October First: Watching Halloween

 “Halloween” (1978)
Starring Donald Pleasance, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nick Castle
Directed by John Carpenter
Written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill
Rated R for violence, nudity, sexual content, language

It's happened to us all. You're having a conversation about a well-known movie, perhaps even a cultural touchstone, and one seemingly ordinary, well-informed person in the group admits they've never seen it.

The response is often one of shock. “How have you never watched (insert popular movie title here)?” you'll think or even ask aloud.

I've been that person, like when, on more than one occasion, someone tells me they've never seen a single "Star Wars" movie. But I don't judge, because, just as often, I'm the one who hasn't seen the movie in question.

I actually delayed watching "The Princess Bride" a few times just because I was so amused by the look of dismay and confusion on my friend's face when I reminded him I hadn't seen it. And when I finally did watch it, I enjoyed it, but it didn't land for me the way it did for a lot of folks who watched it when it came out or not long after – as opposed to 20-plus years after its release. I'd heard it was a beloved classic, and I certainly saw why people like it so much, but it just wasn't the same.

I was in two of those conversations in the space of a day or two about Halloween not long ago, one in person, one virtual. I admitted the only one I'd seen was 1998's "Halloween: H20." Horror movies aren't really my thing, though I've written before about how appealing I find the continuous sequels and ongoing continuity.

Not long after, I was at the library and saw the "Halloween" DVD sitting there among the featured seasonal materials. I figured, why not?

A co-worker requested a report on it, saying I owed her since she and her husband watched Shadow in the Cloud at my suggestion. I said I thought they owed me a thank you, but she disagreed. So if I'm writing, it may as well be a blog, right?

Even if it's not about comics.

Overall, I'd say this is one of the most effective abstinence PSAs ever produced. Joking aside, it's easy to see why this is a classic.

From the start, the simple, haunting theme by Carpenter sets a mood that cannot be broken, no matter how odd some of the characters' actions may seem (and isn't nonsensical decisions or behaviors a longstanding horror trope?). The first-person sequence of a young Michael Myers watching and ultimately murdering his teenage sister is gripping and unsettling, with the reveal of his age shocking even though I already knew about it.

Jumping ahead 15 years, the atmosphere remains intact thanks to the music and camerawork, despite the fact that escaped-from-a-mental-institution Michael Myers is lurking in broad daylight in the middle of a decently populated town as he stalks young Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis).

Curtis is the “Girl Scout,” a dedicated student who earns money babysitting while her friends are out being promiscuous like a lot of young people in horror movies. They, of course, end up as Myers' victims in sequences that are no less disturbing because of their lack of excessive gore and torture.

As is almost always the case, the nudity is unnecessary, but it's not a leering emphasis on women's chests. They just happen to be in some shots.

I was a bit distracted by my limited knowledge of the franchise. I know (or think I do) there's more to Myers' fixation on Laurie than is shown in this movie. But the story doesn't suffer from the simple motivation of Michael just being really, really evil.

Dr. Loomis (Pleasance) emphatically conveys the threat he poses, although I'm still not sure how he could suss out Michael's motivations from 15 years of him not talking and staring at the wall.

Fair warning if you, like me, never got around to watching this but decide to give it a try: something bad happens to at least one dog. I know it's a movie with multiple human fatalities, but come on, dogs.

I'll pretend that didn't happen and probably still check out some of the sequels, both the originals and the newer iterations that ignore them but still stem from the original. I'm a sucker for diverging timelines.

I look forward to seeing how they balance Myers' horrible crimes with his comedic work on "Saturday Night Live" and in the "Shrek" franchise.