Halloween

Saw Halloween, the original John Carpenter film. It was a prototypical slasher film. Female sexuality is punished most severely, annoying inconveniences are amplified to life-or-death levels, the killer is unstoppable and inside the house(!) The film is incredibly sleazy at parts. I particularly thought the cute, breathy little gasps the girls make as they're stabbed or strangled or whatever to be in bad taste. Whatever, I guess. It comes with the territory.

In the film's favour I will point out that the Halloween setting is perfectly used. Instead of mining it for cheap symbolism and spookiness, the film uses the holiday as a means for everyone to dismiss a screaming woman, for example, or a missing tombstone. Also, John Carpenter is very good at evoking the pleasant messiness of suburban life but, as opposed to his good-universe counterpart, Steven Spielberg, Carpenter uses this power to provide a real-seeming backdrop for his psychos and demons.

It's a well done slasher. The element of sexualized violence is present, as are all of the annoying quirks of the slasher film, but it feels fresh and the performances are good. There are several good shots (I was struck by a scene of the villain, Michael, admiring his handiwork. He's framed by a doorway and shot at a distance. The effect is eerie.) and the plot is believable. There's schlocky nudity, but it's relatively well woven into the plot and not used too often. An all 'round paragon of a slasher. Dumb but not terrible.