Review by Stephanie Scaife
It’s difficult to find something new to say about Halloween, a film that has been so widely seen and written about over the years, but here we are with the 35th Anniversary edition on Blu-ray. This seems rather excessive given the other various versions on both DVD and an earlier Blu-ray, but as we all know the franchise has legions of voracious fans and film studios are never one to miss the opportunity to make a quick buck. This time it’s the turn of Anchor Bay Entertainment, and they’ve done a very good job with the brand new HD transfer, supervised by the original cinematographer Dean Cundey.
Halloween is widely regarded as being one of the best and most noticeably influential horror films ever made, and perhaps with good (and bad) reason too. Following on from the likes of Psycho and Peeping Tom, both of which use the voyeurism of the killer to suitably creepy effect, Halloween took things to a new level and in the process created its very own sub-genre, the slasher film. Without Halloween we would have no Friday the 13th, no A Nightmare on Elm Street and no Scream, and its unexpected popularity ensured that it was one of the highest grossing independent films of the period that it has subsequently been endlessly copied, ripped off and been paid homage to over the years. Genre tropes that we now take for granted; the final girl and the punishment of death for indulging in sex or drugs that have been done so often and so badly that they are more often than not sigh-inducing, eyeroll-worthy aspects of what has become, after the rape-revenge narrative, one of the more derided and oftentimes misogynistic horror sub-genres.
It’s easy to forget its humble beginnings, but Halloween serves as a constant reminder that when done properly, the slasher film can be a wonderful thing indeed. It is also a prime example of the less is more principle, we see Myers in the shadows and at a distance, a constant unsettling presence and threat without being so present and in your face that it lessens the scare factor, a lesson many contemporary horror films could do with paying more attention to.
I’ve seen Halloween many times over the years and it still holds up with age and repeat viewings, thanks in large part to the direction and the way it’s been shot. Dean Cundey was one of the first camera operators to use a Steadicam (or more specifically the Panaglide) and the opening sequence remains as striking today as it did upon first viewing. As we see the murder committed by Michael Myers from his point of view, in a continuous shot (with reportedly only two cuts) that follows him though his house until he stabs his naked sister post-coitus; well, it’s certainly implied that she’s just had sex with her boyfriend, although if that’s the case it’s also the quickest sex scene ever. A fantastic crane shot then reveals the murderer to be a dead-eyed child wearing a clown suit in this fantastic prologue to the film, emphasised by John Carpenter’s now iconic synth score. I won’t go though the plot of the film, as I think we all pretty much know what happens, but I will say that its simplicity adds to what makes it so perfect. It isn’t inundated with convoluted plot points and exposition, and instead what we’re given is a masterclass in filmmaking and some great performances from Jamie Lee Curtis (in her first feature film role) and the always excellent Donald Pleasence.
These days it’s unfortunate that watching Halloween just sort of makes me feel a little sad that Carpenter, a man of many talents has become so inconsistent over the years, In the Mouth of Madness (1994) being the last interesting, if flawed item on his resume. Still, having been responsible for Halloween and The Thing surely counteracts the numerous terrible films he’s made in recent years. I mean, it’s not every day someone comes along that creates a genre as well as one of the best body horrors every made, not to mention the unparalleled beard porn provided by Kurt Russell.
The Blu-ray package is unfortunately rather weak; besides the film looking and sounding fantastic there’s little else of note. I found the disc menu to be slightly confusing to navigate and the bonus features are nothing to write home about. We get a documentary entitled The Night She Came Home, that is essentially 50 minutes of Jamie Lee Curtis signing autographs and bemoaning the appeal of the horror genre, along with a new commentary with Curtis and Carpenter that treads a lot of the same ground covered by their last commentary as well as more Curtis bemoaning the horror genre, along with a few TV spots and trailers. It sadly omits the fantastic documentary Halloween: A Cut above the Rest, which can be found on previous editions. Overall, this is a marginally better investment than the last Blu-ray release of the film, as it certainly looks the best it’s ever looked; but I’m sure that won’t stop us getting a 40th anniversary edition in another five years time…
The 35th anniversary Blu-Ray Steelbook edition of Halloween is on sale now, from Anchor Bay.