This is an okay movie, though the killer doesn't come across as particularly frightening when you consider what happens in real-world news reports. Before I get into a review, I feel it’s important to disclose something: I really dislike Halloween. It’s one of my least favorite days of the year. It feels completely foreign and out of place with Portuguese traditions, and seems like an excuse for young people to bother folks who are just trying to relax at home. I've even had to be firm with a group already, and I suspect I’ll have more issues down the road because of it. Plus, for Catholics, All Saints Day is the following day, November 1st, which is the actual religious observance. Still, Halloween does make it a good time to watch horror movies on television, and that's how I ended up watching the film that prompted this review. Directed by John Carpenter, who’s become an icon in classic horror filmmaking, this low-budget production became a big success, made a lot of money, and has since earned its place as a slasher classic – a subgenre of horror that isn't really my cup of tea. Carpenter directs skillfully, creating suspense and building tension effectively. He uses lighting and cinematography well, and the visual and sound effects are clever and practical. The sets look realistic, as do the costumes, and the soundtrack is memorable and iconic; even people who haven’t seen the film will likely recognize it. However, I don't think the movie maintains a consistent pace: the first half felt slow to me, with many scenes that didn’t grab my attention and seemed only to lengthen the overall runtime. While Michael is presented as an unstoppable villain and the focus of the entire story, the role doesn't require a particularly talented actor. Hidden behind a mask, he doesn’t need someone famous; he just needs to appear invincible. Jamie Lee Curtis gets most of the screen time, portraying young Laurie as a believable teenager who mostly screams and runs whenever she can—which is quite often. Donald Pleasance didn’t fare as well: he's a capable actor, but his character is an over-the-top doctor who seems to believe his escaped patient is some kind of demonic figure. The authorities understandably don’t take him seriously, though the actor does manage to make the character somewhat believable. The main issue with this film is the script: Michael attempted to kill his sister in a very detached way when he was just six years old. He failed, but then spent ten years locked up in an institution, and the doctor began to see him as pure evil? It’s hard to buy that. Just recently, I read about a man who killed eighteen people in Maine before taking his own life. If he were still alive, wouldn't *he* be more frightening than Michael Myers? Consider Peter Kürten, known as the Vampire of Düsseldorf, who committed sixty-eight crimes and brutally raped, mutilated, and murdered over a dozen teenage girls. Wouldn’t *that* be a more convincing depiction of evil? Honestly, this film’s story doesn't measure up to what you see in the news every day.

Source on TMDB