(Recommended by SI reader kurf)

Something very good or something very bad in life, there’s got to be an Indian connection.

Right, na?

After watching the lovely horror film Halloween (1978), we were wondering what the Indian connection could be.

Eureka. As the credits started rolling, there it was, our Indian connection – Krishna Rao.

The 2nd Assistant Cameraman for Halloween was Krishna Rao. No kidding.

Seriously, while Krishna Rao surely did a good job with the camera the credit for this solid movie really belongs to its director John Carpenter for a stellar job on a limited budget.

Two DVDs
When the mailman brought us two DVDs Halloween and the Telugu flick Arya from Netflix earlier today, there was no doubt which one would top our watching list.

Since Halloween is almost upon us, we watched the English horror movie first.

The 1978 film features Jamie Lee Curtis as the baby sitter Laurie, Donald Pleasence as the psychiatrist and Michael Myers as the escaped lunatic.

We’ve watched a considerable bit of the movie. No complaints with this one.

It’s Halloween night in 1963. The first murder has already happened in Heddenfield, IL. Young Judith Myers has been brutally stabbed to death.

And the murderer put away for a long time. Won’t tell you where.

A shortwhile ago, the second murder happened.

We’ll update this post later. Gotta get back to the movie.

BTW, the spooky music is very good. Again, full kudos to John Carpenter.

Update
More than three decades after Halloween debuted, the movie still gives the creeps and holds you transfixed to the screen.

It’s one of those rare movies that has managed to stand the test of time.

The buildup of tension is done masterfully and that too without spending too much time on the actual violent acts itself.

To heighten the tension and novelty, the bad guy is seldom shown. Or only at a distance, standing behind the car or hiding behind thebushes or driving a car (though you don’t really see him driving).

Until the end, we never get to see his face and that too only momentarily.

All the actors did a good enough job. No complaints here. But truth be said this is not a movie where the actors really matter that much because the script is so solid.

Lighting was superb, all through the movie. A kind of soft blue outside adding to the grim foreboding.

Haunting Music
We loved the music.

Eerie and haunting.

Strikes just the right notes for this horror movie. We might buy the theme music later from iTunes (just 99-cents).

Lovely Film
While Halloween is overall a lovely film, it does have some holes in it.

Like why does Laurie not switch on the light at the little girl Lindsey’s house or why she doesn’t run out with the kids at the end (maybe, she’s badly hurt?).

But in the big picture, these shortcomings are small stuff.

The ending was handled well too. A nice twist.

Here are some nice lines from the movie:

* I spent eight years trying to reach him and another seven to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy’s eyes was purely and simply evil.

* Death has come to your little town, Sheriff. You can either ignore it or you can help me to stop it.

If you live in the U.S., Halloween is available at Netflix.