The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Halloween
Horror · Thriller · 1978
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Movie details
Halloween
“The night he came home!”
1978 Horror · Thriller 1h 31m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.6 / 10
Community rating
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Halloween?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Haunt
Horror · 2019
On Halloween, a group of friends encounter an extreme haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears. The night turns deadly as they come to the horrifying realisation that some nightmares are real.
The Stepfather
Horror · 1987
Seemingly mild-mannered Henry Morrison has just murdered his entire family. After adopting a new identity and skipping town, he begins building a new relationship with a widow and her teenage daughter. However, he soon begins struggling to hide his true identity and maintain a grip on reality.
Night of the Reaper
Horror · 2025
A college student returns home for the weekend and reluctantly takes a babysitting job after a local babysitter is brutally murdered. When the town’s sheriff receives chilling evidence that the killing wasn’t an isolated incident, a deadly night unfolds as a masked killer sets the stage for another attack.
Friday the 13th Part 2
Horror · 1981
Five years after the horrible bloodbath at Camp Crystal Lake, new counselors roam the area, not sensing the ominous lurking presence that proves that the grisly legend is real.
The Children
Horror · 2008
A relaxing Christmas vacation turns into a terrifying fight for survival as the children begin to turn on their parents.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Horror · 1988
Ten years after his original massacre, the invalid Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Horror · 1984
Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world...
Fright
Horror · 1971
Young babysitter Amanda arrives at the Lloyd residence to spend the evening looking after their young son. Soon after the Lloyds leave, a series of frightening occurrences in the gloomy old house have Amanda's nerves on edge. The real terror begins, however, when the child's biological father appears after recently escaping from a nearby mental institution.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Horror · 1998
Two decades after surviving a massacre on October 31, 1978, former baby sitter Laurie Strode finds herself hunted by persistent knife-wielder Michael Myers. Laurie now lives in Northern California under an assumed name, where she works as the headmistress of a private school. But it's not far enough to escape Myers, who soon discovers her whereabouts. As Halloween descends upon Laurie's peaceful community, a feeling of dread weighs upon her -- with good reason.
Alone in the Dark
Horror · 1982
A quartet of murderous psychopaths break out of a mental hospital during a power blackout and lay siege to their doctor's house.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Carpenter
Written by
John Carpenter · Debra Hill
Donald Pleasence
Loomis
Jamie Lee Curtis
Laurie
Nancy Kyes
Annie
P. J. Soles
Lynda
Charles Cyphers
Brackett
Kyle Richards
Lindsey
Brian Andrews
Tommy
Court is in session
Put Halloween on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.