Memories of stalking, murder and objectification.
Several horror movies became classics thanks to their influence, legacy and impact on the genre, and among them is John Carpenter’s HalloweenBut some harsh realities come up when rewatching it decades later. In 1978, John Carpenter brought the slasher film Halloweenwhich introduced a new masked slasher villain called Michael Myers. Although it was not well received by critics during its initial release, Halloween is now one of the most influential horror movies ever made, as it was key in developing the slasher genre in the 1980s.
Halloween Taking the audience to the town of Haddonfield, Illinois, where, on Halloween night in 1963, six-year-old Michael Myers killed his sister. Fifteen years later, Michael escaped Smith’s Grove Sanitarium and returned to Haddonfield, where he began stalking Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends on Halloween day (and night). What followed was a series of murders in Haddonfield and Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance) attempts to find and stop Michael, who he believed was the embodiment of evil. Halloween is an undeniable horror classic, however There are some harsh realities about it and elements that have not aged well.
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A six-year-old boy killed his teenage sister (for no reason)
Michael Myers simply decided to kill Judith
Halloween wasted no time in going straight into the triggering event for the entire movie. On Halloween night in 1963, six-year-old Michael Myers was wearing a clown costume and waiting outside his house while his teenage sister, Judith, was making out with her boyfriend. When her boyfriend left, Michael entered the house, took a knife and went up to Judith’s room.. Judith was surprised and annoyed that her brother came into her room, but he Immediately began to stab, killing her on the spot.
Although later Halloween Movies and remakes explored Michael’s reasons for killing Judith, Carpenter’s movie never gave a reason.
What followed, Michael was found by his parents outside the house in a state of shock, after which he was taken to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. There he became Dr. Loomis’ patient, but he never spoke again. Although later Halloween Movies and remakes explore Michael’s reasons for killing Judith, Carpenter’s movie never gave a reason, and a six-year-old boy randomly killing his sister and becoming mute is quite disturbing.
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Dr. Loomis was obsessed with Michael Myers
Dr. Loomis’ “fascination” has reached dangerous levels
Dr. Loomis became Michael Myers’ psychiatrist when he was sent to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, and he spent years studying him and what might have driven him to kill his sister. Loomis did his best to reach Michael, but he ended up concluding that he was the embodiment of evil. Loomis spent the rest of Michael’s time at Smith’s Grove advocating for him to never be releasedAnd on October 30, 1978, he and Marion Chambers went to accompany Michael from Smith’s Grove to the courthouse when Michael ran away.
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While it is understandable that Loomis would have been worried about Michael’s escape and return to Haddonfield, knowing how dangerous he could be, Loomis’ actions were more of a man obsessed with his patient rather than someone looking to help. Loomis’ obsession was such that his goal was not only to capture Michael but to kill him, which he eventually failed as, although he shot his patient and made him fall off a balcony, Michael still escaped (again).
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Michael Myers shouldn’t know how to drive
Halloween 1978 left a huge Michael Myers plot hole
Halloween Infamously left a Michael Myers plot hole that has caused debate among fans and casual viewers for years. As mentioned above, Michael spent 15 years in Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, meaning that when he escaped, he was 21 years old. Michael Myers spent a large part of his childhood and all of his teenage years in Smith’s Grove, thus He missed many experiences that children and teenagers normally go through, such as learning how to driveWhich he did without any problem when he stole Marion and Loomis’ car.
The 1979 Halloween Novelization explains this by saying Michael learned by watching Loomis drive him to his many hearings.
later in HalloweenDr. Wynn asked Loomis how it was possible for Michael to drive, to which Loomis angrily replied that someone had to teach him. The 1979 Halloween Novelization explains this by saying Michael learned by watching Loomis drive him to his many hearings, but this is not a generally accepted explanation because the novelization also makes other reveals that contradict the movie. The generally accepted explanation is A theory that says that Dr. Win himself taught himBut this only makes sense in the original timeline after Vin’s link to the Cult of Thorn is revealed.
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Michael Myers stalked Laurie Strode
Like, really stalked Laurie Strode around town
One of the most disturbing elements in Halloween Is Michael Myers stalking Laurie Strode, and it’s not something that gets easier to watch as the years go by. What made Michael so terrifying in Halloween Is that he did not have a reason to do what he did: He had no reason to kill Judith and he had no reason to target and stalk Laurie, he simply did. Michael fixated on Laurie from the moment he saw her leave the key under the door of his old family home, and from then on he followed her around in a stolen car and on foot.
Michael followed Laurie to school and home, and even watched her from her backyard, but perhaps what was most surprising and disturbing was Laurie’s reaction to him. She was obviously upset when she saw him on the way home, but even after seeing him in her backyard, she didn’t call the police or ask for help (other than her friends, who did nothing to help). .
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Annie and Linda are terrible friends to Laurie
Laurie should have gotten other friends
Lori was introduced in Halloween As a top student with excellent grades who was also very shy and introverted. Laurie has two best friends, Annie (Nancy Keyes) and Linda (PJ Soles), who were killed by Michael Myers, but before they met such tragic ends, they proved to be terrible friends to Laurie. Annie and Linda often teased Laurie about her good grades And devotion to learning, because she didn’t share, and she didn’t share with boys like them.
Even when Lori argued with Annie about who she would like to go to the school dance, Annie made fun of her. Although this can be seen as two best friends teasing each other, Annie and Linda have already been mean to Laurie, so Annie’s attitude is seen in a completely different light.
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Dr. Loomis was not very helpful
Dr. Loomis doesn’t do much to help in Haddonfield
Loomis knew Michael Myers better than anyone, but he wasn’t of much help on Halloween night in 1978. Loomis knew Michael would return to Haddonfield, but he took too long to get there. Loomis even visited the Haddonfield Cemetery and learned that Michael had stolen Judith’s tombstone, and later spoke to Sheriff Brackett about Michael. Together they went to the Myers house and Loomis stayed there in case Michael returned home…which he already did that morning.
Still, when he got to the Doyles’ house and saw Michael attacking Laurie, he didn’t help her.
Loomis hid in the Meyers’ house for a long time, and only when he saw the stolen car did he start searching the streets and later he saw Tommy and Lindsay running from the house. Still, when he came to the Doyles’ house and saw Michael attacking Laurie, he didn’t help her and, instead, she ripped herself off by pulling Michael’s mask off. Loomis then shot Michael six times and knocked him off the balcony, and that was his great act of heroism.
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Sheriff Brackett is also pretty useless in Halloween
Sheriff Brackett brushed everything off and paid a heavy price
Unfortunately, the one character who should have done more because of his position of power was Sheriff Brackett, and yet he’s not of much use. When Loomis approached Brackett and told him about Michael, Brackett repeatedly waved him off and did not take seriously the threat of a murder on the loose in Haddonfield. Even if he didn’t believe Loomis at first, there was already a theft and other events in the city that should have proved to him that there was no mistake.
Brackett’s attitude to the presence of a killer in Haddonfield came at a high price, as he was the father of Laurie’s friend, Annie. Michael targeted Annie and killed her in her car, strangling her and slitting her throat. Brackett returned Halloween II And later they were brought back in Halloween killsOnly to give him a very anticlimactic death along with other Haddonfield residents, including Tommy Doyle.
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Some deaths in Halloween are nonsensical
As creative as Michael Myers was, some deaths made no sense
Slasher movies get creative with their kills, but even those that do their best to be as realistic as possible have some really goofy ones. Carpenter S Halloween Fell in this category with some of his kills, and the truth is that they become more and more ridiculous the more you rivet the movie. Annie’s death in the car did not look realistic and Linda’s death was also ridiculousAs Michael, posing as Bob and disguised as a ghost with a bed sheet, chokes Linda with the phone cord while talking to Laurie.
Bob was attacked and killed by Michael in the kitchen, where Michael pinned him to the wall with a chef’s knife.
The most nonsensical death is, by far, Bob’s. After having sex with Linda at the Wallace’s house, Bob went down for a beer. Bob was attacked and killed by Michael in the kitchen, where Michael pinned him to the wall with a chef’s knife. There is no way that knife could have supported the weight of Bob’s dead bodyBut it made for a very memorable scene.
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Halloween objects its female characters
Halloween goes too far with its female characters in some scenes
Many horror movies, especially slashers, tend to objectify their female characters, and, unfortunately, Halloween is one of the greatest examples of this. Halloween didn’t waste time and so in the first minute, Chose to have Judith completely naked when Michael arrived in her room and stabbed her. Then there was Annie, who decided to wash all her clothes, after pouring some butter on them, she walked around in her underwear and a white button-down shirt. She also stuck herself in a window when she tried to get out of the locked laundry room, conveniently showing her underwear.
Linda is also shown topless after having sex with Bob, and while this scene may be, to an extent, justified by what just happened between her and Bob, it is still an unnecessary moment of nudity alongside the aforementioned moments. Judith’s death would have had the same effect if she had not been naked (The important thing is that she was killed by her little brother), and there is no need for the scenes with Annie and Linda.
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Halloween Isn’t Really Scary (But It’s Still Great)
Halloween’s jump scares don’t work anymore
The biggest complaint about John Carpenter Halloween Is her lack of scaresEspecially when compared to some of the more popular slashers that came after it. Halloween Not even showing blood and its kills are not graphic, and the “jump scares” are not that effective, even with the now famous sound effects used in them. But, while Halloween Is not scary in the traditional way of slasher movies, it does not make it any less great.
The horror of Halloween Lie in Michael Myers’ actions and the lack of reasoning behind them: He had no reason to kill Judith and no reason to stalk Laurie and kill her friends. Michael Myers being a silent killer is also quite disturbing, and he moves so slowly but always catches his targets that it’s hard not to be even slightly scared of meeting someone like him.