Halloween (1978)

[Chedney Honks]

Recently popped up on Netflix, plus there have been some recent 4K UHD Blu-ray releases of the first five films. Maybe only in States at this point, I dunno. Anyway, watched the this last night for the first time in probably twenty five years. My wife loves horror, I like only the absolute cream of the genre and very few horror films would I rewatch. I thought this was pretty much in the cream of the genre, and surprisingly so since I expected its various techniques to be hackneyed at this point.

I could remember very little besides a few iconic shots and I thought it 'held up' extremely well. The gloomy, shadowy cinematography is excellent, lots of uneasy shots where the framing puts you on edge wondering where he'll appear from. The score is excellent, really powerful and understandably iconic. I think JLC is great, really goofy and likeable compared to her mates. The kids are also actually likeable which is very rare. I wasn't entirely sure about the back story stuff or the cop/Pleasance stuff, didn't feel very well written or developed, nothing especially chilling after the initial reveal, but I suspect it would have hit harder at the time. I enjoyed the downer ending, felt quite unexpected.

We'll probably watch the sequel this evening if I can stay awake.

If you want to watch a film about Halloween in this season, I would recommend 'Halloween'.

[madhair60]

not a single one of the sequels is even remotely worth watching. not a single solitary one.

[badaids]

not a single one of the sequels is even remotely worth watching. not a single solitary one.

Halloween III isn't great, but it is worth watching.

[madhair60]

ah c'mon, it is not.

[Chedney Honks]

Biggy will be spinning in his monkey grave wearing a pumpkin mask.

[El Unicornio, mang]

The 2018 one was OK.

The original is good but I'd forgotten until watching it recently about him being locked up at 6 but somehow able to drive a car perfectly when he escapes as an adult.

[ImmaculateClump]

I remember really liking 3. I haven't seen it since I was little, but I remember being disappointed at first that it wasn't what I was expecting, more of the same, but then really getting into it and thinking it was better than the other halloween films. I can hardly remember anything about it now though.
I remember going through a psycho phase when I was younger as well, and psycho 2 and 3 are surprisingly good!
Have you seen "what ever happened to baby jane", honks? I saw that the other day and it was amazing!

[beanheadmcginty]

I always wonder what Donald Pleasance was like in real life. In every single film performance I've ever seen of his he comes across as a terrifyingly creepy weirdo. I know that could be down to typecasting, but even in the Great Escape I was delighted that he was too blind to join the others.

[phantom_power]

Seems like fun?

[Magnum Valentino]

Trivia! The wee girl from this and the wee girl that gets shot in Assault on Precinct 13 are sisters and now star in one of the Bravo "Real Housewives" series that Bob Mortimer always talks about.

Nothing to contribute about this perfect film. Once watched it three times in a row, without commentary and then with two different JC ones (one with Curtis in tow).

[beanheadmcginty]

Trivia! The wee girl from this and the wee girl that gets shot in Assault on Precinct 13 are sisters and now star in one of the Bravo "Real Housewives" series that Bob Mortimer always talks about.

Alright pal, we all watch RLM too.

[Magnum Valentino]

I don't know what that is.

[zomgmouse]

a classic. nothing more to be said

my partner wants to show me the third one because it is stand-alone and she likes it so i'm watching the second one (even though i probably don't need to) and it's fine

[Gregory Torso]

I really like Halloween III, but it should be called 'Tom Atkins is a gross creepy alcoholic'. It's got nothing to do with the franchise at all. I haven't seen the original for years, but I might give it a watch seeing as probably tomorrow I'm going to be watching Rob Zombie's two remakes, for SOME REASON. I'm not a fan of his (except for Lords Of Salem, that is great) but they've recommended to me by someone who knows their horror. I always feel borderline illiterate when I'm trying to write about what I think about the film I done watched on the screen in front of my face, but it might be interesting to compare the OG Halloween 1 and 2 and Robert Zombert's coke zero-drinkin' scary beard and backwards baseball cap wearin' cowabunga dude totally metal septic celtic band tattoos versions. Fuckin hell man.

[ImmaculateClump]

I just watched halloween 3 there tonight. yeah, it's a bit poo. Not as good as I remember. I think there's a few memorable bits so it's fondly remembered, and stuff a young boy would like, like all the creeping around doing spy stuff, and there's robots and stuff so it went down well at the time.

it should be called 'Tom Atkins is a gross creepy alcoholic'.

Yeah, it's from back in the day when all films were aimed at men. It's weird all the woman seem to be throwing themselves at him and he's just a big old ham head, his wife is nagging him, yeah, he likes a drink, but he gets the job done, goddamit! That bit where he goes.
"Wait, how old are you?"
"Relax, I'm older than I look"
Ewww.

Dick Jones kept forgetting he was Irish.

The hell is up with this apostrophe?



If they ever do a live action beavis and butthead, this lad would be a shoe in for beavis.

[Egyptian Feast]

Dick Jones kept forgetting he was Irish.

He wasn't Dick Jones, he was the Old Man AKA Iron Butt, Boner, and once even Asshole (or Airhead, if you were watching on ITV).

[SteveDave]

I always wonder what Donald Pleasance was like in real life. In every single film performance I've ever seen of his he comes across as a terrifyingly creepy weirdo. I know that could be down to typecasting, but even in the Great Escape I was delighted that he was too blind to join the others.

He's very likeable in "Death Line" aka "Raw Meat" Him and Norman Rossington make a great double-act.

[monkfromhavana]

Watched it the other night. Still think it's great, proper scares, great setting, Donald Pleasance spending the whole film hiding in a bush outside a house and with dialogue that's about 99% exposition. The only thing that maybe jars is the supernatural ending of Michael getting shot about 20 times but then disappearing into the sequels.

Also the completely illogical nature of a killer escaping from a secure mental institution but the police of the only place he has ever lived outside the hospital not being alerted apart from Donald telling one cop.

[ImmaculateClump]

He wasn't Dick Jones, he was the Old Man AKA Iron Butt, Boner, and once even Asshole (or Airhead, if you were watching on ITV).

Aaaah, you're right! My mistake :D

[Shaky]

Pleasance is ace in this. That haunted, slightly unhinged delivery is perfect. A decent man who's tried to rationalize blank, inexplicable evil for 15 years and it's shat him up big time.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Myers left the nuthouse in that stolen car.  Which fucker gave him secret driving lessons?

[monkfromhavana]

Pleasance is ace in this. That haunted, slightly unhinged delivery is perfect. A decent man who's tried to rationalize blank, inexplicable evil for 15 years and it's shat him up big time.

His dialogue works amazingly well on this Halloween-inspired tune

Aim - Demonique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4s35VY_y9I

[Rev+]

I've expressed doubt about Halloween (1978) on here before - specifically how it would be received by the young people we have now, seeing it for the first time.  Got a total mauling over that.  I stand by my argument, you arseholes, that it's probably a bit of a difficult one to watch for the first time in 2021.  It was so influential that audiences became battle-hardened for this kind of thing.  It no longer carries quite the punch it did when I saw it for the first time, because an entire genre spun off from it.  It's a great film, but I can't imagine a new audience being too excited by it.

All of the sequels are shite, particularly the one where he comes roaring out driving a truck.  It's like Jason Voorhees whipping a gun out.  Just wrong.

Halloween 3 is of course it's own beast, and is sort of fun.  Nigel Kneale was probably right in having his name taken off it, and I do wonder what the original intention was, but it's a sort of alright TV-movie style deal.

[Chedney Honks]

Who cares about a new audience? Who cares what some fucking YT addled stream beast thinks about anything? May they burn in hell.

I hadn't seen it in at least 25 years, don't care for the genre particularly, didn't expect anything much from the film but it was excellent, very effective and atmospheric.

Give a fuck about some Twitch rat pining for 2014.

[Bad Ambassador]

I've seen several REACTION videos, and the young people always seem to love it.

[Shaky]

His dialogue works amazingly well on this Halloween-inspired tune

Aim - Demonique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4s35VY_y9I

I'm imaging a delightful world where, together with Christopher Lee fronting metal bands, Pleasance collaborated with various trip hop acts.

[Catalogue Trousers]

Halloween 3 is of course it's own beast, and is sort of fun.  Nigel Kneale was probably right in having his name taken off it, and I do wonder what the original intention was, but it's a sort of alright TV-movie style deal.

The original intention, as reported elsewhere, was that Carpenter and company wanted Hallowe'en to become an ongoing horror franchise linked by name only and the events of each film happening on or around Samhain - effectively an anthology series rather than an ongoing narrative. Unfortunately for that idea, Michael Myers proved so iconic that the second film was a direct sequel to the first (literally taking up where the first one leaves off). Now, maybe a Myers-based sequel would have been good, but in the original conception it really shouldn't have been second in the series. Hallowe'en III made a brave try to switch direction towards that anthology series idea, but the routine had already been set and the fanboys just wanted more stalk 'n' slash antics with Michael. A pity.

And yeah, III is one of my favourites of the series.

[colacentral]

If Halloween III was written and directed by John Carpenter, no one would believe otherwise. It stands shoulder to shoulder with mid tier Carpenter dreck like They Live and Assault on Precinct 13, in my opinion, if not surpasses them.

If you showed it to someone who had never seen the original and put it next to any of the above, and even similar fare from Cronenberg's early catalogue, such as Scanners or Shivers, I doubt they'd single Halloween 3 out as noticeabley worse.

[chveik]

everyone's entitled to their opinions but there are limits: Assault is not mid-tier Carpenter

[colacentral]

Actually, I agree, that's harsh. I find it slightly overrated but it's one of his better ones.

Escape from New York is dog shit though.