If one has enough time on one's hands (like me) and one has watched enough horror movies (me again) the one can directly trace the evolution of the modern 'slasher' movie. It began back in the 30's with the movie M. M one might say, is the Australopithecine of slasher movies. The famous 1960  movie Psycho is the Homohabilus, the 1964's The Curse of the Living Corpse is the Homo erectus of slashers, and finally, one comes to Halloween.

Made in 1978 with a rock bottom budget by famous director John Carpenter, this movie was so successful both financially and critically that it helped to create one of the most critically hated sub-genre's ever. Kind of ironic when you think about it.

The movie begins with a quite promising opening in which we watch a young Michael Myers procure a quite large knife and stab his topless sister to death.Young Myers, is then confined to a mental institution for the rest of his natural life.

Fast forward 15 years. Michael's doctor, Sam Lomis (Donald Plesense) is about to move Mikey to a new institution when Mike breaks out, steals a car, and makes a b-line for his home town of Haddenfield. Lomis is not to happy about this and spends the rest of the movie trying to convince the Haddenfield. authorities that, as he puts it "Death has come to your town." He has it in his head that Mike is some kind of ultimate evil that must be kept locked up at all cost. And he's the psychologist. Just imagine how screwed up his patients must be.

Meanwhile, in Haddenfeild, Laurie Strode and her airhead friends amble about town discussing the usual stuff, boys, school, boys. Laurie however, senses something is amiss, one clue is the strange masked person who falows her around. The fact that the annoying kid she has to baby sit keeps telling her that the bogeyman is after her doesn't help much.

If one is well educated in the annals of horror movies you can already predict that Laurie and Michael will meet up, but before they do Mike will cut up Laurie's airhead friends and their airhead boy toys. But what sets this movie apart from other "Take of your clothes and die" movies is that the characters are so. . .I don't know. . .normal. Instead of being A-typical archetypes (the Rich Bitch, Her Boy Toy, the Weird Host, the Nice Girl, etc. ) these characters act like real, live, teenagers. Or at least real live teenagers from 1978.

Besides various episodes of Charlie's Angles this movie was Jamie Lee Curtis' screen debut. Though still in the embrionic stage acting wise (for some reason it required John Cleese to really make her shine) she's still rock solid when it comes to acting. Unlike other such heroines in other such horror movies she doesn't clap her hands over her ears and scream. She physically fights Mike and even stabes him in the eye with a coat hanger. Not that it does any good.

A little Donald Pleseses lesson class. He's a fine British actor who, to pay his bills, has made some bad movies. The worst (that I can recall of the top of my head) being a disgusting little piece of trash called Puma Man. When I'm feeling really bad about myself I'll watch that movie again and truly appreciate how good his acting is here. As Lomis he delivers some creepy speeches, walks around looking alarmed, and scares children with his scratchy voice (I kid you not). Watching him is like watching Millennium's Lance Henkerson with a British accent.

Mike Myers is probably the most fearsome psycho since Psycho. He's the bogeyman, 'nuff said.

As I explore the shelves looking for good movies rarely do I find one that lives up to its reputation. Halloween lives up it its reputation. The script (written by Carpenter himself) is beautiful in its simplicity. Halloween is, and always will be the perfect slasher movie for all ages.

RATING(OUT OF A POSSIBLE FIVE)

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