Halloween

Viewed in theaters Halloween is what happens when every element that goes into the filmmaking process works out beautifully, both separately and collectively. Aesthetically, stylistically, thematically and subjectively, the experience of watching it is mesmerizing and immersive. Atmosphere is painted upon every shot like a work of art. The holiday of the title, rarely, if ever, rendered with such palpable care and dimension as it is here, sumptuously exudes from the frames. Pumpkins, decorations, silly pranks, trick or treaters, old scare flicks on television, dead leaves blowing in the chilly breeze. All of these things and more are incorporated into the proceedings to signify the one of a kind mood that comes with October 31. Violent but never gory, Halloween is a masterwork of sheer, unadulterated suspense, blanketing low-key, tastefully layered humanity in an identifiably peaceful setting with the kind of darkness that can, and does, exist in the real world. Classy, intimate and exceedingly tense, the film has the power and skill to remain as uncompromisingly scary and haunting today as it no doubt was in 1978.