil to the films of Mario Bava and Dario Argento, John Carpenters movie has no use for plotting because its all about cinematic technique, something the films imitators failed to notice. Michael Myers doesnt need to be explained, just to step out of the darkness at key moments, accompanied by Carpenters memorable score. Interestingly for a movie shot in 21 days for $325,000, no subsequent movie can hold a candle to Dean Cundeys widescreen cinematography, which is so important to the movies success. The suburbs have never looked spookier than they do here, even when the streets appear to be empty.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
