Halloween Nightmares – The Final Chapter

What? Halloween

Who? Written by: John Carpenter and Debra Hill Directed by: John Carpenter Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, P.J. Soles, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Loomis, Nick Castle

Why should I watch? I mean, just look at the title. This one was tailor-made to be watched on Halloween (at least if you ignore all the leaves on the trees, as this was a not-terribly-successful attempt to make Southern California look like Haddonfield, Illinois at the end of October). Warm-weather setting aside, this is the ultimate Halloween watch because it’s scary, fun, and scary fun.

The story is deceptively simple: Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night (in a mesmerizing, innovative POV sequence in the film’s prologue), Michael Myers escapes from the sanitarium and returns to Haddonfield to wreak havoc. The focus is on suspense rather than gore (though there is some graphic bloodshed) and the tension never lets up.

Carpenter is a master of horror (his Twitter handle is @TheHorrorMaster and it’s not a brag – it’s purely a statement of fact) and his fluid camerawork coupled with the intense score (which he composed) makes for one of the most nerve-jangling shockers ever made. As of this writing there are seven sequels, a remake and a sequel to the remake. The quality varies, to put it politely, but none of them even come close to matching this – a true masterpiece. Have a happy Halloween and remember: Everyone’s entitled to one good scare.