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''Halloween'' (advertised as ''John Carpenter's Halloween'') is a 1978 American
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
slasher film A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...
directed and scored by
John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...
, who co-wrote it with its producer
Debra Hill Debra Hill (November 10, 1950 – March 7, 2005) was an American film producer and screenwriter, best known for her professional partnership with John Carpenter. Hill and Carpenter wrote four films together: ''Halloween'', '' The Fog'', '' Ha ...
. It stars
Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He was known for his "bald head and intense, staring eyes," and played more than 250 stage, film, and television roles across a nearly sixty-year career. Pleas ...
,
Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for List of Jamie Lee Curtis performances, her performances in the horror and slasher film, slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream qu ...
(in her film debut),
P. J. Soles Pamela Jayne Soles (née Hardon; born July 17, 1950) is a retired American actress. She made her film debut in 1976 as Norma Watson in Brian De Palma's ''Carrie (1976 film), Carrie'' (1976) before portraying List of Halloween (franchise) charact ...
, and Nancy Loomis. Set mostly in the fictional
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
town of Haddonfield, the film follows mental patient Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium for murdering his teenage sister one
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
night during his childhood; he escapes 15 years later and returns to Haddonfield, where he stalks teenage babysitter
Laurie Strode Laurie Strode is a character from the ''Halloween'' series. She first appeared in ''Halloween'' (1978) as a high school student who becomes targeted by serial killer Michael Myers, in which she was portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis. Created by J ...
and her friends while his psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis pursues him. The film was shot in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
throughout May 1978, produced by
Compass International Pictures Trancas International Films, Inc. (formerly known as Compass International Pictures) is an independent American film production and distribution company founded by producers Irwin Yablans and Joseph Wolf in 1977, best known for their involvement ...
and Falcon International Productions. The film was released by Compass International and Aquarius Releasing in October and grossed $70 million on a budget of $300,000, becoming one of the most profitable independent films of all time. Primarily praised for Carpenter's direction and
score SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...
, many critics credit the film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by '' Psycho'' (1960), ''
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American independent horror film produced, co-composed, and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, ...
'' and '' Black Christmas'' (both 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 The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
by the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". ''Halloween'' spawned a
film franchise A film franchise has been described as a film series which not only continued the narrative through sequels and prequels, but also included expansion through ancillary intertexts which could include spinoffs, remakes and reboots. These formats di ...
comprising 13 films which helped construct an extensive backstory for Michael Myers, sometimes narratively diverging entirely from previous installments; a novelization, video game, and comic book series have also been based on the film.


Plot

On the night of
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
, 1963, in the suburban
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
town of Haddonfield, six-year-old Michael Myers brutally stabs his teenage sister
Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...
to death with a
chef's knife A chef's knife, also known as a cook's knife, is a medium to large sized generalist kitchen knife used in food preparation. Longer and wider knives are more frequently called chef's knives, whereas shorter and more slender knives have a tendency ...
. Fifteen years later, his psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis drives with nurse Marion Chambers to the sanitarium where Michael is incarcerated to escort him to a court hearing. After Loomis exits their car to unlock the main gate, Michael jumps on the roof and attacks Marion. She runs from the vehicle, allowing Michael to steal the car and drive away. Michael makes his way back to Haddonfield, killing a mechanic and stealing his coveralls before stealing a white mask from a local hardware store. He begins stalking teenager
Laurie Strode Laurie Strode is a character from the ''Halloween'' series. She first appeared in ''Halloween'' (1978) as a high school student who becomes targeted by serial killer Michael Myers, in which she was portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis. Created by J ...
, whom he saw drop off a key at his long-abandoned childhood home that her father is attempting to sell. Laurie notices Michael throughout the day, but her friends
Annie Brackett Annie Brackett is a fictional character in the ''Halloween'' franchise. The character was created by screenwriters John Carpenter and Debra Hill. Annie first appears in ''Halloween'' (1978) as a high school student babysitting Lindsey Wallace ( ...
and Lynda Van Der Klok dismiss her concerns. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield and discovers that Michael has stolen Judith's tombstone from the local cemetery. He meets up with the town sheriff, Annie's father Leigh Brackett, and they begin searching for Michael. While they investigate the old Myers house, Loomis describes how he realized that Michael is pure evil. That night, Michael follows Annie and Laurie to their babysitting jobs. Laurie watches Tommy Doyle, while Annie stays with Lindsey Wallace across the street. Michael spies on Annie and kills the Wallace family dog. Tommy spots Michael from the windows and thinks he is the
boogeyman The bogeyman (; also spelled or known as bogyman, bogy, bogey, and, in US English, also boogeyman) is a mythical creature typically used to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearances, and conceptions vary drast ...
, but Laurie dismisses him. Annie later takes Lindsey to the Doyle house for the night so she can pick up her boyfriend while Laurie watches both kids. Michael hides in her car and strangles her before slitting her throat. Lynda and her boyfriend Bob arrive at the Wallace house and find it empty. After they've had sex, Bob goes downstairs to get a beer from the kitchen, where Michael pins him to the wall with a chef's knife. Michael then poses as Bob in a ghost costume to taunt 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. Meanwhile, Loomis discovers the stolen car and searches the streets. Worried by the phone call, Laurie goes to the Wallace house and finds her friends' bodies and Judith's tombstone in the upstairs bedroom. She runs to the hallway where Michael slashes her arm, causing her to fall over the banister. Dazed and injured, she narrowly escapes the house with him in pursuit. She makes it back to the Doyle house, but realizes she has lost the keys to the front door. Tommy lets her in and she orders him and Lindsey to hide. Laurie calls for help, only to find the phone is dead. Michael sneaks in through the window and attacks her again, but she stabs him in the neck with a knitting needle. Thinking Michael is dead, Laurie staggers upstairs to check on the children, where Michael appears again. While Tommy and Lindsey hide in the bathroom, Laurie hides in the bedroom closet. Laurie stabs Michael in the eye with a coat hanger and then in the chest with his own knife. After she sends Tommy and Lindsey to a neighbor's house to call the police, Michael rises again. Seeing the children running from the house, Loomis investigates and sees Michael strangling Laurie. She breaks free by pulling his mask off, revealing his face. Loomis shoots him six times, knocking him off the balcony. When Loomis goes to check on the body, he is unsurprised to see that Michael has vanished. He stares off into the distance as a traumatized Laurie sobs in terror.


Cast


Analysis


Themes

Scholar
Carol J. Clover Carol Jeanne Clover (born July 31, 1940) is an American professor of Medieval Studies (Early Northern Europe) and American Film at the University of California, Berkeley. Clover has been widely published in her areas of expertise, and is the aut ...
has argued that the film, and its genre at large, links sexuality with danger, saying that killers in slasher films are fueled by a "psychosexual fury" and that all the killings are sexual in nature. She reinforces this idea by saying that "guns have no place in slasher films" and when examining the film ''
I Spit on Your Grave ''I Spit on Your Grave'' (originally titled ''Day of the Woman'') is a 1978 American rape and revenge film written and directed by Meir Zarchi. The film tells the story of Jennifer Hills ( Camille Keaton), a fiction writer based in New York ...
'' she notes that "a hands-on killing answers a hands-on rape in a way that a shooting, even a shooting preceded by a humiliation, does not." Equating sex with violence is important in ''Halloween'' and the slasher genre according to film scholar Pat Gill, who made a note of this in her essay "The Monstrous Years: Teens, Slasher Films, and the Family". She remarks that Laurie's friends "think of their babysitting jobs as opportunities to share drinks and beds with their boyfriends. One by one they are killed ... by Michael Myers an asylum escapee who years ago at the age of six murdered his sister for preferring sex to taking care of him." Carpenter has distanced himself from these interpretations, saying "It has been suggested that I was making some kind of moral statement. Believe me, I'm not. In ''Halloween'', I viewed the characters as simply normal teenagers." In another interview, Carpenter said that readings of the film as a
morality play The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...
"completely missed the point," adding, "The one girl who is the most sexually uptight just keeps stabbing this guy with a long knife. She's the most sexually frustrated. She's the one that's killed him. Not because she's a virgin but because all that sexually repressed energy starts coming out. She uses all those phallic symbols on the guy."
Debra Hill Debra Hill (November 10, 1950 – March 7, 2005) was an American film producer and screenwriter, best known for her professional partnership with John Carpenter. Hill and Carpenter wrote four films together: ''Halloween'', '' The Fog'', '' Ha ...
, who co-wrote and produced the film, also dismissed the idea saying, "There was absolutely no intent for that to be the underlying reason. I was raised a Catholic schoolgirl and what leaked into the script is my Catholic sensibility. It was totally unintentional." Some feminist critics, according to historian Nicholas Rogers, "have seen the slasher movies since ''Halloween'' as debasing women in as decisive a manner as hard-core pornography." Critics such as
John Kenneth Muir John Kenneth Muir (born December 3, 1969) is an American literary critic. As of 2022, he has written thirty reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular focus on the horror and science fiction genres. Biography Bor ...
state that female characters such as Laurie Strode survive not because of "any good planning" or their own resourcefulness, but sheer luck. Although she manages to repel the killer several times, in the end, Strode is rescued in ''Halloween'' and ''Halloween II'' only when Dr. Loomis arrives to shoot Myers. However, Clover has argued that despite the violence against women, ''Halloween'' and other slasher films turned women into heroines. In many pre-''Halloween'' horror films, women are depicted as helpless victims and are not safe until they are rescued by a strong masculine hero. Despite the fact that Loomis saves Strode, Clover asserts that ''Halloween'' initiates the role of the "
final girl The final girl or survivor girl is a Trope (cinema), trope in horror films (particularly slasher films). It refers to the last girl(s) or woman alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story. The final girl has been ob ...
" who ultimately triumphs. Strode fights back against Myers and severely wounds him. Had Myers been a normal man, Strode's attacks would have killed him; even Loomis, the male hero of the story, who shoots Michael repeatedly with a revolver, cannot kill him. Aviva Briefel argued that moments such as when Michael's face was temporarily revealed are meant to give pleasure to the male viewer. Briefel further argues that these moments are masochistic in nature and give pleasure to men because they are willingly submitting themselves to the women of the film; they submit themselves temporarily because it will make their return to authority even more powerful. Critics, such as Gill, see ''Halloween'' as a critique of American social values. She remarks that parental figures are almost entirely absent throughout the film, noting that when Laurie is attacked by Michael while babysitting, "No parents, either of the teenagers or of the children left in their charge, call to check on their children or arrive to keen over them." According to Gill, the dangers of
suburbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
is another major theme that runs throughout the film and the slasher genre at large: Gill states that slasher films "seem to mock
white flight The white flight, also known as white exodus, is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the Racism ...
to gated communities, in particular the attempts of parents to shield their children from the dangerous influences represented by the city." ''Halloween'' and slasher films, generally, represent the underside of suburbia to Gill. Myers was raised in a suburban household and after he escapes the mental hospital he returns to his hometown to kill again; Myers is a product of the suburban environment, writes Gill. Michael is thought by some to represent evil in the film. This is based on the common belief that evil never dies, nor does evil show remorse. This idea is demonstrated in the film when Dr. Loomis discusses Michael's history with the sheriff. Loomis states, "I spent eight years trying to reach him ichael Myers and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply ... evil." Loomis also refers to Michael as "evil" when he steals his car at the sanitarium. This further emphasizes why Michael wears the mask as he " Wears his villainy plainly on his face." Yet we still question how evil Michael is without knowing his true motivation throughout the first film. We come to the end of the film, and Michael once again roams the streets of Haddonfield as evil never dies.


Aesthetic elements

Historian Nicholas Rogers notes that film critics contend that Carpenter's direction and camera work made ''Halloween'' a "resounding success."
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
remarks, "It's easy to create violence on the screen, but it's hard to do it well. Carpenter is uncannily skilled, for example, at the use of foregrounds in his compositions, and everyone who likes thrillers knows that foregrounds are crucial . ... " The opening title, featuring a
jack-o'-lantern A jack-o'-lantern (or jack o'lantern) is a carved lantern, most commonly made from a pumpkin, or formerly a root vegetable such as a mangelwurzel, rutabaga or turnip. Jack-o'-lanterns are associated with the Halloween holiday. Its name comes ...
placed against a black backdrop, sets the mood for the entire film. The camera slowly moves toward the jack-o'-lantern's left eye as the main title theme plays. After the camera fully closes in, the jack-o'-lantern's light dims and goes out. Film historian J.P. Telotte says that this scene "clearly announces that
he film's He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
primary concern will be with the way in which we see ourselves and others and the consequences that often attend our usual manner of perception." Carpenter's first-person point-of-view compositions were employed with
steadicam Steadicam is a brand of camera stabilizer mounts for motion picture cameras invented by Garrett Brown and introduced in 1975 by Cinema Products Corporation. The Steadicam brand was acquired by Tiffen in 2000. It was designed to isolate the ...
; Telotte argues, "As a result of this shift in perspective from a disembodied, narrative camera to an actual character's eye ... we are forced into a deeper sense of participation in the ensuing action." Along with the 1974 Canadian horror film '' Black Christmas'', ''Halloween'' made use of seeing events through the killer's eyes. The first scene of the young Michael's voyeurism is followed by the murder of Judith seen through the eye holes of Michael's clown costume mask. According to scholar Nicholas Rogers, Carpenter's "frequent use of the unmounted first-person camera to represent the killer's point of view ... invited iewersto adopt the murderer's assaultive gaze and to hear his heavy breathing and plodding footsteps as he stalked his prey." Film analysts have noted its delayed or withheld representations of violence, characterized as the "false startle" or "the old tap-on-the-shoulder routine" in which the stalkers, murderers, or monsters "lunge into our field of vision or creep up on a person." Critic Susan Stark described the film's opening sequence in her 1978 review:


Production


Concept

After viewing Carpenter's film '' Assault on Precinct 13'' (1976) at the Milan Film Festival, independent film producer
Irwin Yablans Irwin Yablans (born July 25, 1934) is an American independent film producer and distributor known for his work in the horror film industry. His brother, Frank Yablans, was also a producer. Life and career Yablans was born to a Jewish family i ...
and financier
Moustapha Akkad Moustapha al Akkad (; July 1, 1930 – November 11, 2005) was a Syrian Americans, Syrian-American film producer and Film director, director, best known for producing the original series of ''Halloween (franchise), Halloween'' films and dire ...
sought out Carpenter to direct a film for them about a psychotic killer that stalked babysitters. In an interview with ''
Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...
'' magazine, Yablans stated: "I was thinking what would make sense in the horror genre, and what I wanted to do was make a picture that had the same impact as ''
The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on The Exorcist (novel), his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller (play ...
''." Carpenter agreed to direct the film contingent on his having full creative control, and was paid $10,000 for his work, which included writing, directing, and scoring the film. He and his then-girlfriend
Debra Hill Debra Hill (November 10, 1950 – March 7, 2005) was an American film producer and screenwriter, best known for her professional partnership with John Carpenter. Hill and Carpenter wrote four films together: ''Halloween'', '' The Fog'', '' Ha ...
began drafting the story of ''Halloween''. There were claims as early as 1980 that the film at one point was supposed to be called ''The Babysitter Murders'' but Yablans has since debunked this stating that it was always intended to be called (and take place on) ''Halloween''. Carpenter said of the basic concept: "Halloween night. It has never been the theme in a film. My idea was to do an old haunted house film." Film director
Bob Clark Benjamin Robert Clark (August 5, 1939 – April 4, 2007) was an American film director and screenwriter. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was responsible for some of the most successful films in Canadian film industry, Canadian film history such ...
suggested in an interview released in 2005 that Carpenter had asked him for his own ideas for a sequel to his 1974 film '' Black Christmas'' (written by Roy Moore) that featured an unseen and motiveless killer murdering students in a university sorority house. As also stated in the 2009 documentary ''Clarkworld'' (written and directed by Clark's former production designer Deren Abram after Clark's tragic death in 2007), Carpenter directly asked Clark about his thoughts on developing the anonymous slasher in ''Black Christmas'':


Screenplay

It took approximately 10 days to write the screenplay. Yablans and Akkad ceded most of the creative control to writers Carpenter and Hill (whom Carpenter wanted as producer), but Yablans did offer several suggestions. According to a ''Fangoria'' interview with Hill, "Yablans wanted the script written like a radio show, with 'boos' every 10 minutes." By Hill's recollection, the script took three weeks to write, and much of the inspiration behind the plot came from
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
traditions of Halloween such as the festival of
Samhain Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...
. Although Samhain is not mentioned in the plot of the first film, Hill asserts that: Hill, who had worked as a babysitter during her teenage years, wrote most of the female characters' dialogue, while Carpenter drafted Loomis' speeches on the soullessness of Michael Myers. Many script details were drawn from Carpenter's and Hill's own backgrounds and early careers: The fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois was derived from Haddonfield, New Jersey, where Hill was raised, while several of the street names were taken from Carpenter's hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Laurie Strode was allegedly the name of one of Carpenter's old girlfriends, while Michael Myers was the name of an English producer who had previously entered, with Yablans, ''Assault on Precinct 13'' in various European film festivals. Homage is paid to
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...
with two characters' names: Tommy Doyle is named after Lt. Det. Thomas J. Doyle (
Wendell Corey Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a board member of the Screen Actors Guild, and also served on the ...
) from ''
Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery film, mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes, based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "After-Dinner Story, It Had to Be Murder". Originally released ...
'' (1954), and Dr. Loomis' name was derived from Sam Loomis (
John Gavin John Gavin (born Juan Vincent Apablasa; April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018) was an American actor and diplomat who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–1973), and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–1986). Among the fil ...
) from '' Psycho'', the boyfriend of
Marion Crane Marion Crane (originally known as Mary Crane, also by the alias Marie Samuels) is a fictional character of Robert Bloch's 1959 thriller novel '' Psycho'' and portrayed by Janet Leigh in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film adaptation. She was later pl ...
(
Janet Leigh Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, Leigh was discovered at 18 by actress Norma Shearer, who helped he ...
, who is the real-life mother of Jamie Lee Curtis). Sheriff
Leigh Brackett Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 24, 1978) was an American author and screenwriter. Nicknamed "the Queen of space opera, Space Opera", she was one of the most prominent female writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. ...
shared the name of a Hollywood screenwriter and frequent collaborator of
Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...
. In devising the backstory for the film's villain, Michael Myers, Carpenter drew on "haunted house" folklore that exists in many small American communities: "Most small towns have a kind of haunted house story of one kind or another," he stated. "At least that's what teenagers believe. There's always a house down the lane that somebody was killed in, or that somebody went crazy in." Carpenter also took inspiration from the character of The Gunslinger from ''
Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction dystopia media franchise that began with the Westworld (film), 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild West, Wild-West-th ...
'' (1973) for Michael Myers. Carpenter's inspiration for the "evil" that Michael embodied came from a visit he had taken during college to a psychiatric institution in Kentucky. There, he visited a ward with his psychology classmates where "the most serious, mentally ill patients" were held. Among those patients was an adolescent boy, who possessed a blank, "schizophrenic stare." Carpenter's experience inspired the characterization that Loomis gave of Michael to Sheriff Brackett in the film. Debra Hill has stated the scene where Michael kills the Wallaces' German Shepherd was done to illustrate how he is "really evil and deadly". The ending scene of Michael disappearing after being shot six times and falling off the balcony, was meant to terrify the imagination of the audience. Using a montage of the houses as Michael's breathing is heard, Carpenter tried to keep the audience guessing as to who Michael Myers really is—he is gone, and everywhere at the same time; he is more than human; he may be supernatural, and no one knows how he got that way. To Carpenter, keeping the audience guessing was better than explaining away the character with "he's cursed by some..." Carpenter has described ''Halloween'' as: "True crass exploitation. I decided to make a film I would love to have seen as a kid, full of cheap tricks like a haunted house at a fair where you walk down the corridor and things jump out at you."


Casting

The cast of ''Halloween'' included veteran actor
Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He was known for his "bald head and intense, staring eyes," and played more than 250 stage, film, and television roles across a nearly sixty-year career. Pleas ...
and then-unknown actress
Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for List of Jamie Lee Curtis performances, her performances in the horror and slasher film, slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream qu ...
. The low budget limited the number of big names that Carpenter could attract, and most of the actors received very little compensation for their roles. Pleasence was paid the highest amount at $20,000, Curtis received $8,000, and
Nick Castle Nicholas Castle (born September 21, 1947 in Kingsport, Tennessee) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He is known for playing Michael Myers (Halloween), Michael Myers in John Carpenter's horror film ''Halloween (1978 film), H ...
earned $25 a day. The role of Dr. Loomis was originally intended for
Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition f ...
, who had recently appeared as
Grand Moff Tarkin Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the original 1977 ''Star Wars'' film as one of the two main antagonists, alongside Darth Vader, and the commander of the Death Star, a gigan ...
in ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' (1977); Cushing's agent rejected Carpenter's offer due to the low salary.
Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...
was approached for the role; he too turned it down, although the actor later told Carpenter and Hill that declining the role was the biggest mistake he made during his career. Yablans then suggested Pleasence, who agreed to star because his daughter Lucy, a guitarist, had enjoyed ''Assault on Precinct 13'' for Carpenter's score. In an interview, Carpenter admits that "Jamie Lee wasn't the first choice for Laurie. I had no idea who she was. She was 19 and in a TV show at the time, but I didn't watch TV." He originally wanted to cast Anne Lockhart, the daughter of
June Lockhart June Lockhart (born June 25, 1925) is an American retired actress, beginning a film career in the 1930s and 1940s in such films as A Christmas Carol (1938 film), ''A Christmas Carol'' and ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. She appeared primarily in 1950 ...
from ''
Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a 1938 short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a 1940 full-length novel, '' Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with anot ...
'', as Laurie Strode. However, Lockhart had commitments to several other film and television projects. Hill says of learning that Jamie Lee was the daughter of ''Psycho'' actress Janet Leigh: "I knew casting Jamie Lee would be great publicity for the film because her mother was in ''Psycho''." Curtis was cast in the part, though she initially had reservations as she felt she identified more with the other female characters: "I was very much a smart alec, and was a cheerleader in high school, so felt very concerned that I was being considered for the quiet, repressed young woman when in fact I was very much like the other two girls." Another relatively unknown actress,
Nancy Kyes Nancy Kyes, known professionally as Nancy Loomis, is an American actress. A frequent collaborator of filmmaker John Carpenter, she portrayed Annie Brackett in ''Halloween'' (1978) and also appeared in his films '' Assault on Precinct 13'' (1976) ...
(credited in the film as Nancy Loomis), was cast as Laurie's outspoken friend Annie Brackett, daughter of Haddonfield sheriff Leigh Brackett (
Charles Cyphers Charles George Cyphers (July 28, 1939 – August 4, 2024) was an American actor who is known in the horror movie community for his work in the films of John Carpenter, especially his role as Sheriff Leigh Brackett in Carpenter's 1978 movie ''Ha ...
). Kyes had previously starred in ''Assault on Precinct 13'' (as had Cyphers) and happened to be dating ''Halloweens art director Tommy Lee Wallace when filming began. Carpenter chose
P. J. Soles Pamela Jayne Soles (née Hardon; born July 17, 1950) is a retired American actress. She made her film debut in 1976 as Norma Watson in Brian De Palma's ''Carrie (1976 film), Carrie'' (1976) before portraying List of Halloween (franchise) charact ...
to play Lynda Van Der Klok, another loquacious friend of Laurie's, best remembered in the film for dialogue peppered with the word "totally." Soles was an actress known for her supporting role in '' Carrie'' (1976) and her minor part in ''
The Boy in the Plastic Bubble ''The Boy in the Plastic Bubble'' is a 1976 American made for television drama film inspired by the lives of David Vetter and Ted DeVita, who lacked effective immune systems. It stars John Travolta, Glynnis O'Connor, Diana Hyland, Robert ...
'' (1976) and would subsequently play Riff Randall in the 1979 film ''
Rock 'n Roll High School ''Rock 'n' Roll High School'' is a 1979 American musical comedy film directed by Allan Arkush, produced by Michael Finnell, and starring P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, Clint Howard and Dey Young. The film features the punk rock group Ramones. ...
''. According to Soles, she was told after being cast that Carpenter had written the role with her in mind. Soles's then-husband, actor
Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), '' The Big Easy'' (1986), '' Innerspace'' (1987), '' Great Balls of Fire!'' (1989), ' ...
, was considered for the role of Bob Simms, Lynda's boyfriend, but was unable to perform the role due to prior work commitments. The role of "The Shape"—as the masked Michael Myers character was billed in the end credits—was played by
Nick Castle Nicholas Castle (born September 21, 1947 in Kingsport, Tennessee) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He is known for playing Michael Myers (Halloween), Michael Myers in John Carpenter's horror film ''Halloween (1978 film), H ...
, who befriended Carpenter while they attended the University of Southern California. After ''Halloween'', Castle became a director, taking the helm of films such as ''
The Last Starfighter ''The Last Starfighter'' is a 1984 American space opera film directed by Nick Castle. The film tells the story of Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), a teenager who, after winning the high score in an arcade game that's secretly a simulation test, is rec ...
'' (1984), ''
The Boy Who Could Fly ''The Boy Who Could Fly'' is a 1986 American fantasy drama film written and directed by Nick Castle. It was produced by Lorimar Productions for 20th Century Fox, and released theatrically on August 15, 1986. The film stars Lucy Deakins as 14- ...
'' (1986), '' Dennis the Menace'' (1993), and ''
Major Payne ''Major Payne'' is a 1995 American Military fiction, military comedy film directed by Nick Castle and starring Damon Wayans, who wrote with Dean Lorey and Gary Rosen. The film co-stars Karyn Parsons, Steven Martini, and Michael Ironside. It is a ...
'' (1995).
Tony Moran Tony Moran may refer to: * Tony Moran (DJ) Anthony Moran (born December 2, 1964) is an American DJ, record producer, remixer, singer and songwriter known for remixing popular songs. In 2007, he hit number one on the U.S. ''Billboard (magazine) ...
plays the unmasked Michael at the end of the film. Moran was a struggling actor before he got the role. At the time, he had a job on
Hollywood and Vine Hollywood and Vine, the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California, became known in the 1920s for its concentration of radio and movie-related businesses. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is centered on the intersectio ...
dressed up as Frankenstein. Moran had the same agent as his sister, Erin, who played
Joanie Cunningham Joanie Louise Cunningham is a fictional character, played by Erin Moran on the sitcoms ''Happy Days'' and '' Joanie Loves Chachi''. Her first appearance was on one episode of ''Love, American Style'', where she was played by Susan Neher. The cha ...
on ''Happy Days''. When Moran went to audition for the role of Michael, he met for an interview with Carpenter and Yablans. He later got a call back and was told he had got the part. Moran was paid $250 for his appearance. Will Sandin played the unmasked young Michael in the beginning of the film. Carpenter also provided uncredited voice work as Paul, Annie's boyfriend.


Filming

Akkad agreed to put up $300,000 ($1.4 million in 2022) for the film's budget, which was considered low at the time (Carpenter's previous film, ''Assault on Precinct 13'', had an estimated budget of $100,000). Akkad worried over the tight, four-week schedule, low budget, and Carpenter's limited experience as a filmmaker, but told ''Fangoria'': "Two things made me decide. One, Carpenter told me the story verbally and in a suspenseful way, almost frame for frame. Second, he told me he didn't want to take any fees, and that showed he had confidence in the project". Carpenter received $10,000 for directing, writing, and composing the music, retaining rights to 10 percent of the film's profits. Because of the low budget, wardrobe and props were often crafted from items on hand or that could be purchased inexpensively. Carpenter hired
Tommy Lee Wallace Thomas Lee Wallace (born September 6, 1949) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror genre, directing films such as '' Halloween III: Season of the Witch'' and '' Fright Night Part 2'' and also dir ...
as production designer, art director, location scout and co-editor. Wallace created the trademark mask worn by Michael Myers throughout the film from a
Captain Kirk James Tiberius Kirk, often known as Captain Kirk, is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in ''Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterp ...
mask purchased for $1.98 from a costume shop on
Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollyw ...
. Carpenter recalled how Wallace "widened the eye holes and spray-painted the flesh a bluish white. In the script it said Michael Myers's mask had 'the pale features of a human face' and it truly was spooky looking. I can only imagine the result if they hadn't painted the mask white. Children would be checking their closet for
William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
after Tommy got through with it." Hill adds that the "idea was to make him almost humorless, faceless—this sort of pale visage that could resemble a human or not." Many of the actors wore their own clothes, and Curtis' wardrobe was purchased at J.C. Penney for around $100. Wallace described the filming process as uniquely collaborative, with cast members often helping move equipment, cameras, and helping facilitate set-ups. The vehicle stolen by Michael Myers from Dr Loomis and Nurse Marion Chambers at the Smith Grove Sanitarium was an Illinois government-owned 1978 Ford LTD station wagon rented for two weeks of filming. When filming was complete, the car was returned to the rental company who put it up for auction. Its next owner left it in a barn for decades until selling it to its new owner who has completely restored both its interior and exterior. ''Halloween'' was filmed in 20 days over a four-week period in May 1978. Much of the filming was completed using a Panaglide, a clone of the
Steadicam Steadicam is a brand of camera stabilizer mounts for motion picture cameras invented by Garrett Brown and introduced in 1975 by Cinema Products Corporation. The Steadicam brand was acquired by Tiffen in 2000. It was designed to isolate the ...
, the then-new camera that allowed the filmmakers to move around spaces smoothly. Filming locations included South Pasadena, California; Garfield Elementary School in Alhambra, California; and the cemetery at Sierra Madre, California. An abandoned house owned by a church stood in as the Myers house. Two homes on Orange Grove Avenue (near Sunset Boulevard) in the Spaulding Square neighborhood of Hollywood were used for the film's climax, as the street had few palm trees, and thus closely resembled a Midwestern street. Some palm trees, however, are visible in the film's earlier establishing scenes. The crew had difficulty finding pumpkins in the spring, and artificial fall leaves had to be reused for multiple scenes. Local families dressed their children in Halloween costumes for trick-or-treat scenes. Carpenter worked with the cast to create the desired effect of terror and suspense. According to Curtis, Carpenter created a "fear meter" because the film was shot out-of-sequence and she was not sure what her character's level of terror should be in certain scenes. "Here's about a 7, here's about a 6, and the scene we're going to shoot tonight is about a 9", remembered Curtis. She had different facial expressions and scream volumes for each level on the meter. Carpenter's direction for Castle in his role as Myers was minimal. For example, when Castle asked what Myers' motivation was for a particular scene, Carpenter replied that his motivation was to walk from one set marker to another and "not act." By Carpenter's account the only direction he gave Castle was during the murder sequence of Bob, in which he told Castle to tilt his head and examine the corpse as if it "were a butterfly collection."


Musical score

Carpenter did the score as he was told that the film "wasn't scary" after doing a
test screening A test screening, or test audience, is a preview screening of a film or television series before its general release to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population and are usually asked to complet ...
. Instead of utilizing a more traditional symphonic soundtrack, the film's score consists primarily of a piano melody played in a 10/8 or "complex 5/4"
time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
, composed and performed by Carpenter. It took him three days to compose and record the entire score for the film. Following the film's critical and commercial success, the "Halloween Theme" became recognizable apart from the film. Carpenter said it was also done in an hour. Critic
James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of reviews of movies on ...
calls the score "relatively simple and unsophisticated", but admits that "''Halloween''s music is one of its strongest assets". Carpenter once stated in an interview, "I can play just about any keyboard, but I can't read or write a note." In ''Halloween''s end credits, Carpenter bills himself as the "Bowling Green Philharmonic Orchestra", but he also received assistance from composer
Dan Wyman Daniel Wyman is an American musician, educator, and composer for film & television. He currently serves as an Emeritus Professor at San Jose State University, and perhaps is best known for his collaborations with director John Carpenter on films s ...
, a music professor at San José State University. Some non-score songs can be heard in the film, one an untitled song performed by Carpenter and a group of his friends in a band called The Coupe De Villes. The song can be heard as Laurie steps into Annie's car on her way to babysit Tommy Doyle. Another song, "
(Don't Fear) The Reaper "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the 1976 album '' Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitability ...
" by classic rock band
Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...
, also appears in the film. It plays on the car radio as Annie drives Laurie through Haddonfield with Myers in silent pursuit. The soundtrack was first released in the United States in October 1983, by Varèse Sarabande/MCA. It was subsequently released on CD in 1985, re-released in 1990, and reissued again in 2000. On the film's 40th anniversary, coinciding with the release of '' Anthology: Movie Themes 1974–1998'', a cover of the theme by
Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He came to prominence as the founder, lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. T ...
and
Atticus Ross Atticus Matthew Cowper Ross (born 16 January 1968) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and audio engineer. He is best known for his work with American musician Trent Reznor, with whom he first worked on the musical project Tapewo ...
was released.


Release


Theatrical distribution

''Halloween'' premiered on October 24, 1978, in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, at the AMC Empire theatre. Regional distribution in the Philadelphia and New York City metropolitan areas was acquired by Aquarius Releasing. It grossed $1,270,000 from 198 theatres across the U.S. (including 72 in New York City and 98 in Southern California) in its opening week. The film grossed $47 million in the United States and an additional $23 million internationally, making the theatrical total $70 million, making it one of the most successful
independent films An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...
of all time; the film sold approximately 20,153,846 tickets during its initial theatrical release, and remains the most successful release of any ''Halloween'' film and the third most successful film in the slasher genre behind ''
Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream (Six Flags drop tower), at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream (roller coaster), at ...
'' (1996) and ''
Scream 2 ''Scream 2'' is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Jerry O'Connell, Jada P ...
'' (1997). On September 7, 2012, the official Halloween Movies Facebook page announced that the original ''Halloween'' would be re-released starting October 25, 2013, in celebration of the film's 35th anniversary in 2013. A new documentary was screened before the film at all locations, titled ''You Can't Kill the Boogeyman: 35 Years of Halloween'', written and directed by HalloweenMovies.com webmaster Justin Beahm.


Television rights

In 1980, the television rights to ''Halloween'' were sold to NBC for approximately $3 million. After a debate among Carpenter, Hill and NBC's
Standards and Practices In the United States, Standards and Practices (also referred to as Broadcast Standards and Practices or BS&P for short) is the name traditionally given to the department at a television network which is responsible for the moral, ethical, and le ...
over censoring of certain scenes, ''Halloween'' appeared on television for the first time on October 30, 1981; the broadcast coincided with the release of '' Halloween II''. To fill the two-hour time slot, Carpenter filmed twelve minutes of additional material during the production of ''Halloween II''. The newly filmed scenes include Dr. Loomis at a hospital board review of Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis talking to a then-6-year-old Michael at Smith's Grove, telling him, "You've fooled them, haven't you, Michael? But not me." Another extra scene features Dr. Loomis at Smith's Grove examining Michael's abandoned cell after his escape and seeing the word "Sister" scratched into the door. Finally, a scene was added in which Lynda comes over to Laurie's house to borrow a silk blouse before Laurie leaves to babysit, just as Annie telephones asking to borrow the same blouse. The new scene had Laurie's hair hidden by a towel, since Curtis was by then wearing a much shorter hairstyle than she had worn in 1978. In August 2006, ''Fangoria'' reported that
Synapse Films Synapse Films is an American DVD and Blu-ray label, founded in 1997 and specializes in cult horror, science fiction and exploitation films. It is considered a boutique DVD label. History Synapse Films was owned and operated by Don May, Jr. an ...
had discovered boxes of negatives containing footage cut from the film. One was labeled "1981" suggesting that it was additional footage for the television version of the film. Synapse owner Don May Jr. said, "What we've got is pretty much all the unused original camera negative from Carpenter's original ''Halloween''. Luckily, Billy irkuswas able to find this material before it was destroyed. The story on how we got the negative is a long one, but we'll save it for when we're able to showcase the materials in some way. Kirkus should be commended for pretty much saving the Holy Grail of horror films". He later claimed: "We just learned from Sean Clark, long time ''Halloween'' genius, that the footage found is just that: footage. There is no sound in any of the reels so far, since none of it was used in the final edit".


Home media

Since ''Halloween''s premiere, it has been released in several home video formats. Early
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
versions were released by
Media Home Entertainment Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a home video company headquartered in Culver City, California, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker Charles Band. Media Home Entertainment also distributed video product under additional labels — The N ...
. This release subsequently became a collectors' item, with one copy from 1979 selling on
eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
for $13,220 in 2013. On August 3, 1995,
Blockbuster Video Blockbuster may refer to: Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a former video rental chain * Blockbuster (Bend, Oregon), remaining store Arts and entertainment * Blockbuster (entertainment) a very successful movie * Blockbuster (DC Comics ...
issued a commemorative edition of the film on VHS. As stated, the film was first released on VHS in 1979 and again in 1981 by Media Home Entertainment. The synopsis on the back misspelled Myers as Meyers. The film was also released on
Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, and stylized as the Greek letter Beta, β in its logo) is a discontinued consumer analog Videotape, video cassette recording format developed by Sony. It was one of the main competitors in the videotape format war ag ...
around that same time. It was not released in CED format (capacitance electronic disc), unlike '' Halloween II'' and '' Halloween III'', but it was released on
Laser Disc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United States in 1978 under the name Dis ...
. The film was released for the first time on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in the United States by
Anchor Bay Entertainment The revived Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company owned by Umbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz. Anchor Bay Entertainment markets and releases "new release genre ...
on October 28, 1997. To date, that DVD release is the only one to feature the original mono audio track as heard in theaters in 1978 and on most home video releases that preceded it. Anchor Bay re-released the film on DVD in various other editions; among these were an "extended edition," which features the original theatrical release with the scenes that were shot for the broadcast TV version edited in at their proper places. In 1999, Anchor Bay issued a two-disc limited edition, which featured both the theatrical and "extended editions," as well as lenticular cover art and lobby cards. In 2003, Anchor Bay released a two-disc "25th Anniversary edition" with improved DiviMax picture and audio, along with an audio commentary by Carpenter, Curtis and Hill, among other features. On October 2, 2007, the film was released for the first time on Blu-ray by Anchor Bay/
Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...
Home Entertainment. The following year, a "30th Anniversary Commemorative Set" was issued, containing DVD and Blu-ray versions of the film, the sequels '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' and '' Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers'', and a replica Michael Myers mask. A 35th-anniversary Blu-ray was released in October 2013, featuring a new transfer supervised by cinematographer Dean Cundey. This release earned a Saturn Award for Best Classic Film Release. In September 2014,
Scream Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...
teamed with Anchor Bay Entertainment to release the film as part of a Blu-ray boxed set featuring every film in the series (up to 2009's '' Halloween II''), made available in a standard and limited edition. The film was released by
Lionsgate Home Entertainment Lionsgate Studios Corp. (simply known as Lionsgate Studios) is a Canadian-American film and television production and distribution conglomerate, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, and primarily based in Santa Monica, California. It was f ...
(Anchor Bay's successor) in an Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray edition for the film's 40th anniversary. It is also available
online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...
for computer and other devices viewing (
streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...
rentals) and
download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...
able files through
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
.com,
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
's iTunes Store download application and
Vudu Fandango at Home (formerly known as Vudu) is an American digital video store and streaming service owned by Fandango Media, a joint-venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. The company offers transactional video on demand re ...
.com computer
server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides requested information for other programs or devices, called clients. Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending custome ...
s. In September 2021,
Scream Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...
released a new 4K Ultra HD Dolby Vision scan of the film, as well as its first four sequels.


Reception


Critical response


Contemporary

Upon its initial release, ''Halloween'' performed well with little advertising, relying mostly on word-of-mouth, and received mostly positive reviews from critics. The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' deemed the film a "well-made but empty and morbid thriller", while Bill von Maurer of ''The Miami Times'' felt it was "surprisingly good", noting: "Taken on its own level, ''Halloween'' is a terrifying movie—if you are the right age and the right mood." Susan Stark of the ''Detroit Free Press'' branded ''Halloween'' a burgeoning cult film at the time of its release, describing it as "moody in the extreme" and praising its direction and music.
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...
of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' gave the film three and a half stars out of four and called it "a beautifully made thriller" that "works because director Carpenter knows how to shock while making us smile. He repeatedly sets up anticipation of a shock and delays the shock for varying lengths of time. The tension is considerable. More than once during the movie I looked around just to make sure that no one weird was sitting behind me." Tom Allen of ''The Village Voice'' praised the film in his November 1978 review, noting it as sociologically irrelevant but praising its Hitchcock-like technique as effective and "the most honest way to make a good schlock film". Allen pointed out the stylistic similarities to ''Psycho'' and George A. Romero's ''
Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American Independent film, independent zombie horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John A. Russo, John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Har ...
'' (1968). Conversely,
Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...
wrote a scathing review in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' suggesting that "Carpenter doesn't seem to have had any life outside the movies: one can trace almost every idea on the screen to directors such as Hitchcock and
Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (; born September 11, 1940) is an Americans, American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in the suspense, Crime film, crime, and psychological thriller genres. ...
and to the
Val Lewton Val Lewton (May 7, 1904 – March 14, 1951) was a Russian-American novelist, film producer, and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a pai ...
productions" and musing that "Maybe when a horror film is stripped of everything but dumb scariness—when it isn't ashamed to revive the stalest device of the genre (the escaped lunatic)—it satisfies part of the audience in a more basic, childish way than sophisticated horror pictures do." Likewise, Gary Arnold of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' was negative, writing "Since there is precious little character or plot development to pass the time between stalking sequences, one tends to wish the killer would get on with it. Presumably, Carpenter imagines he's building up spine-tingling anticipation, but his techniques are so transparent and laborious that the result is attenuation rather than tension." Lou Cedrone of ''The Baltimore Evening Sun'' referred to it as "tediously familiar" and whose only notable element is "Jamie Lee Curtis, whose performance as the intended fourth victim, is well above the rest of the film." The following months after release, critics continued to praise the film. ''Voice'' lead critic
Andrew Sarris Andrew Sarris (October 31, 1928 – June 20, 2012) was an American film critic. He was a leading proponent of the auteur theory of film criticism. Early life Sarris was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Greek immigrant parents, Themis (née Kat ...
wrote a follow-up feature on
cult film A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...
s, citing Allen's appraisal of ''Halloween'' and writing in the lead sentence that the film "bids fair to become the cult discovery of 1978. Audiences have been heard screaming at its horrifying climaxes".
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave the film similar praise in his 1979 review in the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', referring to it as "a visceral experience—we aren't seeing the movie, we're having it happen to us. It's frightening. Maybe you don't like movies that are really scary: Then don't see this one." Ebert also selected it as one of his top 10 films of 1978. Once-dismissive critics became impressed by Carpenter's choice of camera angles and simple music and surprised by the lack of blood and graphic violence.


Retrospective

Years after its debut, ''Halloween'' is considered by many critics as one of the best films of 1978. On the
review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, which records both contemporaneous and more recent reviews, ''Halloween'' holds a 97% approval rating based on 86 critic reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The consensus reads: "Scary, suspenseful, and viscerally thrilling, ''Halloween'' set the standard for modern horror films." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 90 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Many compared the film with the work of Alfred Hitchcock, although ''TV Guide'' calls comparisons made to ''Psycho'' "silly and groundless" and some critics in the late 1980s and early 1990s blamed the film for spawning the slasher subgenre, which they felt had rapidly descended into sadism and misogyny. Scholars such as Adam Rockoff dispute the recurring descriptions of ''Halloween'' as overtly violent or gory, commenting that the film is in fact "one of the most restrained horror films", showing very little onscreen violence. Almost a decade after its premiere, Mick Martin and Marsha Porter critiqued the first-person camera shots that earlier film reviewers had praised and later slasher-film directors used for their own films (for example, 1980's ''
Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year ...
''). Claiming it encouraged audience identification with the killer, Martin and Porter pointed to the way "the camera moves in on the screaming, pleading victim, 'looks down' at the knife, and then plunges it into chest, ear, or eyeball. Now that's sick."


Accolades

''Halloween'' was nominated for the
Saturn Award for Best Horror Film The Saturn Awards for Best Horror Film is an award presented to the best film in the horror genre by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. It was introduced in 1973 for the 1972 film year. For the 2010, 2011 and 2012 film yea ...
by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films in 1979, but lost to ''
The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy (film director), Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt and Christopher Lee. The screenplay is by Anthony Shaffer (writer ...
'' (1973). In 2001, ''Halloween'' ranked #68 on the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
TV program '' 100 Years ... 100 Thrills''. The film was #14 on
Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...
's '' The 100 Scariest Movie Moments'' (2004). Similarly, the
Chicago Film Critics Association The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film criticism, film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film cri ...
named it the 3rd scariest film ever made. In 2006, ''Halloween'' was selected for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
by the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In 2008, the film was selected by ''Empire'' magazine as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. In 2010, ''Total Film'' selected the film as one of The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time. In 2017, ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' magazine named ''Halloween'' the best slasher film of all time. The following year, ''
Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...
'' listed it the best slasher film of all time, while Michael Myers was ranked the greatest slasher villain of all time by ''
LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...
''.
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
lists * AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Thrills – #68 * AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains: ** Michael Myers – Nominated Villain * AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – Nominated


Legacy

''Halloween'' is a widely influential film within the horror genre; it was largely responsible for the popularization of slasher films in the 1980s and helped develop the slasher genre. ''Halloween'' popularized many tropes that have become completely synonymous with the slasher genre. ''Halloween'' helped to popularize the
final girl The final girl or survivor girl is a Trope (cinema), trope in horror films (particularly slasher films). It refers to the last girl(s) or woman alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story. The final girl has been ob ...
trope Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things in medi ...
, the killing off of characters who are
substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...
rs or
sexually promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...
, and the use of a theme song for the killer. Carpenter also shot many scenes from the perspective of the killer in order to build tension. These elements have become so established that many historians argue that ''Halloween'' is responsible for the new wave of horror that emerged during the 1980s. Due to its popularity, ''Halloween'' became a blueprint for success that many other horror films, such as ''
Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year ...
'' and ''
A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American Supernatural horror film, supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise), ''A ...
'', followed, and that others like ''
Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream (Six Flags drop tower), at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream (roller coaster), at ...
'' gave nods towards. The major themes present in ''Halloween'' also became common in the slasher films it inspired. Film scholar Pat Gill notes that in ''Halloween'', there is a theme of absentee parents but films such as ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and ''Friday the 13th'' feature the parents becoming directly responsible for the creation of the killer. There are slasher films that predated ''Halloween'', such as ''
Silent Night, Bloody Night ''Silent Night, Bloody Night'' is a 1972 American slasher film directed by Theodore Gershuny and starring Patrick O'Neal, Mary Woronov, James Patterson, Astrid Heeren, and John Carradine. The plot follows a series of murders that occur in a sma ...
'' (1972), ''
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American independent horror film produced, co-composed, and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, ...
'' (1974) and '' Black Christmas'' (1974) which contained prominent elements of the slasher genre; both involving a group of teenagers being murdered by a stranger as well as having the final girl trope. ''Halloween'', however, is considered by historians as being responsible for the new wave of horror films, because it not only used these tropes but also pioneered many others. Rockoff notes that it is "difficult to overestimate the importance of ''Halloween''," noting its pioneering use of the final girl character, subjective point-of-view shots, and holiday setting. Rockoff considers the film "the blueprint for all slashers and the model against which all subsequent films are judged."


Related works


Novelization and video game

A
mass market paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...
novelization of the same name, written by Curtis Richards (a pseudonym that was used by author Richard Curtis), was published by Bantam Books in 1979. It was reissued in 1982. it later went out of print. The novelization adds aspects not featured in the film, such as the origins of the curse of Samhain and Michael Myers' life in Smith's Grove Sanatorium, which contradict its source material. For example, the novel's version of Michael speaks during his time at the sanitarium; in the film, Dr. Loomis states, "He hasn't spoken a word in fifteen years." In 1983, ''
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
'' was adapted as a video game for the
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridg ...
by
Wizard Video Wizard Video was a home video distribution company formed by B movie producer Charles Band in the early 1980s. It was well-known for its detailed (and often lurid) box art, especially during the time that it sold videocassettes in larger individ ...
. None of the main characters in the game were named. Players take on the role of a teenage babysitter who tries to save as many children as possible from an unnamed, knife-wielding killer. In another effort to save money, most versions of the game did not even have a label on the cartridge. It was simply a piece of tape with "Halloween" written in marker. The game contained more gore than the film, however. When the babysitter is killed, her head disappears and is replaced by blood pulsating from the neck as she runs around exaggeratedly. The game's primary similarity to the film is the theme music that plays when the killer appears onscreen.


Sequels and remake

''Halloween'' spawned nine sequels, an unrelated spin-off film and two films in a remake series. Of the subsequent films, only the first sequel was written by Carpenter and Hill. It begins exactly where ''Halloween'' ends and was intended to finish the story of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode. Carpenter did not direct any of the subsequent films in the ''Halloween'' series, although he and Hill did produce '' Halloween III: Season of the Witch'', the plot of which is unrelated to the other films in the series due to the absence of Michael Myers. He, along with Alan Howarth, also composed the music for the second and third films. After the negative critical and commercial reception for ''Season of the Witch'', the studio brought back Michael Myers in '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers''. Financier Moustapha Akkad continued to work closely with the ''Halloween'' franchise, acting as executive producer of every sequel until his death in the 2005 Amman bombings. With the exception of ''Halloween III'', the sequels further develop the character of Michael Myers and the Samhain theme. Even without considering the third film, the ''Halloween'' series contains continuity issues, which some sources attribute to the different writers and directors involved in each film. A
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
was released in 2007, and was followed by a 2009
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
. An eleventh installment was released in 2018, as a direct sequel to the original film, disregarding the previous sequels, and
retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...
ning the ending of the first film. It was followed by two direct sequels: ''
Halloween Kills ''Halloween Kills'' is a 2021 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, and co-written by Green, Danny McBride, and Scott Teems. It is the sequel to ''Halloween'' (2018) and the twelfth installment in the ''Halloween'' franchise. ...
'' (2021) and ''
Halloween Ends ''Halloween Ends'' is a 2022 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, and co-written by Green, Danny McBride, Paul Brad Logan, and Chris Bernier. It is the sequel to ''Halloween Kills'' (2021), the thirteenth installment in the Hal ...
'' (2022).


See also

*
List of cult films Cult films are films with a dedicated and passionate following, often defined by their opposition to mainstream appeal and traditional cinematic norms. While the term lacks a singular definition, it generally includes films that inspire devoted fa ...
*
List of films featuring psychopaths and sociopaths List of films featuring psychopaths Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked ...
*
List of films set around Halloween This is a list of films set on or around Halloween. Children's and family * '' A-Haunting We Will Go'' (1966) * '' The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' (1949) * '' The Addams Family'' (1991) * '' The Addams Family'' (2019) * '' Alpha and Ome ...


Notes


References


Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* ''Halloween'' essay by Murray Leeder on the
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
websit

* ''Halloween'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 748–75
America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry

Official website of the ''Halloween'' series
* * * * * {{Authority control Halloween (franchise) films, 1 1978 films 1978 horror films 1978 independent films 1970s American films 1970s English-language films 1970s exploitation films 1970s horror thriller films 1970s serial killer films 1970s slasher films 1970s teen horror films American exploitation films American films about Halloween American horror thriller films American independent films American serial killer films American slasher films American teen horror films English-language independent films Horror films about child villains Films about children Films directed by John Carpenter Films produced by Debra Hill Films scored by John Carpenter Films set in 1963 Films set in 1978 Films set in Illinois Films set in psychiatric hospitals Films shot in California Films shot in Los Angeles Films with screenplays by Debra Hill Films with screenplays by John Carpenter Films about siblicide Saturn Award–winning films Teen thriller films United States National Film Registry films Films about psychiatry Fiction about child care occupations English-language horror thriller films English-language crime films Films about psychopaths and sociopaths Suburban gothic