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Halloween
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Halloween (1978) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 61 | slideshow) Videos (see all 5)
Halloween (1978) -- A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood escapes on a mindless rampage while his doctor chases him through the streets.
Halloween (1978) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   59,289 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
John Carpenter (screenplay) and
Debra Hill (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Halloween on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 October 1978 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The trick was to stay alive. more
Plot:
A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood escapes on a mindless rampage while his doctor chases him through the streets. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
2 wins & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(307 articles)
Drawing on Your Nightmares: Nihilism and Horror
 (From Dread Central. 10 December 2009, 6:22 PM, PST)

10 Examples Of A Pulse In The Modern Slasher
 (From Fangoria. 3 December 2009, 8:17 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Scary as hell. more (990 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Also Known As:
John Carpenter's Halloween (USA) (complete title)
The Babysitter Murders (USA) (working title)
more
Runtime:
91 min | USA:101 min (extended version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (original release)
Certification:
Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (video rating) (1982) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) (original rating) | Canada:R (Manitoba) (re-rating) (2003) | UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Brazil:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Singapore:PG (cut) | Germany:16 (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Canada:R | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) (2001) | South Korea:18 | Chile:14 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 (re-rating) | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Denmark:15 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 (re-release: 1999) | France:-16 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (re-release: 1999) | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Portugal:M/16 (re-rating) | Portugal:M/18 (original rating)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Tommy Doyle's name was from Rear Window (1954) and Sam Loomis' name is from Psycho (1960). more
Goofs:
Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Michael stabs his sister as a child, you see it from his point of view through the mask. As he is butchering her, he is not looking at her, but in fact he is staring at his own hand. This is presumably part of his sickness. more
Quotes:
Laurie: [to herself, watching kids trick-or-treating] Well, kiddo, I thought you outgrew superstition. more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Don't Fear The Reaper more

FAQ

What are the differences between the theatrical version and the Extended Version?
Why did Michael wait 15 years to break out of the hospital and come after Laurie?
Do we ever get to see Michael's face?
more
93 out of 106 people found the following comment useful.
Scary as hell., 9 April 2005
10/10
Author: ZombieKilla81 from Hawaii, USA

My personal favorite horror film. From the lengthy first tracking shot to the final story twist, this is Carpenter's masterpiece.

Halloween night 1963, little Michael Meyers murders his older sister. All-hallows-eve 1978, Michael escapes from Smith's Grove sanitarium. Halloween night, Michael has come home to murder again.

The story is perfectly simple, Michael stalks and kills babysitters. No bells or whistles, just the basics. It's Carpenter's almost over-powering atmosphere of dread that generates the tension. Like any great horror film, events are telegraphed long in advance, yet they still seem to occur at random, never allowing the audience to the chance to second guess the film.

The dark lighting, the long steady-cam shots, and (most importantly) that damn eerie music create the most claustrophobic and uncomfortable scenes I have yet to see in film. There is a body count, but compared to the slew of slashers after this it's fairly small. That and most of the murders are nearly bloodless. The fear is not in death, but in not knowing.

The acting is roundelay good. PJ Soles provides much of the films limited humor (and one of the best deaths), Nancy Loomis turns in a decent performance and then there is the young (at the time) Jamie Leigh-Curtis. Her performance at first seems shy and un-assured, yet you quickly realize that it is perfect for the character, who is herself shy and un-assured and not at all prepared for what she is to face. And of course there is the perfectly cast Donald Pleasence as the determined (perhaps a little unstable) Dr. Sam Loomis. Rest in peace Mr. Pleasence.

If the film has a detrimental flaw, it would be the passage of time. Since the release of this film so many years ago nearly countless clones, copies, rip-offs, and imitators have come along and stolen (usually badly) the films best bits until nearly everything about it has become familiar. Combined with the changes for audience expectations and appetites, one finds much of the films raw power diluted. To truly appreciate it in this day and age, it must be viewed as it once was, as something unique.

Never the less, I have no reservation with highly recommending this film to anyone looking for a good, scary time. Highest Reguards.

10/10

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Creepiest scene ever? Spielbergian
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