Halloween is a 1978 American independent slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter, co-written with producer Debra Hill, and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis (in her film debut), with P. J. Soles and Nancy Loomis in supporting roles. Set mostly in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois, the plot centers on a mental patient, Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium for murdering his teenage sister on Halloween night when he was a child. Fifteen years later, having escaped and returned to his hometown, he stalks teenage babysitter Laurie Strode and her friends while under pursuit by his psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis.
Filming took place in Southern California in May 1978. The film premiered in October, whereupon it grossed $70 million, becoming one of the most profitable independent films of all time. Primarily praised for Carpenter's direction and score, many critics credit the film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and Bob Clark's Black Christmas (1974). It is considered one of the greatest and most influential horror films ever made. In 2006, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[1][2]
Halloween spawned a film franchise comprising thirteen films which helped construct an extensive backstory for its antagonist Michael Myers, sometimes narratively diverging entirely from previous installments. Additionally, a novelization, a video game and comic book series have been based on the film.
Plot[]
On Halloween night 1963, in the suburban town of Haddonfield, Illinois, six-year-old Michael Myers stabs his teenage sister Judith to death with a chef's knife. On October 30, 1978, Michael's psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis and his colleague, Nurse Marion Chambers, drive to Smith's Grove Sanitarium (where Michael has been incarcerated), to escort Michael to court for a hearing; Loomis hopes that Michael will be imprisoned for life. Michael escapes Smith's Grove and steals the car.
The next day, Halloween, after having killed a mechanic for his coveralls on the way to Haddonfield, and stolen knives, ropes, and a white, expressionless mask from a hardware store, Michael sees teenager Laurie Strode drop off a key at the long-abandoned Myers house that her father is trying to sell. Laurie notices Michael stalking her throughout the day, but her friends Annie Brackett and Lynda Van Der Klok dismiss her concerns. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield and finds Judith's tombstone missing from the cemetery, furthering Loomis's suspicion that Michael is in Haddonfield. He meets with Annie's father, Sheriff Leigh Brackett, and they investigate Michael's house, where they find a dead partially eaten dog in the house. Loomis tells Brackett that in the fifteen years he has known Michael, he has come to believe that he is pure evil. Brackett is doubtful of the danger but goes to patrol the streets, while Loomis waits at the house, expecting Michael to return.
That evening, Laurie babysits Tommy Doyle, while Annie babysits Lindsey Wallace across the street. Michael follows them, spying on Annie and killing the Wallaces' dog. Tommy sees Michael from the windows and thinks he is the boogeyman, but Laurie does not believe him. Annie later takes Lindsey over to the Doyle house to spend the night, so she can pick up her boyfriend Paul. When she gets into her car, Michael appears from the back seat, and strangles her then slashes her throat, killing her. Soon after, Lynda and her boyfriend Bob arrive at the Wallace house and find it empty. After having sex, Bob goes downstairs to get a beer, where Michael kills him by pinning him to the wall with a kitchen knife. Michael then poses as Bob in a ghost costume and confronts Lynda, who teases him to no effect. Annoyed, she calls Laurie to find out what happened to Annie, but Michael strangles her to death with the phone cord while Laurie listens on the other end, thinking it is a joke. Loomis discovers the stolen car and searches the streets.
Suspicious of the phone call, Laurie goes to the Wallace house and finds her friends' bodies, as well as Judith's headstone, in the upstairs bedroom. She flees to the hallway in distress, as Michael appears, and slashes her arm, causing her to fall over the stairway banister. Barely escaping, Laurie runs back to the Doyle house, but finds she lost the keys to the front door during the altercation with Michael. Tommy lets her into the house. Laurie orders Tommy and Lindsey to hide and tries to use the telephone for help, only to find the phone dead. Michael sneaks in through the window and attacks her again, but she stabs him in the neck with a knitting needle. Thinking he's dead, Laurie staggers upstairs to check on the children, but Michael approaches to attack her again. She tells the children to hide in the bathroom while Laurie hides in the bedroom closet, but Michael finds her. Laurie stabs him in his eye with a wire hanger, causing Michael to drop the knife, which Laurie uses to stab him square in the chest. She then tells Tommy and Lindsey to go down the street to a neighbor's house to call the police. After they leave, Michael rises once again and approaches an unsuspecting Laurie. Loomis sees the children running from the house and goes to investigate, only to see Michael attempting to strangle Laurie. Laurie snatches Michael's mask off, distracting him as he seeks to put it back on. Loomis shoots Michael six times, knocking him off the balcony. Laurie tells Loomis that Michael was the "boogeyman", which Loomis confirms. Loomis walks to the balcony and looks down to see that Michael has vanished. A resigned Loomis looks out into the night as Laurie sobs in terror.
Cast[]
- Main article: List of Halloween (franchise) charactersTemplate:Cast listing