For those who have yet to watch the movie, we open on Halloween night at the Myers’ home as we learn about our future main villain. A troubled young boy, Michael, kills his sister on Halloween night and is sent away to grow up in psychiatric care. In the present day, we meet Laurie Strode, our final girl, who happens to live in the same town as the Myers’ home. When Halloween arrives, we watch an escaped Michael Myers begin his killing spree as Laurie becomes intertwined with his growing list of victims. This first film would set off a decades-long battle between Michael and Laurie, documented in roughly half of the total 13 films that make up the Halloween franchise.

With a quick summary out of the way, let’s discuss our first Slash Course entry.

Jamie Lee Curtis makes her film debut as Laurie Strode. Michael Myers, portrayed in a mask by Nick Castle, provides a perfect complement to Curtis’ performance. His faceless, voiceless presence allows her powerhouse acting to shine. If you enjoyed her performance here, you have seven of the remaining 12 Halloween movies to enjoy her performance in.

John Carpenter introduced us to the film’s main villain as a slow, stalking presence that wielded tension as the weapon of fear in this film. The slow, unending pursuit by Myers creates moments of terror, while the violence in the movie remains subdued compared to later entries in this film club. 

Carpenter is considered one of horror’s most iconic directors for a reason. Halloween proves this point even with it being one of his earliest projects. He knows how to build tension in the film’s early acts. Develops subtle cues for us to anticipate the scares and demystifies the jumpscare. We are not scared because we are caught off guard. We are fearful of the threat itself. Michael Myers is a killer of tension, stalking his prey relentlessly. Dread and tension will be your core emotions while watching Halloween. These emotions replace the outright terror seen in many horror films of the early 2000s.

Let me know what you thought about our first slasher film. Are you ready for the escalating gore of the movies to come?