Tyler Talks Horror: Halloween

By Tyler Hodg

Hi, my name is Tyler Hodgkinson and I am a total horror n00b. In this series, I’ll be taking a look of classic, cult classic, and modern horror films with ignorant eyes. Its concept is scary simple.

It was inevitable: I finally watched Halloween. The 1978 classic is something that I’ve always wanted to experience but never put any effort into doing do. There wasn’t any sort of apprehension on my part, I’ve just been lazy and forgetful. However, Halloween is no longer on the back burner and I now know why it is considered a quintessential horror film.

The opening sequence is a point of view perspective, which is a technique that surprisingly hasn’t appeared in any of the other films that I’ve watched for this series. It shows a young Michael Myers collect a knife, lurk around the house until he reaches his sister’s room, and then murder his sibling. The stabbing is cheesier than a quesadilla, but it’s being behind the mask and in the head of the deranged child that is terrifying. Flash forward 15 years’ Myers is now a stalker supreme. Admittedly, I wasn’t anticipating to see the character out in broad daylight, yet there he was, just hanging out at the side of the road creeping on young Laurie Strode. I knew shit wouldn’t go down for a while, but his presence on screen was still intimidating even if it’s only a quick and incomplete view of the character.

Side note: it’s hard to watch Jamie Lee Curtis in this film without seeing the mom from Freaky Friday. I don’t think I’ve even seen Freaky Friday, which makes things weirder. To everyone who is offended: I’m sorry, it’s a generational thing.

Halloween doesn’t really dive into Myers’ intentions or motives, but I feel like that is part of the intrigue. As a viewer, you don’t need to be given all of the answers, and sometimes it’s scarier to be left in the dark. From what I’ve been told, Rob Zombie’s remake develops a greater backstory for the infamous killer, but I’m not sure I even care to learn what makes him tick.

Aside the first death and lame sound effects whenever Myers steps onto the screen, the film doesn’t feel cheesy or campy at all. I never wanted to laugh at its obnoxious scenarios, supernatural creatures, or generic tropes because it didn’t include any of those things. Instead, Halloween is a relic that has survived the test of time due to its subtlety and realistic nature. I’m happy to say, I officially have a film to watch every October 31.