Film · 1978

Halloween

Halloween is a 1978 American 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 (Curtis) and her friends while his psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis (Pleasence) 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).