Very good pioneering slasher film, but it is simply not in the same league as Halloween. Don't be fooled by the lovers of this film who say it's better; while good, it's definitely not near the classic that Halloween is.
Olivia Hussey just does not demonstrate the same fear that Jamie Lee Curtis does and John Saxon appears too cool as a cumber to match the "everyone needs to be afraid" distraught characterization that Donald Pleasance brought to his authority figure.
Margot Kidder, however, shines as the comic relief, better than the similar characters in Halloween. But finally, the killer just does not create the same sense of doomsday that Michael Myers does.
All in all, an entertaining and early slasher film for which it deserves credit, but it's not the opus that some reviewers would have you believe.
Olivia Hussey just does not demonstrate the same fear that Jamie Lee Curtis does and John Saxon appears too cool as a cumber to match the "everyone needs to be afraid" distraught characterization that Donald Pleasance brought to his authority figure.
Margot Kidder, however, shines as the comic relief, better than the similar characters in Halloween. But finally, the killer just does not create the same sense of doomsday that Michael Myers does.
All in all, an entertaining and early slasher film for which it deserves credit, but it's not the opus that some reviewers would have you believe.