Halloween Night a small American town fifteen years ago, Michael Halloween. I spent
eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him
locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely
and simply evil. I think he'll come back exploring on charted territory, totally
charted us. The only way that the baby would have Halloween. Okay,
come on out Halloween Night, he came home. Slasher films, without a
doubt, are the most popular of all horror films. The subgenre took root
with the release of Bob Cook's nineteen seventy four film Black Christmas. However,
it was in nineteen seventy eight where Novis director John Carpenter made the genre popular.
In the flames of its popularity, Dal Flicker like a freshly lit candle
in a jacket lantern on Halloween Night, Halloween introduces us to Michael Myers,
a man that ten years prior had brutally murdered his sister and boyfriend on Halloween
night. On this night, doctor Samuel Loomis, the late Donald Pleasance,
is set to retrieve Myers for a hearing that will hopefully keep him in an
insane asylum for the rest of his life. When Myers escapes and goes home
to hadd and Field, Illinois, where Lorie Strode, Scream Queen Jamie Lee
Curtis in her first starring role, and her friends are subject to brutality and
terror committed by Myers. This film is really what kicks started the slasher film
subgenre. It is also the film that made John Carpenter a horror master.
Our first two clips are going to be from Carpenter himself. First, in
a brief clip, he explains his view on horror films, and then he
talks about the premise of Halloween, including the idea behind Michael Myers, in
what they were trying to capture and his now infamous mask. You go to
a horror film or a monster movie a sign you know something's coming. I
mean, that's why you pay your ticket. The whole secret is when does
it happen? And how long can you keep the audience waiting for that event
to happen? And how long can you keep this mysterious character, Michael Myers
alive and stalking people without ever having to do anything. And the longer that
that can go on, the more anxious the audience becomes. All suspense is
is you create anxiety in the viewer and they're upset. They want the characters
to pay attention to what's going on, because they're ahead. They're always ahead
of the characters. Now, the original idea for Halloween. My job in
making Halloween was to do an exploitation horror film. Then the basic premise was
given to me by my distributor or when You Blonde. He said, let's
do a movie about these babysitters who get stocked by a killer. He figured
that everybody could identify with babysittings, so many teenagers had done it. And
then a little bit later he came up with the idea of calling it Halloween.
Let's set it out Halloween. I didn't call it Halloween. Never been
used as a title before, never been used at all. It was an
underutilized holiday. So great, and I was a young director then. I
was hungry for experience, hungry for features. I had done some work before
then I said, sure, why not. Well, when we were making
the film, I thought, Gee, it's Halloween at night and people get
dressed up in masks. What better way to have a killer not be identified,
they'd be wearing a mask, and we didn't have any money to make
a mask. So so my production designer, Tommy Lee Wallace, went up
to a magic shop right here on Hollywood Boulevard and bought a William Shatner Star
Trek mask Captain Kirk mask, spray painted it, cut the eyeholes a little
bit different, fix the hair, and there we go. As I remember
it now, maybe it was more, but I had about three or four
days to do the score to Halloween, basically record the whole thing. I
wanted something deadly simple and something that would just eat at you a little bit.
And my father bought me a pair of bongos when I was really young
for Christmas. He taught me how to play five four time on them.
Ba da da da da da Da Da Da Da Da Da da da da
da da da da da. So all I did was too good on piano
and do five to four with an octave then, and that that was where
it came from. One scene that I'm particularly fond of, where after Jamie
makes her discovery in the house, she backs into a corner and it's a
dark corner back there, and she's kind of terrified and hiding for a moment,
and then gradually you become aware that he is standing right behind her,
and he just slowly turned the light up and it just s exposed, just
exposed that mask on film, and uh, that was creepy that I that
may be my favorite scene. Was an odd experience on Halloween. It was
released across the country, uh, in October and November of seventy eight,
two not very good reviews. Somehow it caught on and began to develop a
word of mouth. And I was off directing a TV movie called Elvis.
So by the time I'd finished that, I was invited to New York to
speak at some deal and they were screening Halloween and I was standing outside waiting
to go in, and it was just the screams, over and over go
over again. It was music to my ears. What makes this film so
powerful and so scary, despite a horrible stereotype that slasher films can't be scary,
is that us, the audience or viewer, does not fully see Michael
until a quarter of the way through the film. He stealthily moves in between
the bushes and clothing, and he's never fully visualized his kills are done with
stealth, brutality, and no remorse. This mystery is set up by Loomis.
When he is described by the Doctor, we the viewer become more terrified
of him despite not fully seeing him. To me, that is a credit
to the performance of Donald Pleasance. Our next clip is an example of this.
In this scene, Loomis is describing the hadden Field's sheriff what he saw
in Michael and why he is fighting to stop him for good. Any live
here? I since nineteen sixty three when it happened every kittenhad and field thinks
his place is haunted and they made the right What is there? A dog
still warm? He got hungry? He just kept my mind. Could have
been a skunk could have him. Man wouldn't do that. This isn't another
laugh it ha. And then here she she was sitting right here. He
could have seen it through his window, standing on alone. He could have
seen himself. Hm, you must think me very sentenced to doctor, Oh,
I I do have perment. Seems to me you're just plain scared.
Yes, yeah, I I am uh I met him fifteen years ago.
I I was told there was nothing left, no reason, no conscience,
no understanding, and even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of
good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six year old child
with this blank, pale, emotionless face and the blackest eyes, the devil's
eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven
trying to keep him locked up, because I realized that what was living behind
that boy's eyes was purely and simply evil. What do we do? He's
been here once tonight, I think he'll come back. I'm gonna wait for
him. I still think I should notify the radio and television. If you
do that, they'll see him on every street corner, and they look for
him in every house. Just tell your men to keep their mouth shut and
their eyes open. I'll check back in an hour. A review of this
film, would it be complete or do this film justice? Without speaking on
Jamie Lee Curtis's performance of Laurie Strode. This performance is what the quote unquote
final girl of horror films would be known for. The sweet girl next door
that always does right and is yes, is virginal. Our last scene is
an indication of this. Laurie and her friends are walking home after school.
Two of them are talking about sex and people getting into trouble. Laurie is
more preoccupied with her chemistry book. This shows the traits that make the now
classic horror film Final Girl, and it is all thanks to Jamie Lee Curtis's
performance in this film. We have three new cheers to learn in the morning,
the game is in the afternoon. I have to get my hair done
at five and the dances at eight. I'll be totally wiped out. I
don't think you have enough to do tomorrow. Totally as usual. I have
nothing to do. It's your own fault, and I don't feel a bit
sorry for you. Hey, Linda, Laurie, why didn't you wait for
me? We did fifteen minutes. It totally never shows. That's not true.
Here I am that's wrong. I'm not smiling. I'm never smiling again.
Paul dragged me into the boy's locker room, exploring charted territory, totally
charged, just talk. Sure. Old Jerko got caught throwing eggs and soaping
windows. His parents grounded him. You can't come over. I'll call your
babysitting to me. The only reason she babysits is to have I have a
place for that. I forgot my chemistry book, So who cares? I
always forget my chemistry book and my math book, and my English book,
and my let's see my French book, and well, who needs books anyway?
I don't need books. I always forget all my books. I mean,
it doesn't really matter if you have your books or not. Hey,
isn't that Devon Graham? I don't think so. I think he's cute.
Hey, jerk speak kills God? Can you take a joke? I could
use many words to describe what this film means to not just horror films,
but films in general. This film was the precursor to some of the most
notorious film villains of all time Leatherface, Jason Vorhees, Freddy Krueger, Chucky
Penhead, Candy Man, and many many more. If not for the success
of this film, it's safe to say we would not have the others.
Its worldwide gross was over seventy million dollars. As we heard Carpenter say earlier,
this was done strictly on word of mouth. This made it one of
the most successful independent films of all time. It made Jamie Lee Curtis a
star and John Carpenter into one of the greatest independent film directors of all time,
and finally, it made Michael Myers the face or the shape of a
holiday. The film spawned ten direct sequels. In Shock Rocker Rob Zombie out
of his admiration of the films, did a remake and a sequel to his
remake as well. Despite the hit or miss and disjointed nature of the film
series, this does not take away from the greatness of this film. It
shocks, scares, and makes you cringe at its brutality. It is the
ultimate slasher film and is a mussy because everyone deserves one good scare. I
hope you joined me this Friday when we look at a high school senior living
life to its fullest on one glorious day off, we will take a look
at the John Hughes film Ferris Bueller's Day Off for WMNH and Matt Connorton Unleashed.
This has been a classic film review with Eric Filcher incalculated silence, captivated
by the violence, A replay fifteen years ago today, Oh, an evil
evolution will bring a feeble institution through its niece, O doctor, can't you
see that when the hands of fall of the Midnight Hour Highness mascots of the
tevil scower These o the tevilses a formal portrait of profession, faded with the
flag. Now hat it feels my battlefield, Your chance won't make it tonight
is madness photo reason I chill with every flight chips to day after day,
knife after night, changing life after life, When the helm's a fa fall
the midnight hour highness mascots, the silverspollers, life, the shadows, the
lifele is lung were the center of center of a tavern stabbing in the tuck
shot a harness, human harness feeds this festival of flesh sucking at the top
stream on the drop silent hut up booths. Let'st good then, what I've
dropped out quite a scene with your fist cast on this, I've changed the
face of the halloween you chant chi the fucking when the coms thirty full the
midnight houri, this Moscow's the sels, powers, fish, life, the
shadows, the knife fla It's long where the certaintial cerer my tavern stabbing in
the look respond multiple fingal in reported on horn Drow map, hoping begetified in
one of Michael Myers and get arm and hearingly dangers to kill me. I
am the shadow where the horse was, the struggle the ain got sound to
fat Selling who was ski down the street. So this go and not.
I'm so fairyful of the midnight hour high, the spasco fame, the still,
those spells, life shadows, the life live. It's ward where the
centerial centery fair by stabbing, the stabbing in the turm