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Halloween (1978 film)

Also known as John Carpenter's Halloween

Halloween is a 1978 American independent slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter, who co-wrote it with producer Debra Hill. It stars Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, P. J. Soles, and Nancy Loomis. The film follows escaped mental patient Michael Myers, who was committed to a mental institution for murdering his teenage sister on Halloween in the fictional Illinois town of Haddonfield; 15 years later, he returns to Haddonfield, where he stalks teenage babysitter Laurie Strode and her friends while his psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis pursues him.

AI overview

Halloween is a 1978 independent slasher film directed by John Carpenter about an escaped mental patient named Michael Myers who returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, to stalk a teenage babysitter and her friends 15 years after murdering his sister. The film matters because it became a landmark work in the slasher genre, establishing many conventions that influenced horror filmmaking for decades to come.

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Film · TMDB

7.6

Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.

Released: 1978-10-2491 minDir: John CarpenterHorror, ThrillerBudget: $325,000Box office: $70.3MPart of: Halloween Collection

▶ Watch trailerStream on: fuboTV, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Philo, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Cultpix

Cast

Donald Pleasence as Loomis
Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie
Nancy Kyes as Annie
P. J. Soles as Lynda
Charles Cyphers as Brackett
Kyle Richards as Lindsey

Themes

~40 min read

Article

Halloween is a 1978 American independent slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter, who co-wrote it with producer Debra Hill. It stars Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis (in her film debut), P. J. Soles, and Nancy Loomis. The film follows escaped mental patient Michael Myers, who was committed to a mental institution for murdering his teenage sister on Halloween in the fictional Illinois town of Haddonfield; 15 years later, he returns to Haddonfield, where he stalks teenage babysitter Laurie Strode and her friends while his psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis pursues him.

The film was shot in Southern California, produced by Compass International Pictures, and Falcon International Productions. The film was released by Compass International and Aquarius Releasing in October and grossed $70 million (equivalent to $346 million in 2025) on a budget of $300,000 (equivalent to $1,480,900 in 2025), becoming one of the most profitable independent films of all time. Primarily praised for Carpenter's direction and score, many critics credit the film as pioneering the slasher genre, alongside other films such as Psycho (1960), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Black Christmas (both 1974).