Halloween

Halloween (titled onscreen as John Carpenter's Halloween) is a 1978 American horror 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 plot tells about a mental patient who was committed to a sanitarium for murdering his teenage sister on Halloween night when he was six years old. Fifteen years later, he escapes and returns to his hometown, where he stalks a female babysitter and her friends, while under pursuit by his psychiatrist.

Filming took place in Southern California in May 1978, before premiering in October, where it grossed $70 million, becoming one of the most profitable independent films. Primarily praised for Carpenter's direction and score, many credit the film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) and Bob Clark's Black Christmas (1974). Some critics have suggested that Halloween may encourage sadism and misogyny by audiences identifying with its villain. Others have suggested that 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, and the lone heroine is depicted as innocent and pure, hence her survival.

Plot

On October 31, 1963, on Halloween night in the fictional small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, six-year-old Michael Myers inexplicably stabs his older sister Judith to death with a kitchen knife in their home, and is incarcerated at Smith's Grove sanitarium. Fifteen years later, on October 30, 1978, Michael's psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis and his colleague, Marion Chambers arrive at the sanitarium to escort Michael to court. Michael escapes by stealing their car and returns to Haddonfield, killing a mechanic for his coveralls, as well as stealing a white mask, a rope and knives from a local hardware store.

The next day on Halloween, high school student Laurie Strode drops off a key at the still unoccupied and dilapidated Myers home her father is trying to sell. Michael stalks her throughout the day and she notices, but her friends Annie Brackett and Lynda Van der Klok dismiss her concerns. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield in search of Michael, and finds Judith's tombstone missing from the local cemetery. He meets with Annie's father, Sheriff Leigh Brackett, and they both investigate Michael's house, where Loomis tells Sheriff Brackett of the danger Michael poses. Sheriff Brackett is doubtful of Michael's danger but goes to patrol the streets, while Loomis waits at the house, expecting Michael to return.

Later that night, Laurie babysits Tommy Doyle, while Annie babysits Lindsey Wallace across the street, unaware that Michael has followed them. Michael also kills the Wallaces' dog. 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. Before Annie can leave, Michael, who hid in the back seat of her car, strangles her and slits her throat. Soon after, Lynda and her boyfriend, Bob Simms, arrive at the Wallace house. After having sex, Bob goes downstairs to get a beer for Lynda and Michael stabs him to death. Michael then poses as Bob in a ghost costume and confronts Lynda, who teases him to no effect. Annoyed, Lynda calls Laurie, but Michael strangles her to death with the telephone cord just as Laurie picks up. Meanwhile, Loomis discovers the stolen car and begins searching the streets.

Suspicious, Laurie goes over to the Wallace house, and finds the bodies of Annie, Bob, and Lynda, as well as Judith's headstone, in the upstairs bedroom. Laurie cowers in the hallway, where Michael suddenly appears and attacks her, causing her to fall backwards on the staircase. Laurie narrowly escapes and flees back to the Doyle house, where she gets Tommy to wake up and let her in. Michael gets in and attacks her again, but she keeps him at bay by stabbing him with a knitting needle, a coat hanger, and his own knife, temporarily knocking him out each time, then sends Tommy and Lindsey to go to a neighbor's house down the street and have them call the police.

Loomis sees Tommy and Lindsey running from the house and goes to investigate, finding Michael and Laurie fighting upstairs; during the fight, Laurie rips Michael's mask off, making him hesitate and put it back on. Loomis shoots Michael six times, knocking him off the balcony. Agreeing with Laurie that Michael is the "boogeyman", Loomis walks to the balcony and looks down to see that Michael has vanished. Unsurprised, he stares off into the night as Laurie begins to sob. Michael's breathing is heard during a montage of locations he had recently been, indicating he could be anywhere.

Cast

Donald Pleasence as Dr. Sam Loomis

Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode

Nick Castle as Michael Myers / The Shape

Tony Moran as Michael Myers (unmasked)

Will Sandin as Michael Myers (age 6)

P.J. Soles as Lynda Van Der Klok

Nancy Kyes as Annie Brackett

Charles Cyphers as Sheriff Leigh Brackett

Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace

Brian Andrews as Tommy Doyle

John Michael Graham as Bob Simms

Nancy Stephens as Marion Chambers

Arthur Malet as Angus Taylor

Mickey Yablans as Richie Castle

Brent Le Page as Lonnie Elam

Adam Hollander as Keith

Sandy Johnson as Judith Margaret Myers

David Kyle as Danny Hodges

Peter Griffith as Morgan Strode

Mitchell Ryan as Dr. Terence Wynn