Halloweeen (1978; AMC edit) -- Evening Watch

With plans to keep with a sort of new tradition these last few to watch Dracula (’31) after taking my son to his middle school’s Halloween “fall festival” Friday night, I really wasn’t sure what I would be watching Thursday evening after taking a “day off” Wednesday. AMC was showing Halloween (1978) at 5 in the afternoon when I got home so I just kept it on although I had plans to watch my 35 anniversary Blu this Halloween. Sure enough that scene of Hutton’s Leigh Michaels in the parking garage and later in her apartment arriving before her big climactic confrontation with her tormenter in Someone’s Watching Me! (1978), came right back as Laurie Strode was making her walk to the house where Annie and Lynda, her dearest friends, are murdered by Michael Myers. Critics of Carpenter sometimes claim that his success had a lot to do with cinematographer, Cundy. Cundy is fantastic with lighting, a genius of widescreen, no doubt. But watch Carpenter’s work in the film right before Halloween, you can definitely find some stylistic touches that are alive and well in Someone’s Watching Me! with how his camera looks at the female lead and then what’s in front of her. Cutting his teeth as a director when producing screenplays, I really enjoyed his brief but proud interview about Someone’s Watching Me! and the experience of it, you can really see him quite taken back to that time when he made it. Perhaps it was because he got to talk another film besides Halloween or The Thing (1982) for a change. It was quite a time for him, though, around 1978. As he mentions in the interview, after those two films, he then directed Elvis, completing a triumvirate that left him quite exhausted. I still see Halloween as more than just the “babysitter murders” or “the killer escapes the asylum”. What I have read from some who prefer Rob Zombie’s version as a duller part of the film—Laurie’s activities prior to coming across Michael—is what really appeals to me as I get older. They were planning to fuck and go to the big dance, thinking of dating and topics of sex and guys come up, not to mention, school (or leaving your books in the building on accident…or on purpose) and weed factor on walks and car rides to the homes of parents with kids they will (or are supposed to) babysit. And, as it just so happens, Michael escaped from the institution, made his way “home”, eventually taking a “shine” to Annie and Laurie, driving behind them, with dark plans. He will either make sure any future plans they might have are ended or attempt to in the case of Laurie. But with “Don’t Fear the Reaper” jamming on the radio as the sun begins to set, Annie and Laurie shot from the back seat as they discuss Ben Tramer, the wind tossing the leaves around outside (and the clothes line) as Michael has followed Laurie home, fate discussed in the classroom as Laurie looks out the window as she felt something perhaps eyeing her, a long walk home was the girls chat about this or that, these are the parts of the film I have grown to appreciate just as much as Michael’s voyeurism, strangling, and behind-the-back antics…wait, that sentence didn’t exactly read right! ****/****

*I did notice the extra e in my title but I left it in there because I'm so easily amused.