drugstore_cowboy
Member
Serious?
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Lets discuss John Carpenter's "Halloween" (1978)
- Thread starter Horse Detective
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Serious?
People seem to forget the unknown and mystery adds a lot to characters, it's horror 101. Hate it when everything needs to be explained.
RedNumberFive
Banned
I still contend that Halloween 3 is an under appreciated gem.
GoodMorning
Member
Absolute classic and it definitely gets a watch every Halloween. The pale face paired with the music is just chilling. It's a shame AMC only show 1 & 2 maybe once but they have the convoluted sequels on repeat
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Totally serious. My kids are 9 and 6 and love horror movies. Every time I have them my 6 year old wants to watch "Insidious".
Call me a silly American Puritan, but I'm perfectly fine with violence since my kids are well aware that movies aren't real and that violence isn't acceptable in the real world.
Sex or nudity, on the other hand brings up a whole host of issues I don't want the media teaching them about. That's a conversation my Ex and I need to have with them on a personal level.
Honestly, I thought it was such an important film I really wanted to share it with them ASAP.
Macready1306
Banned
Yeah love Halloween. 2nd scariest film I've ever seen (nothing ever scared me more than The Exorcist). This is the film that made me a John Carpenter devotee. He's my favorite film maker. Love his films. Love his film scores. He's a master! (On a side note a very underrated yet still fantastic horror film is John Carpenter's The Fog. Brilliant atmosphere. Very tense).
Haven't seen Halloween 2 in a long while but love watching Halloween 3. It's such an underrated horror classic. Just ordered the special edition Blu Ray editions of Halloween 2 and 3 so I'm dying to get stuck into them both!
Someone mentioned it before that Halloween is one of those rare horror films that is scary even during day shots. The scenes where the shape is just standing there and the camera just acts as if it hasn't noticed he's there! Just brilliant. I'd never seen that before and it always scared the crap out of me!
Amazingly film holds up very well and still has the power to scare. A definite horror classic.
Haven't seen Halloween 2 in a long while but love watching Halloween 3. It's such an underrated horror classic. Just ordered the special edition Blu Ray editions of Halloween 2 and 3 so I'm dying to get stuck into them both!
Someone mentioned it before that Halloween is one of those rare horror films that is scary even during day shots. The scenes where the shape is just standing there and the camera just acts as if it hasn't noticed he's there! Just brilliant. I'd never seen that before and it always scared the crap out of me!
Amazingly film holds up very well and still has the power to scare. A definite horror classic.
RedNumberFive
Banned
The remake had Danille Harris so I aint mad.
And she was great in the old movies too.
She was my childhood crush back when she was on Roseanne.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Anyone else feel kinda "wrong" seeing her topless in the reboot after watching her as a kid in 4 and 5?
I thought it was a cool throwback to have her in there, but a bit weird.
Macready1306
Banned
Carpenter's scores are amazing! His work in Halloween, Halloween 3 and Escape From New York are brilliant.
I still also think Carpenter has it in him for another classic film (I'm a fan of Vampires and Ghosts of Mars and I enjoyed The Ward) but I don't think he has the fire in the belly like he used to. His use of panaglide is pure perfection.
Honestly, its up there as the best slasher film (Psycho being the other). The music really made the film. Critics who saw the original cut before Carpenter added his score said they fell asleep during the movie.
I'll also use this opportunity to voice how much I hated the remake. I don't think Rob Zombie has made a film I didn't find 100% loathsome.
I'll also use this opportunity to voice how much I hated the remake. I don't think Rob Zombie has made a film I didn't find 100% loathsome.
Angry Fork
Member
Love the setting.
Love that theme. Used to have this associated to my wife's contact on my phone.
Q
Queen of Hunting
Unconfirmed Member
did she have trouble sleeping at night when filming this film she was really young lol
Agreed. As a big fan of 80's/synth music, I can hear Carpenter's musical influence in a lot of stuff out there. It's so awesome that a director had that sort of prowess as a composer. Don't see that a lot.
And yeah, I actually enjoyed Vampires as well. Carpenter probably does still have it in him, though it'd be tough to match his legendary work from earlier in his career.
This opening is what it's all about.
Wind. Fall. Pumpkins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nwMfSdlj7Y
Wind. Fall. Pumpkins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nwMfSdlj7Y
Awesome film. The only really good movie is the first one. Carpenter was forced to make the 2nd one. He came up with the concept of Michael being Laurie's brother while drinking. 4 is okay, but most of the movies from the 80s are just like any other slasher flick. H:R was terrible though.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
Absolutely! Even if you were a casual movie-goer I don't know how you couldn't simply HEAR that Escape from New York and Halloween had the same dude behind the music.
Such amazing work. I really need to see more of his stuff. I know Ghost of Mars is on Netflix.
If you like Halloween, you need to see some of Carpenter's lesser seen gems (so The Thing and Escape From NY don't apply here). Prince of Darkness and In The Mouth Of Madness in particular. Prince of Darkness is probably my favorite Carpenter behind Halloween, and features Carpenter's very best score.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
I've said it before and I'll say it again, "In the mouth of madness" is the best Lovecraft story that Lovecraft never wrote.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Almost exactly what I was going to type. The suspense and build up in the film is masterful, and the score is minimalist but works terrifyingly effectively.
But the cinematography. My God, the cinematography. I could watch this movie daily and just drool at how well shot it is. The way Carpenter and Cundey frame every shot just puts this up into the god tier for me. Ebert is a huge fan of the film and Carpenter's shooting as well:
Roger Ebert said:
My two favorite shots are near the end. Where Laurie has just found the corpse on the bed with the tombstone and is crying. In the background is the empty closet, but for a moment or two, the lighting allows you to just faintly see Michael's face in the darkness of the closet.
But the best shot, and one of the creepiest in any film for me, is when Laurie has stabbed Michael and thinks he is dead. She is resting against the door frame in the foreground, and you can see the bedroom behind her, along with Michael's feet on the floor. Then he slowly sits up, and turns to look at her. *shiver*
I have been itching to watch this again, but have been saving it for October. Especially because of the theatrical rerelease coming.
Diseased Yak
Gold Member
Yes, this. Halloween is awesome, and probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite horror movie of all time, but Prince of Darkness is amazing and so is In The Mouth of Madness. They both deserve mention alongside Halloween.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
I miss 70s and 80s Carpenter.
JaseMath
Member
Total classic. l watch it every Halloween. It's also the only good Halloween movie.
That is awesome.
Pretty amazing people were this into a movie, this doesn't really happen with this generation any more (right?). On the other hand, I would be "stfu I'm trying to watch a movie."
PhoncipleBone
Banned
And you would not be wrong.
I worked with someone who had never seen it, so my horror fiend friend and I made her watch it. At the end she was like "Ugh, it was so cliche. *Lists movies* all did the same thing."
Then we tried not to strangle her as we explained that all those cliches stemmed from, or were popularized by Halloween.
The Horror the horror
Banned
Halloween 2 was decent, but there was no suspense, no build up of any kind, and it essentially verified (no longer alluded to) that Michael wasn't human (in the scene where he stabbed the nurse in the back and effortlessly lifted her off her feet with only the movement of one arm), all of which only served to extinguish some more mystery surrounding him. And the bullet shots to each of his eyes? Did those bullets decide to stop traveling beyond his retina, or was his brain bullet proof?
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
I'm not denying any of your points, but I would STILL kill for a DVD release that combined 1 and 2 into one huge like 3-hour film.
Kinda weird, but it's been something I've always wanted.
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
Prince of Darkness has some very unsettling shots. Its got some cheese but its so worth it. Especially that damned dream sequence. That was brilliant.
In the Mouth of Madness is the last great "mind-fuck" film i can think of (at this early hour at least lol). The ending is perfect.
i love all of the original Halloween movies. Of course the first is a masterpiece but i love even the bad ones. The Rob Zombie movies were mostly forgettable. i saw them once and the only thing i remember is Brad Dourif and Joe Grizzly.
Season of the Witch i have a soft spot for. It has a lot of problems but there are a couple moments where what you are watching on the screen is so horrific.. esp the test scene. Androids, druidic magic, Stonehenge, and Halloween masks. Its so crazy i love it.
The Horror the horror
Banned
But I'll maintain that the franchise can be salvaged. They never truly went popcorn overboard like with Jason (going cyborg) or Freddy. They should ditch the Halloween title and reboot the franchise as "The Shape," which is what the Michael Myers character is referred to anyway. They might have to experiment with new, original concepts since Hollywood has utterly exhausted the horror formula that was originally introduced by Halloween, but the fundamental lore and, more importantly, the theme music are still preserved.
The Mana Legend
Banned
John Carpenter is probably my favorite horror director solely because of his remake of The Thing.
But Halloween bored me to tears. I never found it scary, suspenseful, or thrilling in the least. It was the first slasher movie I ever saw when I was a kid, but I actually fell asleep out of boredom.
But Halloween bored me to tears. I never found it scary, suspenseful, or thrilling in the least. It was the first slasher movie I ever saw when I was a kid, but I actually fell asleep out of boredom.
Horseticuffs
Full werewolf off the buckle
I could SWEAR that I heard on a podcast (Devour the podcast, I think) that the franchise is being rebooted yet again so maybe you'll get your wish.
Sometimes I just like to sit back and imagine the cinematic gold we would have if Carpenter had just made a new Halloween-themed film each year and ditched the Myers story.
I've gotta be honest, I get that sort of vibe from "Trick 'r Treat". Not saying he would have made something like that, but it sort of made me feel like it's where the franchise would have gone after Carpenter got tired of it.
Most definitely. It was also Carpenter's last great film :_(
First of all - bro fist to your entire post. I see we are kindred spirits on yet another thing now
As to the quoted, that is one of my all-time favorite shots. That's the shit-in-you-pants moment for Halloween virgins. I'm also a real sucker for the final shots. After Loomis shoots Michael and consoles Laurie, he goes over to the window to look down on the deceased Michael.....HE'S GONE.
*cue bone-chilling theme and credits, complete with the sound of Michael breathing over top of the music*
That shit gives me chills every time. Amazing.
Yeah, between Halloween, The Thing, Prince Of Darkness, Big Trouble In Little China and In The Mouth Of Madness, that's probably my Carpenter Top 5 right there, in order.
microtubule
Member
Saw this as a kid when it released so I have lots of nostalgia for it. I still think it holds up, the music, the setting, etc. I always preferred more gore/special effects but still love the movie.
Fixed for me. I actually like The Thing more than Halloween, because I find the story more interesting. But I just recognize that Halloween is the better movie overall.
xXBetter Off DadXx
Member
Fuck yes. The original Halloween is one of my favorite movies, period.
Mine is probably eh same, except I'd put Escape from NY over Big Trouble in Little China.
I knew you were gonna post in this thread, I even mentioned it in the first page. Bro fist dude.
BattleMonkey
Member
The original two were great, and I even liked 4 alot. Everything after that.... meh. 5 brought in that horrible Thorn crap. The ending to 4 though gave me shivers the first time.
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
I like it!
WyndhamPrice
Member
Classic movie, one of my favorite horror films.
Hari Seldon
Member
Almost horror movie watching season! Yeah Halloween is tops of that era of horror films. Actually of any era really.
ZedIndyLil
Member
Love love LOVE this movie, thanks for the topic on it! Many of the reasons why it's great have been mentioned. Also I loved how its setting is suburbia instead of a stereotypically scary locale; being a suburban kid, I found it really tapped into some of the subconscious fears underlying that supposedly "idyllic" environment.
Watching it a million times as a kid on a black-and-white TV I think increased its impact on me. I had to readjust my perspective on it a little when I first saw it in color.
Watching it a million times as a kid on a black-and-white TV I think increased its impact on me. I had to readjust my perspective on it a little when I first saw it in color.
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