Artistry
The film opens with an eerie, first-person perspective, placing us in the unsettling role
of a stalker as he spies on teenagers entangled in their intimate moments. Then, the shocking reveal: the stalker is young Michael Myers. This opening encapsulates Halloween (1976) in a chilling nutshell—Michael, a manifestation of pure evil, mercilessly hunts down hormonal teens.
What stands out is the brilliantly orchestrated blocking of extended shots. From the seamless scene of Laurie and her friends walking down the street, to Laurie and Annie driving from the Halloween mask store, to Loomis’s chilling moment when Michael drives past behind him—each sequence is executed with stunning precision.
The voyeuristic perspective, paired with Michael’s unsteady, eerie breathing, immerses the audience uncomfortably into the slasher’s most unsettling seat: the mind of the boogeyman. This steady, ominous camera work echoes the techniques seen in The Shining, but here, Michael is a tangible, physical force of evil, not a spectral presence.
Thematic Resonance
Faith becomes an undercurrent, introduced early with the line, "Faith is
a natural element, immovable like the mountains.” Faith ties Laurie, Michael, and Loomis
together in the dance of survival and fate. It’s a sense of “destiny” that brings Laurie back to the house to drop off the key, placing her in Michael’s sights. It’s destiny that keeps Laurie, Loomis, and Michael in close proximity at the Halloween shop.
And it's destiny—or plot convenience—that leads Loomis to Laurie just in time to save her from Michael’s final strike. Halloween adds its own take on slasher traditions, setting up survivors as the chaste. Michael's victims are the ones who give in to their desires: his sister killed post-intimacy, Annie on her way to her boyfriend, Lynda and Bob after they “trick-or-treated” each other.
Laurie, the modest one, is marked for survival, her costume setting her apart from her more carefree friends. Carved pumpkins, ever-present at each death, become symbols of mortality. Halloween may not overreach beyond the boundaries of its genre, but perhaps that’s what makes it a classic—a masterful slasher that delivers the scares without overindulgence.
Engagement
Michael drives the plot forward with his ominous stalking, compensating for
Laurie’s hesitant moves and Loomis’s sporadic interventions. Laurie shines in the later half of
Act 2 and Act 3, and Loomis’s impact is felt early but wavers until the climax.
But Michael’s chilling presence sustains every moment, holding us at the edge of our seats.
To Michael, and the terror he brings, I give my thanks.
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