Once hailed as the most successful independent flick of all time (beaten out by the ever annoying BLAIR WITCH PROJECT), this is John Carpenter's cult classic about a big doofus in a William Shatner mask and his Halloween "killing spree". We get "B" hero Donald Pleasance as the obsessive and ever-pursuing Dr. Loomis, and the object of many horror fans' spank fantasies (though I never understood why): Jamie Lee Curtis (or JLC), as Laurie. Okay, back on October 31st, 1963, in the sleepy suburb of Haddonfield, IL, young Michael Myers dons a clown mask. grabs a butcher knife, and proceeds to waste his INCREDIBLY hot sister. His parents have the little shithead committed, and 15 years later, on Oct. 30th, 1978, Myers and his fellow straight-jacket jockeys overtake the asylum. When Myers's psychiatrist Dr. Loomis (who spent 7 years trying to reach him, then 8 years trying to keep him locked up!) shows up, he swipes the bald mofo's car and drives off into the stormy night... drives pretty good for a guy who's been in a padded room for 15 years. The following mourning (ha), back at the ranch (or Haddonfield to you) young lass Laurie is being stalked by a shadowy figure... in a station wagon (it wasn't me! I swear!)! Honestly, I think JLC looked old, even when she was young. Uggh. Laurie is the kind of girl who does ALOT of babysitting and very little dating (a.k.a. a pedophile), because guys are "intimidated by her intelligence"... in other words she don't put out. It's soon discovered that Mike's sister's tombstone has disappeared as Loomis closes in on Myers (who drives right behind him in one scene!). After stocking up at the local hardware store, Mike finally gets down to some action, as he takes out Laurie's pals one-by-one as everyone watches THE THING (which Carpenter later remade). Okay, I hate to be anal (though I love giving it heh heh), but let's have a quick Physics check: in one scene, Mike pins an athletic guy 6 inches off the ground, to a flimsy door using only a butcher knife... There's NO way that guy would stay up there! I've tried again and again! Well, after Mike takes out 3 of Laurie's friends, she goes to investigate the house they're all supposed to be at, only to find their lifeless bodies... and Myers brandishing his butcher knife. He knocks her over the staircase bannister, but she gets up and runs across the street, screaming for help (of which there is NONE!) and makes it inside. Myers pursues and gets a knitting needle in the neck, a wire coat hanger in the eye, and we see Myer's face for a second before Loomis pops in and pumps him with six shots from his handgun, sending him over the balcony rail. But... there's no body... Of course there's no body! How can you have a sequel if they just show a dead Myers?! The only thing that really impressed me about this flick, was the music. Carpenter may strike me as a mediocre director, but he's a cool composer! The thing that really cheesed me though? Myers waits 15 long years for this "massive killing spree", and all he scores is 4 people and a dog?! You call that a spree!? That Myers is such a putz... pure evil my ass!

Sequels: HALLOWEEN II, HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH, HALLOWEEN IV: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS, HALLOWEEN V: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS, HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS, HALLOWEEN: H20

If You Liked This Flick, Check Out: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III or CAMP BLOOD