MovieChat Forums > Halloween (1978) Discussion > I was not scared; disappointing experien...

I was not scared; disappointing experience...

posted 8 years ago by LeSamourai86
57 replies | jump to latest

... but not the film's fault.

Undeniably, this is a very good movie. I love the camerawork, cinematography and music. I especially love the atmosphere; I did not just see that it is autumn (and halloween) but could feel it. I could feel the chill of autumn.

However, when I first watched this 6-7 years back, I was not scared. I did not even appreciate it as a film as much as I do now. I gave it another chance some years back but no cigar; I was not scared. I watched it again some weeks ago; this time, I liked it as a film, as described already. However, each time, I was not scared. This really annoyed me. Anyone else like this film but not scared by it?

On a side note, another annoying thing (and this is generally speaking) is that so many horror films I used to find terrifying 5-10 years ago do not scare me now. The only films that have really scared me in the last few years were The Babadook and It Follows.

Another point: some of my favourite horror films do not terrify me but their concepts do. For example, Dawn of the Dead does not give me nightmares anymore (like it first dead when I watched it at the age of 17 or 18), but the concept is still terrifying (a world with only a few people trying to survive). And some horrors films, I watch to be disgusted/horrified and some, I watch or to appreciate for their craftsmanship; I think Halloween may fall under the latter.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

I remember about 10, 12 years ago, I wouldn't watch it with the lights off. But now, It's not very scary. More entertaining than anything.

RIP Wayne 'Trapper John' Rogers. MASH wasn't the same w/o you. RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy

[–] Bennett_Brauer 8 years ago

I remember about 10, 12 years ago, I wouldn't watch it with the lights off. But now, It's not very scary. More entertaining than anything.

Sweet Mother of God, Christian!!!!!!!! You were only 21 years old about 10 years ago. Did you sleep with mommy? In her bed that night too.

Bennett reporting the cjh8504 news.

CJH-IMS must be stop!

[–] northernlad 8 years ago

WTF? lol Now what fresh hell is this?

American Horror Story Season 6: Donald Trump

[–] LeSamourai86 8 years ago

The premise is very disturbing, so it is even more surprising that it did not get an strong response from myself. Maybe I did not put myself in Laurie's position (as you mentioned) as much as I should have.

[–] dave626 8 years ago

I'm rather surprised you'd have nightmares about a zombie apocalypse which is less likely to happen in real life as opposed to some psychotic killer breaking into your house and killing you. Especially in today's world. Happens all the time, every day. Just watch the news. Sometimes it's even someone you don't know, a burglar or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

That's the whole premise of Halloween. Anyone, *anyone* can put on a mask and kill people. Or go mask-less and do it. Halloween takes place in suburbia. Any town, any where.

Also, you have to let go of modern thoughts. This was 1978, no cell phones, no internet, no way to call for help if the phone line's been cut. Random house killings happened, but not as often as now. That's what makes it scary, IMO. Could happen tomorrow, next week to any of us.

You have to have the right mind set. Some people don't believe in demons or ghosts, so movies like Paranormal Activity aren't scary. Some don't go into the woods or believe you can be killed in your dreams. All depends on what you believe.

Everyone's different, different tastes, different times. I don't see how Psycho could be considered "scary" black and white, 2 kills and no blood, but it is. Back in 1960 you didn't see stuff like that. A skin mask wearing chainsaw killer isn't likely unless you're in Texas, but it's still "scary" because Ed Gein did do the skin stuff, minus the chainsaw.

Real life serial killers like Dahmer, who ate people, Gacy who put people under his house, even manipulators like Manson, now they're scary. Even Bundy, who mostly went after women, Son of Sam, Zodiac, the list goes on. Those are the real Michael Myers.

In the end, it's all about what you grew up with, what you experienced and how you let things take you back in time to when they were made. If you can do that, let go of things, accept it for what it is, what it represents, especially in an age where horror was just coming out of "monster" movies (totally fictional, never happen wolves, mummies, vampires, patchwork men, etc.) and got more "real". Then you might think differently. Up to you, though, what you're open to.

"He came home." - Dr. Sam Loomis from the original HalloweeN

[–] LeSamourai86 8 years ago

I'm rather surprised you'd have nightmares about a zombie apocalypse which is less likely to happen in real life as opposed to some psychotic killer breaking into your house and killing you.

I do not have a good response to this but I'll try. I'll try to analyse why I feel the way I feel. To tell the truth, upon reflecting on your surprise, I am a little surprised too!

Maybe it is due to how much I've been desensitised to various subject matters. Yes, a maniac with a mask is realistic (and I'd probably (hope not, though) piss myself if I was chased by one) but onscreen, I have seen various acts of violence committed by humans, and humans chased by humans, for a significantly greater number of years. I only got into horror films about 10-12 years ago and that is when I encountered films like Dawn of the Dead. Even though I don't have nightmares now, maybe the reason I find the concept terrifying is because I have not yet been desensitised enough to it? Or maybe it's because, with Michael Myers, I feel less threatened because I know it's a human being dealt with, even though he seems emotionless (and does not seem killable!) and I am more familiar with human beings, whereas I've never encountered zombies and an Earth wiped out of a significant number of the human population before.

I really cannot express the feeling in a satisfactory manner; there is just something about a world that is totally unrecognisable. Maybe it's because there are no shops, medical services, fuel production, entertainment- a semblance of life as we know it. Maybe it's because it's not "all part of the plan", like the Joker said. With a maniac killer, it's shocking, it's horrible but we've seen it before. In real life.

Maybe these are the reasons. Maybe I'm just a strange person. Maybe I'm talking out of my ass. I will say one thing, though; the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974; one of my favourite horror films of all time), does still scare me, but in a different way. It's more harrowing than scary in the sense of say, The Babadook. The same goes for Psycho (it's really the atmosphere and the look of the film that is unsettling) and all the real life killers you mentioned. Also, that basement scene in Zodiac truly did scare me!

All depends on what you believe.

I very much agree with you about beliefs affecting fear. I have some belief in the supernatural, thus after watching a film like, say, The Babadook or some Japanese horror films (basically, spirits and faces in the dark, etc), I still find myself scared because it feels as though the faces may materialise in front of me.

Also, you have to let go of modern thoughts...
...and how you let things take you back in time to when they were made. If you can do that, let go of things, accept it for what it is, what it represents...

I actually don't find it difficult to do this; whichever film I watch, I accept the setting for what it is. I become immersed in the era (incidentally, the 60s, 70s and 80s are some of my favourite era; I especially love films set/filmed in sleazy 70s NYC, such as Taxi Driver).

I will share a revelation; I very recently showed my mum the last 20 mins of Halloween (she hates horror; I kinda had to persuade her, hehehe). Now she was terrified and closing her eyes frequently. I did have a better reaction myself that time round; I was not scared but I got more of a thrill than I did previously.

Sorry for length but it was great discussing. Thanks for sharing your opinions, too.

[–] dave626 8 years ago

We're all different and we are all scared of different things. Maybe you're too desensitized to some things, having seen it in real life. I am that way too. After seeing so many horror movies and so much in real life (like 9/11) it's hard for anything to shock me anymore. I still try to enjoy the movies, though.

It is different to watch another person's reactions to a movie. I understand that. Nice discussing this with you as well and I respect your feelings and opinions.

"He came home." - Dr. Sam Loomis from the original HalloweeN

[–] LeSamourai86 8 years ago

9/11 is a very good example. Obviously, so much pales in comparison to something horrible like this.

Nice discussing this with you as well and I respect your feelings and opinions.

Same to you, man.

[–] northernlad 8 years ago

Most movies don't scare me. It's all part of being desensitized to them. What may have scared me years ago, today does very little. These types of movies have creepy moments to them and that's what keeps me watching.

American Horror Story Season 6: Donald Trump

[–] LeSamourai86 8 years ago

Creepy moments, good film-making and good music.

[–] Marmadukebagelhole 8 years ago

Psycho and The Birds never scared me either. Ok so the climax of Psycho was a bit of a facemelter but it didn't haunt my dreams as a horrific moment as it did a great piece of filmmaking.

Then there's films that shat me right up but were generally forgettable and unlikely to get a second look.

It's a funny old game.

Glasgow's FOREMOST authority Italics = irony. Infer the opposite please.

[–] LeSamourai86 8 years ago

It is annoying when horror films with excellent filmmaking do not scare me as much as I'd like, then something comes along that is not a masterpiece but manages to provide chilling images (for example, the first half of Insidious really did scare me, however, as a film, it fell flat after 45 minutes or so).

[–] OldFriendOfTheChristys 8 years ago

I've always appreciated Halloween - on score alone it's masterful - and I acknowledge it is a creepy film, but I was never scared by it.

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

Unsettling, even, perhaps, Old.

RIP Wayne 'Trapper John' Rogers. MASH wasn't the same w/o you. RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy

[–] LeSamourai86 8 years ago

The score definitely adds so much; I do not think I would have gotten as much out of the film on my most recent viewing if it were not for the score.

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

Oh, the score totally makes it, Le. No doubt about it. Carpenter himself said it wasn't scary without it.

RIP Wayne 'Trapper John' Rogers. MASH wasn't the same w/o you. RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy

[–] LeSamourai86 8 years ago

Carpenter himself said it wasn't scary without it.

That's very interesting! Where did you hear that? DVD commentary? Documentary?

[–] dave626 8 years ago

Both. Pretty much every chance he gets. He admits to a lot of things about this movie, especially on Halloween the Inside Story. It's online and worth a watch.

"He came home." - Dr. Sam Loomis from the original HalloweeN

[–] LeSamourai86 8 years ago

Thanks!

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

You're welcome. And thanks to Kurt as well.

RIP Wayne 'Trapper John' Rogers. MASH wasn't the same w/o you. RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kurt7825 8 years ago

and thanks to cjh8504 for the years of service

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

You're welcome, my compadre.

RIP Wayne 'Trapper John' Rogers. MASH wasn't the same w/o you. RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy

[–] SomeCreepinaVan 8 years ago

Thank you, CJ, for being a great poster and a valued poignant memeber of the Halloween IMDB forum.

Some people on here do appreciate you and your posts.

[–] kurt7825 8 years ago

i do that's for sure

[–] Bennett_Brauer 8 years ago

and thanks to cjh8504 for the years of service

Since when being a bigot is a service? Cj hates gays, blacks or whatever. He gave birth to the name TROLL on imdb for christ sake! Look-up the word TROLL in the dictionary and you will see cjs face.

Bennett

CJH-IMS must be stop!

[–] kurt7825 8 years ago

actually, Halloween was the first board i visited on imdb or anywhere to do with movies. i thought it would be boring talk about movies but then i noticed topics about cj8504 and was instantly intrigued.

i was completely amazed by this cj character and honestly came back to see what he'd say next.

i even thought he was involved with the actual movie because he was commenting in every post and everyone was talking to him.

anyway, without cj i may never have come back. it was mayhem here with cj8504 causing all kinds of controversy but very interesting.

that's all honestly true

i don't know if he's always been this way but he's really unique.

he now has attacked me personally on my taste in movies and i have started to attack him back so i guess we are at war. i am now part of the "cj8504 resistance"

oh well, the Halloween board is pretty cool.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kurt7825 8 years ago

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

you may choose not to fight and that's okay but imagine how different the world would be today if great nations chose to stand up to Hitler at Munich in 1938 instead of giving in to him.

whether you like it or not there is a war on imdb and it is between those who are with cjh8504 and those who are against. cjh8504 conquers new imdb boards every day and every day he becomes more powerful

this Halloween board is our Munich and if we have the slightest chance to stop cjh8504, to stop evil, we must try to stop him here and now

if not for us, then do it for the children so that someday they too can come to imdb without fear, and without reproach

i've chosen my side. have you?

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

You know in two posts ago, you forgot my h in my screen name in every one.

RIP Wayne 'Trapper John' Rogers. MASH wasn't the same w/o you. RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy

[–] Marmadukebagelhole 8 years ago

People always jump on this quote like it was an admission of the film being flawed.

Can someone recommend a great horror movie that has no music or is not considered scary at least in great part due to its music?

(The Birds doesn't count. It has no score but it has a carefully constructed sound effects track supervised by composer Bernard Herrmann)

Glasgow's FOREMOST authority Italics = irony. Infer the opposite please.

[–] kurt7825 8 years ago

i agree with that for sure

[–] rogombor 8 years ago

I wasn't really "scared" but I was feeling tense all the time and my heart rate was all over the place. I think I was more disturbed than scared. And as someone else said, it's a bit bizarre that people are scared by stuff like zombie films. I'm more of the kind to get disturbed by stuff like this one, Fulci's "Don't torture a duckling", "The psychic" and "Murder rock", or Jonathan Demme's "The silence of the lambs".
"Don't torture a duckling" was probably the most disturbing of the lot, there was a brutal killing of a woman that really twisted my guts. On one hand I couldn't take my eyes out of the screen but on the other hand that was all I wanted to do. Absolutely gruesome and specially disgusting since it was a woman who was being killed.

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

Don't Torture the Duckling sounds good.

RIP Wayne 'Trapper John' Rogers. MASH wasn't the same w/o you. RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy

[–] rogombor 8 years ago

It is, and the soundtrack is a marvel too. Riz Ortolani's score sounds peaceful while the most disturbing things are happening. The contrast between the horrors happening in that small rural town and the peaceful music are quite a piece of art from the master Lucio Fulci. You see something similar in The Silence of the Lambs with Bach, but they cut it and introduce a suspense inducing tune at some point right before things get bloody. Fulci doesn't do that. It's pretty twisted.
I confess the first time I was going to watch it I had to cut it right at the opening because the first scene was already too disturbing for me at a visceral level. I had to take some courage to continue watching it, I don't recall if I finished watching it that same day or if I went back to it another day.

[–] rogombor 8 years ago

Also I think the acting and the looks of the people and the small village coupled with the less-than-perfect image quality as expected from a low budget film from that era made it look even more authentic and made it even more chilling.

[–] LeSamourai86 8 years ago

Absolutely gruesome and specially disgusting since it was a woman who was being killed.

Why? What if it was a man?

[–] rogombor 8 years ago

Well, I'm a guy, so it hits me harder when I see a woman getting hurt. Objectively, it's as bad, but the gut reaction just isn't the same.
We're just wired that way, and it's why mixed military units are problematic. Men do things like take excessive risks to spare women.
The origin of that behavior is probably related to evolution, since women are a more valuable resource in the struggle for the survival of the species.

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

I hate when animals get injured or killed. That's sadder than any human, I think. Except maybe a baby.

RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy. RIP Doris Roberts. You were wonderful in ELR.

[–] rogombor 8 years ago

I hate when animals get injured or killed. That's sadder than any human, I think.

Sounds pretty edgy. Don't torture a duckling doesn't have animal abuse though. It's just a typical giallo title, coupled with a bad translation (paperino translates literally to duckling but it's also the name for Donald Duck in Italy).

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

Like remember that poor supposedly protected Lion that was shot by that dentist? That really made me mad.

RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy. RIP Doris Roberts. You were wonderful in ELR.

[–] LeSamourai86 8 years ago

Well, I'm a guy, so it hits me harder when I see a woman getting hurt.

I can kinda relate to that. For example, in the depiction of rape in films; I find it difficult to watch/listen to rape scenes (often, I must look away and block my ears or forward to the scene) regardless of whether the victim is male or female, the level of discomfort feels greater when it's a woman, though I abhor it regardless of the victim's gender.

...and it's why mixed military units are problematic. Men do things like take excessive risks to spare women.

I agree with this

[–] rogombor 8 years ago

I can kinda relate to that. For example, in the depiction of rape in films; I find it difficult to watch/listen to rape scenes (often, I must look away and block my ears or forward to the scene) regardless of whether the victim is male or female, the level of discomfort feels greater when it's a woman, though I abhor it regardless of the victim's gender.

Exactly what I meant. Even scenes that aren't very realistic like the rape ones in the Death Wish saga aren't for the faint of heart.

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

What's not realistic about the rape scene in Death Wish? That was the 70's. Anything went then.

RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy. RIP Doris Roberts. You were wonderful in ELR.

[–] rogombor 8 years ago

LOL, fair enough

I think the film "The Editor" did a great job capturing that, it's like watching a 70s giallo.

[–] kurt7825 8 years ago

the rape scenes in Death Wish sure are brutal though.

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

That's what I'm saying, Kurtis.

RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy. RIP Doris Roberts. You were wonderful in ELR.

[–] SomeCreepinaVan 8 years ago

Watch it outside in a drive-in theater alone at 2 AM, and I'd bet you'd be scared.

Rating a thriller/horror film based on how scared you doesn't make that much to me. There's so much more to it.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

Interesting point, Barney.

RIP Wayne 'Trapper John' Rogers. MASH wasn't the same w/o you. RIP Tony Burton. RIP George Kennedy

[–] HelloMyNameIsMrBurns 8 years ago

Yeah, it's not even a remotely frightening film experience.

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

To each their own.

X-Men: Apocalypse 8/10. TMNT: Out of the Shadows 9/10. RIP Doris Roberts. You were wonderful in ELR.

[–] simest 8 years ago

Yeah, it's not even a remotely frightening film experience.

Out of curiosity, what movies do you consider were a remotely frightening film experience?

And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.

[–] cjh8504 8 years ago

Ought to be interesting, Simmy.

X-Men: Apocalypse 8/10. TMNT: Out of the Shadows 9/10. RIP Doris Roberts. You were wonderful in ELR.