The Night HE Came Home...

Halloween... The Night He Came Home... Halloween, the night Michael Meyers came home, reigns as the most popular, successful, and possibly the best slasher film ever made. It certainly was the first real slasher movie and laid the groundwork for all that followed. Movies that proceeded Halloween had a piece or two of the puzzle, but in 1978, all the elements came together to form something that would become one of the most beloved sub-genres in horror film history… the slasher film! Some consider Halloween a whole lot more; many feel it's the best horror movie ever made. Whatever your opinion, it is a classic and has haunted millions. Who would have thought a William Shatner mask and a speechless "Boogeyman" with a butcher knife chasing a babysitter could change the face of horror? The film has spawned seven sequels so far, who knows when or if Michael Meyers' saga will ever end. While Halloween didn't kick off that huge wave of similar films right away, it is the father of them all, even Friday the 13th, which did usher in the 80's slasher craze. It made John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis household names to fans and used that most special holiday to scare millions for years to come. After Halloween, no holiday was safe ever again, nor babysitter, nor teenager having fun. The " Boogeyman" was now real. The film works so well because we never know the reason why, Meyers is just evil, an evil kid that grows into an evil man, coming home after escaping an asylum to terrorize a group of friends on Halloween night in suburbia. Maybe the simplicity of it all makes it work so well. The film series has had good and bad spots. The direct sequel does a good job of picking up right where one left off. The third is a wholly different film and is Halloween in holiday theme and name only, but still a good movie. Meyers returned to the series thereafter and has remained and evaded destruction ever since. The sixth film is normally regarded as the weakest link, that is until we all scrutinize eight enough. Jamie Lee Curtis returned to the role that made her famous in seven, only to finally be killed by her maniac sibling in eight. Surely, Meyers will see the screen again sometime in the near future, as no horror "Franchise" stays dead long if it makes money. Perhaps Anchor Bay will release yet a few more versions to eager fans. Perhaps sequelization dulls memories a bit, but Halloween still stands as the most influential movie of its kind. No one who has viewed ever forgets it or Carpenters' memorable score. Where would we be without it? This site will be here, keeping watch for when He comes home again. Many thanks to MichaelMyers.Net for this write-up...GaP