I've never been a particularly big fan of horror movies. I will watch some "scary" movies but I'm rather picky. I also rarely watch older movies that, as a self-proclaimed movie buff, I am somehow obligated to see. Both of which somehow culminated in me going to a theater to watch the original "Halloween" tonight.
I have to be honest: surface-wise, as a movie, it wasn't great. The acting was bad and it wasn't all that scary. (not to mention the presentation, which amounted to a DVD being projected onto most of the screen, was substandard.) But then I decided instead to view it as an archetype for modern horror films, and suddenly it became a lot more interesting. The reason this movie, released just eight days before I was born, may have seemed predictable was that John Carpenter had created the blueprint for the slasher film. All of the horror cliches laughingly lampooned and deconstructed in "Scream" were present because this was where they came from. And that made me appreciate it more. In the end watching "Halloween" was a rather enlightening and fun experience--when viewed through nearly 34 years of history.
I have to be honest: surface-wise, as a movie, it wasn't great. The acting was bad and it wasn't all that scary. (not to mention the presentation, which amounted to a DVD being projected onto most of the screen, was substandard.) But then I decided instead to view it as an archetype for modern horror films, and suddenly it became a lot more interesting. The reason this movie, released just eight days before I was born, may have seemed predictable was that John Carpenter had created the blueprint for the slasher film. All of the horror cliches laughingly lampooned and deconstructed in "Scream" were present because this was where they came from. And that made me appreciate it more. In the end watching "Halloween" was a rather enlightening and fun experience--when viewed through nearly 34 years of history.
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