Halloween (1978)

JOHN CARPENTER

HALLOWEEN

USA, 1978

10/10

"I met him, fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no conscience, no understanding; even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil."

While it is in no way the best made film ever made (although you can expect that with a budget of only $325,000), HALLOWEEN (1978) manages to frighten me on a level that no other film has been able to do. Sure, Jason Voorhees is cool with his hockey mask and machetes, and Ghostface was the first slasher villain I really, truly loved, but everyone pales in comparison to the blank stare, the heavy breathing, and the emotionless and terrifying mask of Michael Myers.

John Carpenter, my all-time favorite horror director, directed this film and, as he does with many of his films, had the ability to make the film look much more expensive than it actually is. As I mentioned before, the cinematography is no Oscar-winner, but considering the almost non-existent budget this was filmed with, it's extremely, extremely impressive. 

HALLOWEEN is quite different from other slasher films in the fact that it has both a very long build-up and very little gore. Despite these uncommon factors that, to someone unfamiliar with the film, you might expect would make the film boring, HALLOWEEN is still incredibly, incredibly frightening. Just seeing Michael Myers driving his car behind Laurie sends shivers down my spine.

This film also uses many killer POV shots. The entire opening scene, except for a final shot of child-Michael, is shot from Michael's perspective. The only film that I think did this better is BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974), even though HALLOWEEN is still a far superior film and was much more influential then BLACK CHRISTMAS ever was (even though B.C. is still a personal favorite of mine). This film also features many shots of Michael, his back to the camera, observing the characters he is going to murder later in the movie. This technique was used in many, many FRIDAY THE 13TH movies and many of the HALLOWEEN sequels, though it is never nearly as effective as it is here. 

HALLOWEEN is not the best horror film of all time (I believe THE SHINING (1980) to be the best), but it is definitely, in my opinion, the scariest film ever made. This film is highly recommended to any fans of horror and slashers, and is the beginning to a great franchise (none of the films all that good, though; HALLOWEEN is the best of the bunch), and (along with the FRIDAY THE 13TH movies), kick-started the 1980s slasher craze. This is one of the most influential horror films of all time, and is incredibly, incredibly frightening, entertaining, and interesting. It is a must-see for anyone even remotely interested in horror.

The Fog (1980)

JOHN CARPENTER

THE FOG

USA, 1980

7.5/10

"I don't know what happened to Antonio Bay tonight. Something came out of the fog and tried to destroy us. In one moment, it vanished. But if this has been anything but a nightmare, and if we don't wake up to find ourselves safe in our beds, it could come again. To the ships at sea who can hear my voice, look across the water, into the darkness. Look for the fog."

This is not John Carpenter's best film in any sense (HALLOWEEN (1978) and THE THING (1982) taking the cake on that title), but THE FOG (1980) is a still a creepy, atmospheric, supernatural horror film that holds up to this day. Carpenter does once again what he was able to do with HALLOWEEN: take a film with a rather small budget (though THE FOG had a larger budget than HALLOWEEN, it was still rather cheap) and give it the appearance of costing a lot more than it did. While the film made 22 million dollars (which is good considering its budget of 1 million), it is not as impressive as the 47 million HALLOWEEN made. Still, I believe THE FOG to be a wonderful film for what it sets out to be: a small, atmospheric film, relying more on the tone of the film than any impressive special effects. This is why Carpenter is my favorite horror director. Sure, his plots are never life changing, and besides THE THING, his films are never filled with spectacular effects, but he manages to create wonderfully atmospheric films and has proved to be the best when it comes to slowly building tension.

And this film is no exception. From the opening scene on the beach to the final shot, this film kept me on the edge of my seat, although I believe the film really takes off when Father Malone reads from the journal he finds. 

We never clearly see the creatures in the fog, which I believe adds to their threat. Their glowing eyes, hooks, and large, threatening bodies help their mystery. The fog they enter through in, though its glow is incredibly unrealistic and fake-looking, it is still quite eerie and allows for a lot of tension. 

Overall, the character development and plot is missing in this film, but it's still creepy, atmospheric, and a personal favorite. If you forgive its mistakes, you will be in for a nice, fun, creepy film.