Cool Horror Videos: Siskel and Ebert praise John Carpenter’s Halloween

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

It should be no secret to HALLOWEEN fans by now that one of the biggest boosts the film received upon initial release were the raves given to it by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, probably the two most famous film critics of all time. For his part, Ebert gave the film 4 out of 4 stars and called it a masterpiece, comparing it to PSYCHO; lofty praise for a film that was receiving mostly ho-hum word-of-mouth from the majority of critics at the time.

While the below video isn’t their original review of the film, it’s a revisit by the duo as part of a larger special, where they compare it favorably to other slasher films (which they clearly do not appreciate so much). It’s pretty cool watching the two lavish praise on John Carpenter’s movie, even touting its “artistry” at one point. Any HALLOWEEN fan should enjoy this, just as they should appreciate the effort Siskel and Ebert put in to making sure people gave the now-classic flick a chance.

Source: YouTube

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Eric Walkuski is a longtime writer, critic, and reporter for JoBlo.com. He's been a contributor for over 15 years, having written dozens of reviews and hundreds of news articles for the site. In addition, he's conducted almost 100 interviews as JoBlo's New York correspondent.