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Released in 1978, “Halloween” is known to be the granddaddy of horror/slasher films. Not only was it an independent film that grossed millions of dollars, it became an inspiration to horror/slasher movies that would later come. The story of Michael Meyers, a dead eyed child who killed his sister, ended up in a mental institution, only to escape years later, fascinated me. I didn’t know his full story, and he was more than just a killing machine, he didn’t even seem human. The mere fact that he kept coming back to hunt and kill made him all that more appealing. My eyes were glued to the TV pretty consistently, and horror movies became my life.
During the next few years, I checked out every single horror movie on VHS and DVD that my puny library had to offer. I’d watch the classic, “Friday the 13th,” “Nightmare on Elm Street” and other slasher flicks, and I’d feel the terror pumping through me as the evil creature busted out a knife, or a long dangly fingernail. Nothing would ever compare to my precious first horror movie though. That movie brought a kind of horror movie love like no other. While I thought I’d experienced it all the way, experienced all the terror that I could with the first viewing, seeing it in theatre was a whole nother story. Since “Halloween” was my mom and I’s favorite movie, we jumped at a rare opportunity when I was fifteen. A local movie theatre was actually showing “Halloween” on the big screen. Since we had seen this movie approximately a million times, but not on a screen larger than our TV, Mom and I jumped at the chance. On Halloween night we were curled up at the movies, popcorn and junk food in hand, ready to watch our beloved Michael Meyers kill everyone on the big screen. From the opening credits, the music made my heart pound just a little bit faster. Even the ominous jack o lantern, leering at me, caused a little concern. From there, it only got worse. While I’d seen plenty of horror movies in theatre by then, I had not been able to experience this kind of raw terror. Nothing compared it by a long shot.
The scene that stuck with me the most and caused me to get the shakiest was the scene when Laurie is upstairs in the closet, thinking maybe she has a chance to live, maybe Michael is dead. Of course, he’s not, when he bolts up to come after Laurie once again. When Dr. Loomis runs in to save Laurie, shooting Michael, the viewer’s first feeling is relief. The boogeyman is gone, everything will be ok. Even though I had seen this movie dozens of times before, I felt that relief. When Michael’s body is suddenly gone from the place it was at the bottom of the lawn, I felt sick. Combined with the telltale music booming loudly above my head, I got the shakes. I could not calm down, even though I had seen this scene so many times before. Seeing it on a large screen, popcorn clenched in my hand, it felt different. That fear pulsing through me was bigger than what I saw on the TV at home. The boogeyman was real, and I felt him right behind me, ready to strike. Michael’s masked faced loomed over me. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night. The movie didn’t feel the same after that, it felt less like something I watched with my daddy beside me, and more like reality. By watching it on the big screen, despite being with my mom, I felt clammy and unsafe. I had never gotten that extreme of reaction prior to, or since that night in the movie theatre, gritting my teeth and thinking there really was someone behind me.
-Rachel Mellen