Review: Halloween (1978)

Halloween (1978)

IMDB rate: 7,9

Genre: Slasher

So it was about time that I watched Halloween again, the original this time. It's only the second time that I watched this movie. I quite liked this movie but I must say that Rob Zombie's version also has some good points. There's a lot to compare!

The year is 1963, the night: Halloween. Police are called to 43 Lampkin Ln. only to discover that 15 year old Judith Myers has been stabbed to death, by her 6 year-old brother, Michael. After being institutionalized for 15 years, Myers breaks out on the night before Halloween. No one knows, nor wants to find out, what will happen on October 31st 1978 besides Myers' psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis. He knows Michael is coming back to Haddonfield, but by the time the town realizes it, it'll be too late for many people.

Okay, so the first thing that I liked more in Rob Zombie's version was the actor who played young Michael Myers. Daeg Faerch portrayed the young Michael Myers extremely good and the guy who played Michael Myers in the original, Will Sandin, was not very scary to me. Daeg Farch actually looked like some lunatic from who you can expect these things, while Will Sandin looked kinda sweet. It's only a few seconds that you see him, but I don't think he was the 'right' look for a psychopath.

What I also enjoyed more in Rob Zombie's version was the longer story behind Michael Myers. A few things that happened in his life, a reason why he committed these crimes. Obviously, Michael Myers is much more brutal in Rob Zombie's version, he actually killed his entire family instead of just his sister. A big difference. Also, he did not kill everyone that he came across while escaping the institution. 

I think Rob Zombie's version is a bit more believable why Dr. Loomis finds him dangerous. He's always acted as a psychopath, plus he has a reason to go back to Haddonfield in the remake. In the original there's nothing known yet.  Michael does not even know yet that Laurie Strode actually is his sister, so he's actually chasing her for no reason (this is revealed in Halloween II, while in the remake she was already born when he started murdering). I thought it was better when he already knew that she was his sister so it would actually give him a reason to go back to Haddonfield and chase specifically her. 

But, that's also a weaker thing in Rob Zombie's version. Michael is searching for his little sister and actually tries to connect with her, so while he's much more brutal in the beginning, in the ending he turned out a bit soft.

Things that I liked about the original was that Michael seemed to be more human. He's driving, which means he had to study Dr. Loomis driving or else he wouldn't be able to drive that well immediately. He also bumped in a child and did not anything. In Rob Zombie's version the child would probably have been ripped to pieces. 

The acting in Halloween is quite good. It's very cool seeing such a young Jamie Lee Curtis. I must say that Laurie is a bit boring in the movie, but I did like her. I think that this 'type of Laurie' fitted the movie much better. What I hated most about the remake was Scout Taylor-Compton, I find her incredibly irritating as an actress, so I guess everyone will be on lead in comparison with Scout Taylor-Compton

Things that were also cool was the way the beginning was filmed. You see through Michael's eyes -or actually, through Michael's mask-, and you only see him in person after he killed his sister. It looked quite cool.

I also love the Halloween soundtrack, but it is being played every time that Michael shows up, even when you don't actually see him in a close-up, so after a while it's getting a bit predictable and takes away the element of surprise.

So, that was kinda a long story. There's a lot to compare between these movies and even after writing this I'm not quite sure which one I liked better. They both have strong elements, which makes it hard for me to decide. I think the acting was better in the original. I also think it was filmed more creative. What I liked in the remake was the storyline, it was much more advanced and gave a better understanding of Michael.

My personal rate: 7/10