MovieChat Forums > Halloween (1978) Discussion > The house not answering the door

The house not answering the door


I mean, Jamie Lee Curtis' character is absolutely terrified and yelling for help, yet the people in that house she goes to will go so far as to turn on the porch light, but they turn it off again almost immediately as they reject her pleas for help. That smacks of a contrivance that I just can't buy, they must've been heartless bastards for ignoring her like that. And if that is a typical staple of slasher movies, then IT SUCKS.

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It is a contrivance, of course, but I always assumed they thought it was a teenager pulling a Halloween prank.

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Good answer.

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Well it was good that they didn’t answer cause Michael would’ve killed them too.

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Pretty bad but I think in a way they were both glad and sorry they didn't answer it after the news got.

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They figured she was a strong straight cisgender white woman who could handle Michael.
Woke neighbors.

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Interesting point. Maybe it was a man who was home and he realized a woman never needs help from a man.

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As heartless as it seems, I wouldn’t answer the door.. I would call the police. I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that it could be a ploy, like in The Strangers. I would feel terrible for not answering, but I would call for help. My family’s safety would be first on my mind. Also, I’d be like, “I hope my cat is in with scary s*** like this going on outside lol.

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In real life there have been instances where women have been attacked and killed and called out for help but neighbors who were totally in range of hearing what is going on chose to ignore it. It actually is a reported psychological phenomenon.

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Yep, it's called the Kitty Genovese effect after the 1960's case of the woman who was murdered while dozens of bystanders assumed someone else would call police.

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The neighbors simply thought it was a Halloween prank.

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