The Night He Came Home

The first horror movie I ever watched with my parents was Halloween when I was 10 years old. My dad wanted me to see it, and despite my mom's reluctance, the three of us watched it together. I remember being scared but at the same time thinking it was such a cool movie. The special effects were nothing to brag about and many would just describe it as just another one of those slasher films, but what makes it stand out to me is the suspense that you feel throughout the entire film. The eerie music, the unsuspected suspenseful surprises, and the heavy sounds of Michael Meyers' breath as the film ends... all of those little things are really what ties the movie together and makes it a classic horror flick.

This weekend my dad and I went to watch the new Halloween in the theater. Being that the original was my favorite horror movie and the first I ever watched, we were really excited once we heard they were making another one that revisits Haddonfield 40 years later, resurrecting Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode. The film includes many scenes that pay homage to the sequels that came after 1978s initial film, which I thought was a great addition despite the complete retraction of any events that occurred after the first film. As viewers, we need to forget about any plot lines that were created after the original, since all that is wiped out for this one. No, Michael isn't Laure's half brother (Halloween II) and he's not part of an evil cult (Halloween VI). Personally, I thought the story of Laurie and Michael being siblings was an interesting twist Halloween II created, but I definitely understand why they ditched the idea for this film.

Halloween focuses on Laurie 40 years later, still coping with the trauma she experienced forty years earlier. Laurie's estranged relationship with her daughter, Karen, caused by a realm of unintentional paranoia created around her is depicted in this film. We are also introduced to Laurie's youthful grand-daughter, Allison, who wishes her grandmother would let go of the past but still has a special connection with her despite the relationship her own mother has with her.

Laurie Strode is a character who was deemed a movie heroine since the beginning of the Halloween franchise, and she reprises that role throughout this new movie. Although her tactics and behavior may come off as a bit neurotic, who wouldn't be living the rest of their life in fear after enduring what she did as a teenager? Over the past four decades, Laurie has prepared herself in case Michael ever did return, which turned out to be a really smart decision on her part considering the way this film plays out.

This film was a great come back for a film that had an obscene amount of sequels and mediocre remakes. Thankfully, John Carpenter had a lot of creative control with this film, and the music was tastefully brought back during the opening and ending credits of the film as well as throughout the movie. The music is so simple, but that's what makes it hit a nerve and make you feel like someone could be right around the corner, ready to strike. One hit of a piano key in the right scene can be so frightening in the right context, and Carpenter definitely excelled in that area. Suspense is something that is starting to become very rare in movies lately, but Halloween definitely kept that theme in this new film like they successfully did in the 1978 classic. I definitely recommend any Halloween fan to watch, because while it can never beat the original, it does a great job sealing up the story of the masked killer's terrorizing ways and Laurie gets to redeem herself once again.