Man, I need to stop being a slave to my constituents. This is why Alexis de Tocqueville realized that in America there existed a "tyranny of the majority." Well, the majority felt that given the time of year, it would be apt for me to review Halloween. I'll do it this time, but I'm still gonna try to stick to the obscure ones in the future, O.K., you understand, you hear what I'm saying, you dig (for those who abusedly pursued this review, enjoy it and ask nicely next time!). So, keeping that in mind, on to the review.

HALLOWEEN, directed by John Carpenter, has one of the greatest beginnings to a horror film. As Dr. Loomis, played by Donald Pleasance, and a nurse approach a mental hospital, the rain comes pouring down and impending doom is obvious and a dark mood set. Once they reach the hospital, they see that all the patients are walking around freely in the rain and something is obviously wrong. Within a few minutes, Michael Myers, the patient Dr. Loomis was coming to transfer, has captured their car and drives off to nearby Haddenfield, his hometown.

Soon we are introduced to various characters, including Laurie, the heroine of the story, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. Michael appears every once and awhile and you'll know he's around because that famous piano music will come on. You find out that this day is a very special day...Arbor Day. Just kidding, it's All Hallow's Eve of course and the stage is set for a night of massacres. There's even a scene when a buch of bullies torment this one kid by saying, "The boogeyman's gonna come get you!" When he turns around, he bumps into Michael. You see the connection? Michael = Boogeyman. Boogeyman = Michael. Aaaaahhh.

When night falls, the killing begins. There's lots of shots taken from Michael's perspective as he stares in windows, walks across the street, etc. etc. Of course among those to be killed include two teenagers who smoke pot and have sex...apparently that's the evilest thing one could do and deserves death while the virtuous ones are spared. Oh well. The film boils down to its ultimate confrontation between Laurie and Michael and things move along rather predictably.

The thing is, it's all predictable because we've seen it a thousand times. But this is the movie that started all the cliches about the wandering madman. Michael, in his creepy Halloween mask, is a great villain and has a little more depth than his successors. There are even scenes in which Dr. Loomis discusses his background and what it is which made him so loony. This all serves to heighten the tension. The scenes in which he is stalking the neighborhood are skillfully served and quite suspenseful. Of course, as in all these movies, the bad guy is killed like ten times and just keeps coming back. But once again, one must keep in mind that the film was original when it came out.