It feels criminal to say this was merely solid when there are so many fantastic elements.
Of course Jamie Lee Curtis is amazing and deserved to become a star, but the rest of the supporting cast is full of actors making the most of smaller parts. I could have just watched the three women talk for the entire movie and been perfectly contented.
Likewise, the movie is a low-budget looker - Midwestern suburbia feels equally cozy and terrifying. There’s the iconic synth score which is used well without being overdone – compare to Beverly Hills Cop, a movie with another iconic, simple electronic score that can’t help but play it every three minutes.
But so much of this movie is buildup, a process that didn’t work for me. The movie seems interminable when Laurie is babysitting or when we’re watching Dr. Loomis wander around.
It also suffers in comparison to one of the all-time horror classics, John Carpenter’s THE THING a few years later. The foreshadowing and buildup is so well executed there that it made this feel more like a prototype or warmup.
