Halloween was produced on a budget of $300,000 and grossed $47 million at the box office in the United States,[2] $23 million internationally, for a total of $70 million worldwide,[3] equivalent to roughly $267 million as of 2016, becoming one of the most profitable independent films. Many critics credit the film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). Halloween had many imitators and originated several clichés found in low-budget horror films of the 1980s and 1990s. Unlike many of its imitators, Halloween contains little graphic violence and gore. It was one of the first horror films to introduce the concept of the killer dying and coming back to life again within the same film. In 2006, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Some critics have suggested that Halloween may encourage sadism and misogyny by audiences identifying with its villain.Other critics have suggested the film is a social critique of the immorality of youth and teenagers in 1970s America, with many of Myers' victims being sexually promiscuous substance abusers,[10] while the lone heroine is depicted as innocent and pure, hence her survival. Nevertheless, Carpenter dismisses such analyses. Several of Halloween's techniques and plot elements, although not founded in this film, have nonetheless become standard slasher movie tropes. Halloween spawned seven sequels and was rebooted in 2007.
Plot:
On Halloween night of 1963, in Haddonfield, Illinois, 6-year-old Michael Myers (Will Sandin), dressed in a clown costume and mask, stabs his older sister Judith (Sandy Johnson) to death with a kitchen knife in their home. About 15 years later, on October 30, 1978, 21-year-old Michael (Nick Castle) escapes Warren County Smith's Grove Sanitarium, stealing a car that was to take him to a court date and returning home to Haddonfield. Michael kills a mechanic for his clothes and steals a white mask from a local store.
The following day, Halloween, Michael stalks high school student Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) after she and Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews) drop off a key at his former house so her father can sell it. Throughout the day, Laurie notices Michael following her, but her friends Annie Brackett (Nancy Kyes) and Lynda Van der Klok (P.J. Soles) dismiss her concerns. Meanwhile, Michael's psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), knowing Michael's intentions, goes to Haddonfield to find Michael and stop him. He finds that Judith Myers' headstone is missing and meets with Sheriff Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers), Annie's father, and warns him about the danger Michael poses, explaining that Michael is pure evil and capable of further violence, despite years of catatonia.
Later that night, Laurie goes over to babysit Tommy Doyle while Annie babysits Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards) just across the street, unaware that Michael is watching them. When Annie's boyfriend Paul calls her to come and pick him up, she takes Lindsey over to the Doyle house to spend the night with Laurie and Tommy. Annie is just about to leave in her car when Michael, who hid in the back seat, slashes her throat, killing her.
Soon after, Lynda and her boyfriend Bob Simms (John Michael Graham) arrive at the Wallace house. After having sex, Bob goes downstairs to get a beer for Lynda, but Michael stabs him with a knife, pinning him to the wall and killing him. Michael then poses as Bob in a ghost costume and confronts Lynda, who teases him, to no effect. Annoyed, Lynda calls Laurie; just as Laurie picks up, Michael strangles Lynda to death with the telephone cord.
A suspicious Laurie goes over to the Wallace house and finds her friends dead, along with Judith Myers' stolen headstone, in the upstairs bedroom. As she cowers in the hallway, Michael suddenly appears and attacks Laurie, slashing her arm. Barely escaping, she retreats to the Doyle house. Michael gets in through an open window and attacks Laurie again, but she manages to fend him off long enough for Tommy and Lindsey to escape. Loomis sees them fleeing the house, and goes to investigate, finding Michael and Laurie fighting upstairs. Loomis shoots Michael six times, knocking him off the balcony; when Loomis goes to check Michael's body, he finds it missing. Places where Michael had previously been are shown as his breathing is heard, indicating he could be anywhere.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. The film was the first installment in what has become the Halloween franchise. In the film, on Halloween night in 1963, Michael Myers murders his sister in the fictional Midwestern town of Haddonfield, Illinois. He escapes on October 30, 1978 from Smith's Grove Sanitarium, and returns home to kill again. The next day, Halloween, Michael stalks teenager Laurie Strode. Michael's psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis, knowing Michael's intentions, goes to Haddonfield to find and stop him.
Halloween was produced on a budget of $300,000 and grossed $47 million at the box office in the United States,[2] $23 million internationally, for a total of $70 million worldwide,[3] equivalent to roughly $267 million as of 2016, becoming one of the most profitable independent films. Many critics credit the film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). Halloween had many imitators and originated several clichés found in low-budget horror films of the 1980s and 1990s. Unlike many of its imitators, Halloween contains little graphic violence and gore. It was one of the first horror films to introduce the concept of the killer dying and coming back to life again within the same film. In 2006, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".Some critics have suggested that Halloween may encourage sadism and misogyny by audiences identifying with its villain.Other critics have suggested the film is a social critique of the immorality of youth and teenagers in 1970s America, with many of Myers' victims being sexually promiscuous substance abusers,[10] while the lone heroine is depicted as innocent and pure, hence her survival. Nevertheless, Carpenter dismisses such analyses. Several of Halloween's techniques and plot elements, although not founded in this film, have nonetheless become standard slasher movie tropes. Halloween spawned seven sequels and was rebooted in 2007.
Plot:
On Halloween night of 1963, in Haddonfield, Illinois, 6-year-old Michael Myers (Will Sandin), dressed in a clown costume and mask, stabs his older sister Judith (Sandy Johnson) to death with a kitchen knife in their home. About 15 years later, on October 30, 1978, 21-year-old Michael (Nick Castle) escapes Warren County Smith's Grove Sanitarium, stealing a car that was to take him to a court date and returning home to Haddonfield. Michael kills a mechanic for his clothes and steals a white mask from a local store.
The following day, Halloween, Michael stalks high school student Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) after she and Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews) drop off a key at his former house so her father can sell it. Throughout the day, Laurie notices Michael following her, but her friends Annie Brackett (Nancy Kyes) and Lynda Van der Klok (P.J. Soles) dismiss her concerns. Meanwhile, Michael's psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), knowing Michael's intentions, goes to Haddonfield to find Michael and stop him. He finds that Judith Myers' headstone is missing and meets with Sheriff Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers), Annie's father, and warns him about the danger Michael poses, explaining that Michael is pure evil and capable of further violence, despite years of catatonia.
Later that night, Laurie goes over to babysit Tommy Doyle while Annie babysits Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards) just across the street, unaware that Michael is watching them. When Annie's boyfriend Paul calls her to come and pick him up, she takes Lindsey over to the Doyle house to spend the night with Laurie and Tommy. Annie is just about to leave in her car when Michael, who hid in the back seat, slashes her throat, killing her.
Soon after, Lynda and her boyfriend Bob Simms (John Michael Graham) arrive at the Wallace house. After having sex, Bob goes downstairs to get a beer for Lynda, but Michael stabs him with a knife, pinning him to the wall and killing him. Michael then poses as Bob in a ghost costume and confronts Lynda, who teases him, to no effect. Annoyed, Lynda calls Laurie; just as Laurie picks up, Michael strangles Lynda to death with the telephone cord.
A suspicious Laurie goes over to the Wallace house and finds her friends dead, along with Judith Myers' stolen headstone, in the upstairs bedroom. As she cowers in the hallway, Michael suddenly appears and attacks Laurie, slashing her arm. Barely escaping, she retreats to the Doyle house. Michael gets in through an open window and attacks Laurie again, but she manages to fend him off long enough for Tommy and Lindsey to escape. Loomis sees them fleeing the house, and goes to investigate, finding Michael and Laurie fighting upstairs. Loomis shoots Michael six times, knocking him off the balcony; when Loomis goes to check Michael's body, he finds it missing. Places where Michael had previously been are shown as his breathing is heard, indicating he could be anywhere.