Halloween

THE FLICK: I won’t bore you with a rote description of the plot of John Carpenter’s “Halloween”. Not because it plays on some cable channel every night, or because you’re bound to catch one of its seven mediocre sequels. Because to do so is to sell the film short. Building off the modern horror ideas invented by Alfred Hitchock’s “Psycho,” “Halloween” brought terror out of the castle and into suburbia. The psuedo-supernatural killer Michael Myers doesn’t stalk his victims across some foggy countryside, he hunts them in backyards and parked cars. He’s anywhere and everywhere. It’s that sense of insecurity that puts audiences on edge. That’s what gives “Halloween” its impact – it brought fear into the home. But it didn’t do it in the sloppy, low-budget way, it did it with the same sort of meticulous craft ‘ol Hitch brought to the screen. Carpenter and cinematographer Dean Cundey produced unsettling shots with an eye for composition, where every empty inch of screen harbored a possible threat. And the score (also by Carpenter) cranks up the suspense with a relentlessly repeating motif that’s almost as identifiable as the holiday itself. THE FEATURES: “Halloween” is one of those films (like Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy) that gets a new DVD every year, each claiming to pack in something unique. Anchor Bay has released several versions, so let’s see what makes this one different. First up is the commentary track with Carpenter, producer Debra Hill and actress Jaimie Lee Curtis. Lifted from a previous laserdisc release, this one really lives up to the hype. Carpenter is in rare form, jumping from tech talk (he does an excellent job of breaking-down the opening Panaglide POV shot) to his stance against cookie-cutter Hollywood movies. Hill and Curtis are less interesting, but their comments are nice a little perspective. The big selling point of this the “25 Anniversary Edition” is the 87-minute documentary, “Halloween – A Cut Above The Rest,” although segments of this, too, appeared on previous DVDs. Regardless, it’s a whopper of a retrospective, and ranks up there as one of the two or three best pieces I’ve ever seen produced for DVD! Interspersing comments from Carpenter, Hill, producer Irwin Yablans (who came up with the whole idea in the first place), actor/director Nick Castle (who played Michael Myers onscreen), and the rest of the gang, this one touches all the bases with style. Be sure to stick around until the end to hear producer Moustapha Akkad promise to stop making sequels when he gets to number 22! “On Location – 25 Years Later” is just what it sounds like, giving us a look at the sunny California locations that stood in for the small Midwestern town of Haddonfield, Illinois. Wrapping up the extras are the theatrical trailer, two radio spots, posters & stills, screensavers, and the original screenplay. FINAL SCORE: Other than the substantial extras, the 25 Anniversary Edition has another selling point and that’s the transfer of the movie itself. Released in Divimax (Anchor Bay’s new catchy slogan) the picture is just as advertised, super-crisp and super-detailed. But quite honestly the other DVDs transfers weren’t so bad either. Shop around and see if this one is worth an upgrade. But if you don’t own the movie already, this is definitely the version to buy!