Halloween (1978)
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An escaped mental patient returns to his hometown on Halloween night to stalk a group of teenagers.
The story
On Halloween in the fictional Illinois town of Haddonfield, an escaped mental patient named Michael Myers returns to the community after fifteen years of incarceration. He begins stalking a teenage babysitter, Laurie Strode, and her friends. While the local sheriff and a determined psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis, attempt to track the elusive killer, the teenagers find themselves trapped in a deadly game of cat and mouse. The film builds tension as the threat of the masked assailant looms over the suburban neighborhood, establishing a terrifying atmosphere of suspense and dread as the night unfolds.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1963, Michael Myers brutally murders his sister Judith. In 1978, while being transported to a court hearing, Michael escapes from a sanitarium. He returns to Haddonfield, where he steals a mask and weapons. On Halloween night, he stalks Laurie Strode and her friends, Annie and Lynda, while they are babysitting. Michael kills several people, including a dog and the girls' friends. Dr. Loomis, who has been hunting Michael for years, discovers the truth and pursues him. After a series of tense encounters, Laurie manages to wound Michael, but he continues to pursue her. In the final confrontation, Loomis finds Laurie fighting Michael and shoots him multiple times. He falls off a balcony, and while he appears to have vanished, the film ends with Laurie in a state of shock as Loomis confirms the threat is not easily stopped.
- First release year
- 1978
- Runtime (minutes)
- 91
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Carpenter
- Writers
- John Carpenter · screenplay; Debra Hill · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Donald Pleasence · Dr. Samuel Loomis; Jamie Lee Curtis · Laurie Strode; P. J. Soles · Lynda Van Der Klok; Nancy Loomis · Annie Brackett; Nick Castle · Michael Myers
- Genres
- slasher; horror
- Themes
- evil; absentee parents; danger of suburbia
- Tone and mood
- moody; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- slasher; survival; haunted house
- Franchise connections
- Halloween
- Reception
- The film was widely praised for its direction and score, and is considered a cornerstone of the slasher genre. It received critical acclaim for its atmosphere and is currently held in high regard by critics and audiences alike.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 97% · scale: percentage · review count: 92; Metacritic · score: 91 · scale: 100 · review count: 21
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Award · Best Classic Film Release · win
- Production trivia
- The mask was made from a Captain Kirk mask.; The film was one of the most profitable independent films of all time.; The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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