Jamie Lee Curtis made her Hollywood debut in 1978’s ‘Halloween’ Alamy
Jamie Lee Curtis made her Hollywood debut in 1978’s ‘Halloween’ Alamy
Jamie Lee Curtis made her Hollywood debut in 1978’s ‘Halloween’ Alamy
Jamie Lee Curtis made her Hollywood debut in 1978’s ‘Halloween’ Alamy

Long live the queen of slasher flick: the 25th anniversary of John Carpenter’s 'Halloween'


Katy Gillett
  • English
  • Arabic

Even though John Carpenter's 1978 horror flick Halloween was shot in only 20 days with a budget of about $300,000 (Dh1.1 million), its success has endured for decades. Yet, when it was released on October 25 that year, critics were quick to dismiss it as a "well-made but empty morbid thriller" (that burn appeared in the Los Angeles Times). Pauline Kael wrote in The New Yorker that "maybe when a horror film is stripped of everything but dumb scariness … it satisfies part of the audience in a more basic, childish way than sophisticated horror pictures do". 

Even so, the Halloween franchise became a firm favourite among gore-loving film fans. It popularised the slasher flick, spawning seven sequels and also introducing the world to a 20-year-old Jamie Lee Curtis, who made her big-screen debut as protagonist Laurie Strode.

Before then, the Californian actress, daughter of actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, had only dabbled in TV roles, having starred in episodes of series such as Columbo, Operation Petticoat and Charlie's Angels.

After that first Hollywood appearance, Curtis went back to the small screen for a couple of years before her cinematic career truly took off. In 1980, she starred in three movies, all horror flicks (The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train), then in 1981 she was cast in five. 

While she later spread her wings beyond horrors – she's now well-known for her roles in True Lies, My Girl and Freaky FridayCurtis returned to the silver screen as Strode in the Halloween reboot, which was released in the UAE on October 25 last year. On opening weekend, it brought in more than Dh1.5 million at the box office across the country.

It's not over either, as there are two more films in the franchise, both starring Curtis, yet to come. Halloween Kills is set for an October release next year, with Halloween Ends to come one year later.

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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

MATCH INFO

Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')

Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')

Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)

'The Sky is Everywhere'

Director:Josephine Decker

Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon

Rating:2/5

How do Sim card scams work?

Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.

They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards by claiming to be the victim, often pretending their phone has been lost or stolen in order to secure a new Sim.

They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.

The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.

THE BIG MATCH

Arsenal v Manchester City,

Sunday, Emirates Stadium, 6.30pm

What is hepatitis?

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.

There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.

Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.

People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.

There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.

The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.

 

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

RACE CARD

6.30pm: Baniyas Group 2 (PA) Dh 97,500 (Dirt) 1,400m.

7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m

7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m

8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,600m

9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 1,200m

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh 85,000 (D) 2,000m

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

Result

Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')

West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

PRO BASH

Thursday’s fixtures

6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors

10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters

Teams

Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.

Squad rules

All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.

Tournament rules

The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.

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