Film: Halloween, 1978, John Carpenter

Halloween is a masterpiece of horror/ suspense genre in the 70s directed by John Carpenter with a low- budget, beautifully masters the subject view of a psychopath. The plot take us into the life of Michael Myers that at the age of 6 stabbed his older sister to death, while baby-sitting him. After 15 years enclosed in a psychiatric hospital, Myers finally in a attempt to escape, he succeeds and begins to spread the chaos in his hometown Haddonfield. While in his horrifying visit to his hometown, he starts to terrorize and kill the teenagers around seeking for revenge, but from who?? -Laurie and friends are on the blacklist.
When Dr. Loomis realises Myers escaped, He starts a man pursuit to bring him back to the institution or even kill him.




Halloween is the 70s film that suffered more remakes in cinema, however the original is the best as it uses the perfectly the mechanics of classical suspense genre, as it stated by David Kehr, film reviewer in the Chicago Reader, 'As a homicidal maniac stalks the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, Carpenter displays an almost perfect understanding of the mechanics of classical suspense; his style draws equally (and intelligently) from both Howard Hawks and Alfred Hitchcock.' yes, Carpenter's gave good usage of techniques used in Hitchcock's Psycho.
The lack of information given to the spectator or not of why Michael is going after those specific teenagers is unknown until the release of Halloween Sequel, which gives a immense level ambiguity to the film. the 'blood-free scenes' of the killings,where almost any blood is spilled, shows the difference of a gory with 'rivers' of blood in a scene,and a more subtle way, where most of the victims are strangled, with no much blood shown, it was opted by Carpenter's to create a more thrilling suspense.
Although it doesn't belong much to the uncanny subject, I though it had a lot to do with it, more specifically in the end, where Laurie was afraid of the neighbourhood she always lived in, these uncanny feeling, and agreeing with tutor phil, is once again felt right in the end, where the still shots of the rooms in the house with dark contrasts conveys the idea that a secure home no longer exists provoked by a immortal, a force, Michael.
Finally, the sexually reference of American teenagers presented in the film, really influences this film, as the pure, virgin, good girl, survives and the sinners or bad people die, this concept was taken in time and adopted to more recent films such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, etc.
The only thing, I didn't enjoy in the film was the over-use of the soundtrack, Although is a good soundtrack in some places I found unnecessary to build the suspense as the scene itself was already strange or creepy.

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