Halloween (1978)

It really doesn't look like Illinois does it? Sorry, just had to say that, it's where I'm from and all...
...but still, leaves on the ground and green leaves in the trees. Not at all Illinois, probably because it was a low budget film, but it works. It gives it a very, I don't know, Nightmare on Elm Street surreal feel? And I think, if memory serves this is the start of the virgins survive sex is punished horror-slasher staple.
Anyway, it's one of my oldest and dearest friends favorite slasher films and I can see why.
It is most atmospheric. It is the one that has the most paranoid and bone chilling feel to it.
It really is the ultimate slasher film, it's even better than my favorite...but that's neither here nor there.
The fact is, this is the film that defines the slasher genre of horror and has often been imitated but has yet to be replicated. It is, in short, a masterpiece in its genre.

**A competent film, with a killer who doesn't seem that ferocious when we read what's in the daily newspapers.**
Well, before writing a review of this film I have to make a declaration of interest that I think is appropriate: I absolutely hate Halloween, it's one of the days of the year that I can't stand. It's not a festival that belongs to my culture, it's completely foreign to the Portuguese tradition, and a poor excuse for stray teenagers to go to strangers' houses, at inappropriate hours, to bother those who are calmly in their own business. I've already had to expel a group with some rudeness and I have no doubt that, one day, I'll still have problems because of this stupidity. Furthermore, for Catholics, the feast day is the following day, November 1st, when the Church celebrates All Saints.
In any case, it's a good time to watch horror films on TV, and yesterday I happened to watch the film that brings me here today. Directed by John Carpenter, a director who became an icon of classic horror cinema, the low-budget film became a success, raised a real fortune and, over time, became a slasher classic, a type of horror that I confess I don't particularly appreciate.
Carpenter directs with his renowned skill and does an excellent job of creating and shaping suspense and atmospheric tension. The director made judicious use of lighting and cinematography, and the visual and sound effects have a truly intelligent and pragmatic effect. The sets are convincing, as are the costumes, and the soundtrack is atmospheric and iconic. Even those who have never seen the film will easily recognize the soundtrack associated with it. Unfortunately, I don't think the film works that well in terms of pacing: the first half isn't strictly interesting, there are many scenes that don't seem to be of much interest to me and that only serve to stretch the overall length of the film.
Although Michael is the indestructible villain and the central character of the entire plot, it is not a challenging role that deserves an accredited actor. Hiding behind a mask, he is a villain who doesn't need good actors, he just needs to seem unbeatable. Jamie Lee Curtis thus ends up being the main actress in the cast, making young Laurie a minimally credible teenager who doesn't just scream and run away hysterically whenever she can, even though she does so often. Donald Pleasance was less lucky: the actor is competent, but the character is a hysterical doctor who seems to believe that his escaped patient is a kind of Antichrist. The histrionic reaction is not received seriously by the authorities, and rightly so, but the actor is good enough to make the character somewhat solid.
The big problem with this film is the script: Michael tried to kill his sister in a very cold way when he was six years old. He was unsuccessful, but he was still locked up in a mental institution for a decade, and the doctor began to consider him Evil incarnate? Let's face it, this doesn't convince anyone. Just a few days ago, we saw a man who killed eighteen people in Maine and committed suicide. If he were alive right now, wouldn't he be more fearsome than Michael Myers? The Vampire of Düsseldorf, Peter Kürten carried out sixty-eight crimes and raped, mutilated and killed more than a dozen teenage girls, with extreme cruelty. Wouldn’t it be much more credible as “Evil”? Honestly, the story of this film falls far short of what we see in the newspapers.