An unforgettable masterpiece was created by John Carpenter in 20 days. Halloween (1978) changed the horror genre and forever impacted people’s lives. I believe that Halloween is a revolutionary movie.
When Halloween hit theatres, people were skeptical, due to slashers being a questionable genre. Many people thought that if you enjoyed these movies, you would be sadistic and different. Although there was a negative stigma, audience reactions for Halloween were off the chart. The budget was 325,000 and made $47 million worldwide.
Not only did this film perform well commercially, but it also became one of many reasons why different film techniques were jumpstarted in the movie industry. It launched slashers into the mainstream and proved that low budget movies could be great if enough passion is put into it. Jamie Lee Curtis’s career skyrocketed after her debut acting role in this movie. John Carpenter is also the first person to score the movie that they directed.
A large reason why people speak negatively about this film today is because of claims of it being outdated, and no longer scary. I absolutely disagree, because although aged and dated, the immense sense of dread and despair will never fail to create such a surreal atmosphere in the horror genre, even decades later. The way it elicits such emotion is undeniably unique.
Written and directed by John Carpenter in under a month, Halloween is undeniable. It modernized the slasher genre and brought the iconic Michael Myers to the big screen for the first time. It truly encapsulates exactly what horror experience should be and exceeds the expectations for horror movies in this genre.
