Who doesn’t love John Carpenter’s Halloween? It’s one of the greatest horror films of all time. We have Halloween to thank for the slasher boom of the ‘80s. The flick was a resounding success that resonated with critics and fans in equal measure. Not to mention, it also inspired future generations of filmmakers. Speaking of filmmakers upon whom the film imprinted in a meaningful way, Guillermo del Toro counts himself a massive fan of this beloved feature.
The Pacific Rim director once took to Twitter (I still refuse to call it X) to proclaim his undying appreciation for the flick. His tweet reads: “Halloween by John Carpenter. A genre supernova. Creates a taxonomic category that still lives. Unsparing precision, simplicity and elegance.”
Mr. del Toro said it far better than I could. Halloween is a benchmark of genre filmmaking to which all subsequent slashers will be compared, it’s in a class of its own. Not surprisingly, the film comes in at #11 on Rotten Tomatoes’ exhaustive ranking of the 200 greatest horror films of all time.
The nuts and bolts:
Carpenter helmed the iconic slasher picture from a script he cowrote with Debra Hill. Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis topline the film with Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles, and Charles Cyphers rounding out the cast. This cherished effort spawned a successful franchise that includes multiple sequels and several reboots, none of which will ever top the original, of course.
If del Toro’s undying appreciation for Halloween has you keen on a rewatch, you have ample choices for revisiting the flick. The picture is currently available on a variety of subscription-based streaming services and ad-supported platforms. Currently, you can scope Halloween on Xumo Play, Crackle, AMC+, and Shudder.
Plot crunch via Google Movies: On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith’s Grove. He returns to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims.
So, there it is, dear reader. Celebrated filmmaker del Toro loves Carpenter’s Halloween as much as we do. If you’re nostalgic for a return visit to the classic slasher, you have plenty of viable options at your disposal.
Make sure to stay tuned to Dread Central in the near future for more enticing recommendations from your favorite creators. If you fancy the idea of keeping up with me on social media, you can find me on Threads @FunWithHorror.
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