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

6 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:

He's come back

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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:

$325,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$47,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$47,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compass International Pictures, Falcon International Pictures, Falcon International Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 101 min (Extended TV Version)

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Laurie's father is played by Peter Griffith. He is also the father of a famous actress, Melanie Griffith, and the ex-husband of another Hitchcock veteran, Tippi Hedren. For some reason this character never shows up in the franchise again after the original opening scenes of Halloween. He doesn't even come visit his daughter in the hospital after she's been attacked.

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Goofs

(at around 25 mins) As Laurie is walking home from school, a leaf (or some other debris) is briefly seen stuck in her hair. When she turns back, looking towards where Michael was after she bumps into the Sheriff and is startled, the leaf is gone.

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Quotes

Brackett: It's Halloween; everyone's entitled to one good scare.

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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

Additional scenes were shot by director John Carpenter for the 1981 Television Network premiere. These include:

• a meeting between Dr. Loomis and two doctors from the mental (psychiatric) institution where Michael Myers is being kept
• a scene where a nurse leads Dr. Loomis to Michael's room, telling him who was supposed to have been watching the patients. Once they arrive in Michael's room, she tells him he must have broken the window glass with his bare hands. They then glance over on the wall, and see that he has written in blood the word "sister".
• a shot of Michael Myers sitting completely motionless in his cell
• a scene where Lynda visits Laurie Strodes at home and borrows a blouse just as Annie calls trying to borrow the same blouse.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Death Wish II (2016)

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Soundtracks

Don't Fear the Reaper
Written by Donald Roeser
Performed by Blue Öyster Cult
Courtesy of CBS Records

User Reviews

The Most Influential Of All Slasher Films!

Possibly the most influential of all slasher films, John Carpenter's Halloween is the reason why this particular subgenre of horror even exists in the first place. Although it wasn't the first of its kind, it certainly was the game-changer for almost every other slasher flick that followed this low-budget indie horror only ended up imitating the formula that this classic originated.

Set in Haddonfield, Illinois, the story of Halloween begins on the titular night in 1963 where we witness the 6-years old Michael Myers stabbing his older sister to death with a kitchen knife. The plot then jumps 15 years in the span of which Myers remained silent in a mental hospital he was confined to, only to escape from the facility and returns to his hometown to kill some more.

Co-written & directed by John Carpenter, whose innate ability to churn out quality pictures from mere scraps of filmmaking elements has earned him a place amongst world cinema's most influential filmmakers, Halloween is one of the finest works of his career that presents the director in complete control of his craft, and the way he sets the pace & eerie tone from the beginning is a delight to watch.

Carpenter creates an uncanny mood during the title sequence only which has nothing but a jack-o-lantern on the black screen, accompanied by the now iconic score, and follows it up with an expertly shot prologue which instantly brings the audience into the story. The script is equally impressive for the character of Michael Myers is handled with extreme care, and the writers leave no stone unturned to show him as an unstoppable force of evil.

The technical aspects are skilfully executed, and every dollar of its low budget is efficiently used in service of the story. Setting the plot in a suburban location turns the very openness of the area into a playground of mayhem. Cinematography is inventive for the camera stalks our characters at all times, benefits from some ingenious placements, and is further uplifted by clever lighting while Editing makes sure that the suspenseful ambiance is kept alive from start to finish.

But the biggest contributor, in my opinion, is John Carpenter's minimal, synthesised score for it elevates the tension to a whole different level and greatly amplifies the desired effect of its disquieting camera-work & editing. Whenever its main theme surfaces on the screen, there's an uneasiness felt in those moments & whispers of an ominous presence dominate those sequences. It's one of Carpenter's most notable musical pieces & is a major reason behind this film's success.

Coming to the acting department, Halloween features a budget-friendly cast in Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, P.J. Soles, Nancy Loomis & Nick Castle. The film marks Curtis' acting debut and she does a neat job as Laurie; a high-school student who's continuously stalked by Myers throughout the movie. Pleasence is in as Myers' psychiatrist and the only person who knows what this homicidal maniac is capable of. And Soles & Loomis do a fine job as Laurie's friends who are also pursued by Myers.

But it's the character of Michael Myers and how he's portrayed in this film that establishes him as one of the greatest antagonists in cinema history. Using nothing but a cheap mask that conveys no emotions, keeping him mute throughout the story & giving him an almost mythic strength that renders him invincible, Carpenter presents Myers as a devil incarnate who kills without empathy, and intelligently uses his presence in the film to build a sinister aura, not to mention the very aspects of this character has gone on to inspire many more villains.

On an overall scale, Halloween remains one of the genre-defining films of the 1970s whose narrative structure has been adopted as a blueprint for slasher films ever since and its vast influence on cinema & pop culture cannot be downplayed. There were a couple of moments that bothered me but for the most part, this is a thrilling, entertaining & satisfying ride from Carpenter that is every bit worthy of its legendary status. A lesson in horror filmmaking that downplays the elements of gore & graphic violence to show the lasting effect a consistently maintained tense ambiance can have on the viewers, Halloween is the very definition of a slasher film.