I recently watched these 2 seminal horror films, and the contrast between them is remarkable. John Carpenter's “Halloween” has aged quite well, still providing a gut-twisting sense of dread that builds up to sheer horror. Wes Craven's “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” on the other hand, is not nearly as good as I remembered it.
“Halloween” is a pretty straightforward story, without definite supernatural elements. A young boy named Michael Myers murders his sister in the 1960s. Fifteen years later, he escapes from the mental institution and returns to his hometown, where he terrorizes a group of teenagers. The movie works, in part, because it keeps things simple. You mix a homicidal maniac with some attractive teenagers, et voila! It has been the essential recipe for slasher films ever since. For better or for worse, the movie established many of the standard conventions of horror: 1) The killing of anyone who has sex, drinks, or uses drugs. 2) The Final Girl. 3) The killer who seems impossible to kill. That first point, that you die if you have sex, has become such a standard of horror films that it is a running joke, spoofed in movies like “Scream” and “The Cabin in the Woods.” This recurring theme probably says something messed up about our attitudes towards sex, but Carpenter denies that he had any moralistic intentions in writing “Halloween.”
Carpenter made “Halloween” with around $300k, which was ridiculously cheap even in 1978. He used his creative prowess to save money everywhere he could, including composing the score himself. For writing, directing, and scoring the film, Carpenter took a salary of only $10k. This bargain helped secure him creative control with final cut. On the back end, he negotiated himself a bonus of 10% of the profits, which worked out pretty well, as the movie has earned roughly $70 million, placing “Halloween” among the most profitable films ever, based on return on investment.
I think that the director having complete creative control is a big part of why “Halloween” is so great. This is not a horse built by committee. The movie also has a pretty decent cast, despite the low budget. The most notable, of course, is Jamie Lee Curtis, appearing here in her first movie role. She was a relative unknown then, but, as the daughter of Janet Leigh (Psycho), she brought some horror-film cred to the project. Curtis is really quite good in the role. She delivers a lot more personality than is typical for a character whose main job, historically, is to scream. Her female co-stars also deserve some credit. Nancy Kyes (credited as Nancy Loomis) and P.J. Soles lend some cuteness and comic relief to an otherwise intense movie. Because of its creative and financial success, “Halloween” became the template for many, many slasher films that followed.
One of those films is 1984's “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” Written and directed by Wes Craven, the film tells the story of a group of teenagers whose dreams are haunted by a sadistic killer named Freddy Krueger. In dreams, Krueger stalks the teens wearing a glove with knives on the fingertips, and when he kills you in a dream, you die for real!
It's a creative concept. With a director of Craven's caliber (He was known for “The Last House on the Left” and “The Hills Have Eyes,” and he went on to create the “Scream” movies.), this should be one of the great horror films. Many critics think it is, but re-watching it now, I was very unimpressed. The film does have its good points, including capturing the twisted logic and geography of dreams, where buildings have rooms and floors that don't exist in real life, and one place seems to transition into another. Craven manages to create a tremendous amount of dread. The characters are safe as long as they stay awake, but after days of sleep deprivation, normal mental processes start to break down. Sleep, and danger, are just seconds away! The movie is diminished, though, by bad acting, dated 80's styles, and lame, soft-focus camera filters. The movie's biggest flaw, however, is its ending. I have an issue with the old, “It was all a dream!” scam that some writers pull on the audience, and Craven uses it here to undermine the entire story. For me to enjoy a movie, there has to be some level on which things that happen in the film matter. A nihilistic ending like the one here just makes me feel like I wasted my time. Nonetheless, the movie was wildly successful, sparking a slew of sequels, including a 2010 remake starring Jackie Earle Haley. Most critics felt the remake was terrible, but the original is widely respected and viewed as a horror classic. I guess I'll have to be in the minority on this one.
Halloween - 4 stars out of 5
A Nightmare on Elm Street - 2 stars out of 5
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