Halloween (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.

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

John Carpenter (screenplay), Debra Hill (screenplay)

Stars:

Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran

5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Donald Pleasence	...	Loomis
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Laurie
Nancy Kyes	...	Annie (as Nancy Loomis)
P.J. Soles	...	Lynda
Charles Cyphers	...	Brackett
Kyle Richards	...	Lindsey
Brian Andrews	...	Tommy
John Michael Graham	...	Bob
Nancy Stephens	...	Marion
Arthur Malet	...	Graveyard Keeper
Mickey Yablans	...	Richie
Brent Le Page	...	Lonnie
Adam Hollander	...	Keith
Robert Phalen	...	Dr. Wynn
Tony Moran	...	Michael Myers (age 23)

Storyline

The year is 1963, the night: Halloween. Police are called to 43 Lampkin Ln. only to discover that 15 year old Judith Myers has been stabbed to death, by her 6 year-old brother, Michael. After being institutionalized for 15 years, Myers breaks out on the night before Halloween. No one knows, nor wants to find out, what will happen on October 31st 1978 besides Myers' psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis. He knows Michael is coming back to Haddonfield, but by the time the town realizes it, it'll be too late for many people.

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Plot Keywords:

halloween | year 1978 | babysitting | stabbed to death | knife murder | 

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Taglines:

Happy Halloween!

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Halloween

Filming Locations:

Meridian Avenue & Mission Street, South Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$47,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$70,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compass International Pictures, Falcon International Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 101 min (Extended TV Version)

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where The Shape seems to appear out of the darkness behind Laurie was accomplished by using a simple dimmer switch on the light that slowly illuminated the mask.

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Goofs

(at around 28 mins) Autumn leaves cascade down on Laurie and rustle to the ground as she exits her house in expectation of Annie to pick her up. As she sits at the corner watching children trick-or-treat there are no leaves falling anywhere else in the neighborhood, not even to her immediate right side where the lawn and sidewalk are clean.

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Quotes

Marion: Don't you think it would be better if you referred to "it" as "him"?
Loomis: If you say so.
Marion: Your compassion's overwhelming, Doctor.

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Crazy Credits

The music for the film -- written and performed by John Carpenter -- is instead credited to "The Bowling Green Philharmonic Orchestra." Carpenter grew up in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

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Alternate Versions

In all UK video releases there are 12 seconds omitted involving a chase scene outside between Micheal & Laurie. There is no given reason for this by the BBFC and the UK terrestrial channel BBC2 always includes this scene.

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Connections

Referenced in Stranger Things: Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street (2016)

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Soundtracks

Laurie Knows
Written by John Carpenter
Performed by The Bowling Green Philharmonic Orchestra

User Reviews

Dosn't Deserve the Legacy At All!!!

I know everyone is gonna disagree with me when I say all this. I understand this was the first slasher film, it influenced almost every slasher film today (which we really could have done with out!) Just because something is the first of it's kind doesn't make it good. There's no mystery in this film, no creepy or scary bits, nothing interesting in it at all! Michael Myers doesn't even have a reason for killing people! I also don't get why he is such a superhuman and just disappears and dies and comes back to life all the time. He just a person! The actors... what can I say. Awful! Cheesy and not convincing. Especially those kids. I would have expected more from a so called 'classic'. The one thing I liked in this film is the theme tune. And even that gets annoying! Usually I would recommend a slasher film just to get scared and to watch on Halloween not to be interested or get into the story. Halloween doesn't a interesting plot and is not scary. There is no way this film should be a classic. Most overrated film of all time. 2/10