I purchased the Blu-Ray of this classic film the other day for a good deal and watched it wondering if it would hold up, having not seen it in fifteen years. All I can say is that I was impressed. It's as exciting and creepy as it was the first time I saw it and I can appreciate how innovative it was. John Carpenter didn't invent the slasher genre but its his patience and skill telling a story that makes this the best. Jamie Lee Curtis plays high school student Laurie Strode who is stalked by an escaped insane inmate named Michael Myers, a maniac who ends up killing everyone around her to get to her. There's an image that I can't get out of my mind from this film and that's when Laurie is in class and she looks out the window and sees Michael for the first time, standing next to a stolen station wagon looking at her. He's wearing his famous mask (designed by from a Captain Kirk mask if you can believe it) and he's there, just watching. Such a simple moment expertly shot. While this film inspired a lot of clones (and still is inspiring them even today) most never come close to mastering what makes this film one of the best. Grade: A-.
Spoiler: I also want to give props to Nancy Keyes who plays Annie in the film. She's so natural and funny in the movie it's a shame she has to die because I loved her character. This leads to one of the primary reasons this film succeeds: no matter how cool Michael Myers is it's his victims that the audience roots for to somehow survive. Most slasher films follow the easier concept of making their victims unlikeable so you root for the killer. This is evident in the Friday the 13th movies, were you could careless about anyone and you're just waiting to see how Jason kills them. How is this exciting?
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