Review of Halloween

Introduction

Having been sent Halloween II and Halloween III by DVD Reviewer last week, I thought I had better renew my acquaintance with the original movie, so it was time to dig Anchor Bay`s two-disc edition out of my "to be watched" pile.

John Carpenter`s Halloween, a low budget horror movie, was the surprise smash hit of 1978, taking a fortune at the box office, and giving Carpenter the clout to continue making horror/sci-fi movies to this day. Halloween launched the career of Jamie Lee Curtis and has spawned umpteen sequels, with the next instalment due to open in UK cinemas imminently.

The film tells the story of Michael Myers, who as a child massacres his sister and is locked up in a secure hospital. Years later, Myers escapes, and returns to his home town on Halloween and the killing starts again.

This two-disc set includes the original theatrical release (which was trimmed to time keeping purposes) in anamorphic widescreen, and the American television edition (which runs at the correct length) in full-frame. Personally I would prefer the whole movie in anamorphic widescreen.

Video

The video comes in a choice of 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen or full-frame depending on which flavour of the film you decide to watch. I hate full-frame presentations, so went for the anamorphic widescreen theatrical version.

Given the low budget of the movie, the film uses camera work instead of visual trickery and effects, and as a result the visuals have aged well, still looking quite fresh.

Audio

The soundtrack has been remastered into Dolby Digital 5.1 and sounds quite reasonable, although cleared focussed on the front three channels, with the rear speakers only kicking into life on occasion.

The most memorable sound in Halloween is Carpenter`s now famous score, which is a cinematic classic and rings out frequently.

The dialogue is clear and understandable throughout.

Features

The extras includes trailers; television spots; radio spots; talent bios; a picture gallery and a new documentary called "Halloween Unmasked 2000".

The disc is packaged in a black Amaray case, which contain some interesting background and production notes.

Conclusion

Overall, Halloween has stood the test of time quite well, the slow methodical build up, and the increasing menace helps to keep the film quite gripping, it`s just a shame that none of the numerous sequels have managed to come even close to the original, which has found its good name sullied by years of rubbish coming afterwards.

Good picture and sound are backed by reasonable extras, and given the bargain price that this disc can be bought for online, it`s recommended.