Mentions of stalking, murder, and objectification.
Some horror films have become classics thanks to their influence, legacy and impact on the genre, and among them is John Carpenter’s. Halloweenbut some harsh realities emerge when watching it again decades later. In 1978, John Carpenter brought the horror film Halloweenwhich introduced a new masked villain named Michael Myers. Although it was not well received by critics during its initial release, Halloween is now one of the most influential horror films ever made, as it was instrumental in the development of the slasher genre in the 1980s.
Halloween took audiences to the town of Haddonfield, Illinois, where, on Halloween night 1963, six-year-old Michael Myers killed his sister. Fifteen years later, Michael escaped from Smith’s Grove Sanatorium 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 Pleasence) attempts to find and stop Michael, who he believed to be the embodiment of evil. Halloween is an undeniable horror classic, but there are some harsh realities about it and elements that haven’t aged well.
10
A six-year-old boy killed his teenage sister (for no reason)
Michael Myers just decided to kill Judith
Halloween wasted no time in getting straight to the triggering event of the entire film. On Halloween night 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, grabbed a knife and went up to Judith’s room.. Judith was surprised and angry because her brother came into her room, but he He immediately started stabbing her, killing her instantly..
Although subsequent Halloween films and remakes explored Michael’s reasons for killing Judith, Carpenter’s film never gave a reason.
What followed was Michael being found by his parents outside the house in a state of shock, after which he was taken to Smith’s Grove Sanatorium. There, he became a patient of Dr. Loomis, but never spoke again. Although subsequent Halloween films and remakes explored Michael’s reasons for killing Judith, Carpenter’s film never gave a motive, and a six-year-old boy randomly killing his sister and becoming mute is quite disturbing.
9
Loomis was obsessed with Michael Myers
Dr. Loomis’ “fascination” has reached dangerous levels
Loomis became Michael Myers’ psychiatrist when he was sent to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, and spent years studying him and what might have driven him to kill his sister. Loomis did his best to reach Michael, but ultimately concluded that he was the personification of evil. Loomis spent the rest of Michael’s time in Smith’s Grove advocating that he never be releasedand on October 30, 1978, he and Marion Chambers would escort Michael from Smith’s Grove to court when Michael escaped.
While it is understandable that Loomis was worried about Michael’s escape and returned to Haddonfield as he knew full well how dangerous it could be, Loomis’ actions were more those of a man obsessed with his patient than of someone seeking to help.. Loomis’s obsession was such that his goal was not just to catch Michael, but to kill him, which he ended up failing, because even though he shot his patient and made him fall from a balcony, Michael still escaped (again). .
8
Michael Myers shouldn’t know how to drive
Halloween 1978 Left a Huge Michael Myers Plot Hole
Halloween left a Michael Myers plot hole that has sparked debate among fans and casual viewers for years. As mentioned above, Michael spent 15 years at Smith’s Grove Sanatorium, meaning that when he escaped, he was 21 years old. Michael Myers spent much of his childhood and all of his adolescence in Smith’s Grove, so he missed out on many experiences that children and teenagers typically go through, such as learning to drivewhich he did without a hitch when he stole Marion and Loomis’ car.
The 1979 Halloween the novelization explained this by saying that Michael learned by watching Loomis take him to his many audiences.
Later in HalloweenWynn asked Loomis how it would be possible for Michael to drive, to which Loomis exasperatedly replied that someone must have taught him. The 1979 Halloween the novelization explained this by saying that Michael learned it from seeing Loomis take him to his many audiences, but it is not a generally accepted explanation, as the novelization also makes other revelations that contradict the film. The generally accepted explanation is a theory that suggests Dr. Wynn himself taught himbut this only makes sense in the original timeline after Wynn’s connection to the Cult of Thorn is revealed.
7
Michael Myers stalked Laurie Strode
Like, truly persecuted Laurie walked around town
One of the most disturbing elements Halloween it’s Michael Myers chasing Laurie Strode, and it’s not something that gets easier to watch as the years go by. What made Michael so scary in Halloween is that he didn’t have a reason to do what he did: He didn’t have a reason to kill Judith and he didn’t have a reason to target and pursue Laurie, he just did it. Michael was obsessed with Laurie from the moment he saw her leaving the key under the door of her family’s old house and, from then on, he followed her in a stolen car and on foot.
Michael followed Laurie to school and home, and even watched her from the backyard, but perhaps what was most surprising and disturbing was Laurie’s reaction to this. She was certainly disturbed to see him coming home, but even after seeing him in her yard, she didn’t call the police or ask for help (from anyone other than her friends, who did nothing to help).
6
Annie and Lynda were terrible friends with Laurie
Laurie should have gotten other friends
Laurie was featured in Halloween as an excellent student with excellent grades and also very shy and introverted. Laurie had two best friends, Annie (Nancy Kyes) and Lynda (PJ Soles), who were killed by Michael Myers, but before they met such a tragic end, they proved that they were terrible friends with Laurie. Annie and Lynda always teased Laurie about her good grades and dedication to studies, as he didn’t party or date guys like them.
Even when Laurie opened up to Annie about who she would like to go to the school dance with, Annie made fun of her. While this could be seen as two best friends teasing each other, Annie and Lynda had previously been mean to Laurie, so Annie’s attitude is seen in a completely different light.
5
Dr. Loomis is not really helpful
Loomis doesn’t do much to help at Haddonfield
Loomis knew Michael Myers like no other, but he wasn’t much help on Halloween night 1978. Loomis knew Michael would return to Haddonfield, but it took him a long time to get there. Loomis even visited Haddonfield Cemetery and discovered that Michael had stolen Judith’s tombstone, and later talked to Sheriff Brackett about Michael. Together they went to the Myers house and Loomis stayed there in case Michael came home… which he had already done that morning.
Still, when he arrived at the Doyle house and saw Michael attacking Laurie, he didn’t help her.
Loomis hid inside the Myers house for a long time, and only when he saw the stolen car did he start searching the streets and later saw Tommy and Lindsey running away from the house. Still, when he arrived at the Doyles’ house and saw Michael attacking Laurie, he didn’t help her and instead, she freed herself by pulling Michael’s mask off. Loomis then shot Michael six times and knocked him off the balcony, and that was his great heroic act.
4
Sheriff Brackett was also pretty useless on Halloween
Sheriff Brackett ignored everything and paid a heavy price
Unfortunately, the one character who should have done more because of his position of power was Sheriff Brackett, but he wasn’t of much use. When Loomis approached Brackett and told him about Michael, Brackett repeatedly waved at him and did not take seriously the threat of a murder on the loose in Haddonfield. Even though he didn’t believe Loomis at first, there had already been a robbery and other events in the city that should have proven to him that something wrong was happening.
Brackett’s attitude towards the presence of a killer in Haddonfield took a heavy toll, as he was the father of Laurie’s friend Annie. Michael targeted Annie and killed her in his car, strangling her and slitting her throat. Brackett is back Halloween II and was later brought back Halloween killsonly to give him a very anticlimactic death along with other Haddonfield residents, including Tommy Doyle.
3
Some Halloween deaths are absurd
As creative as Michael Myers was, some deaths didn’t make sense
Horror films get creative with their kills, but even those that do their best to be as realistic as possible have some truly absurd deaths. Carpenter Halloween fell into that category with some of its deaths, and the truth is that they get more and more ridiculous the more you watch the film. Annie’s death in the car didn’t seem realistic and Lynda’s death was also ridiculouswhile Michael, posing as Bob and disguised as a ghost with a sheet, strangled Lynda with the telephone cord while she was 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 absurd death by far is Bob’s. After having sex with Lynda at the Wallace house, Bob went downstairs 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’s no way that knife could have supported the weight of Bob’s corpsebut it created a very memorable scene.
2
Halloween objectifies its female characters
Halloween went too far with its female characters in some scenes
Many horror films, especially slashers, tend to objectify their female characters and, unfortunately, Halloween is one of the greatest examples of this. Halloween He wasted no time and did it in the first few minutes, choosing to leave 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, so she walked around in underwear and a white button-down shirt. She also got stuck in a window while trying to get out of the locked laundry room, conveniently flashing her underwear.
Lynda was also shown topless after having sex with Bob, and while this scene can be, to some extent, justified by what had just happened between her and Bob, it is still an unnecessary moment of nudity along with the moments mentioned above. Judith’s death would have had the same impact if she hadn’t been naked (the important thing is that she was being killed by her younger brother), and there was no need for those scenes with Annie and Lynda.
1
Halloween isn’t really scary (but it’s still great)
Halloween scares don’t work anymore
The Biggest Complaint About John Carpenter Halloween is the lack of scaresespecially when compared to some of the more popular slashers that came after it. Halloween it doesn’t even show blood and its deaths aren’t graphic, and the “jump scares” aren’t that effective, even with the now famous sound effects used in them. However, while Halloween It’s not scary in the traditional horror movie way, that doesn’t make it any less amazing.
The horrors of Halloween lying about Michael Myers’ actions and the lack of reasoning behind them: He had no reason to kill Judith and no reason to persecute Laurie and kill her friends. Michael Myers, being a silent killer, is also quite disturbing, and he moves so slowly but always hits his targets, that it’s hard not to be afraid of encountering someone like him.