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). Halloween is considered one of the greatest horror films ever made and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2006 as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It spawned a film franchise comprising thirteen films, with some sequels narratively diverging entirely from previous installments, as well as a novelization, video game, board game, and comic book series.
Plot On October 31, 1963, in the suburban Illinois town of Haddonfield, six-year-old Michael Myers brutally stabs his teenage sister Judith to death with a chef's knife. On October 30, 1978, psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis and nurse Marion Chambers drive to the sanitarium, where Michael is incarcerated, to escort him to a court hearing. Upon arrival, they realize the patients have broken out of the hospital. A male patient jumps on the car roof and attacks Marion from the passenger window. She then runs from the vehicle, allowing the patient to steal the car and drive away. Dr. Loomis concludes that it was Michael Myers. Michael returns to Haddonfield, killing a mechanic and taking his coveralls before stealing a white mask, a rope, and two kitchen knives from a hardware store. The next morning, on Halloween, Michael begins stalking a teenage girl, Laurie Strode, when she drops off a key at his abandoned childhood home that her realtor father is trying to sell. Laurie notices Michael throughout the day, but her friends Annie Brackett and Lynda Van Der Klok dismiss her concerns. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield and discovers that Michael has stolen Judith's tombstone from the local cemetery. He meets up with the town sheriff, Annie's father Leigh Brackett, and they visit Michael's home where they are convinced that Michael has returned to Haddonfield. That evening, Michael follows Annie and Laurie to their babysitting jobs. Laurie watches Tommy Doyle, while Annie stays with Lindsey Wallace across the street. Michael spies on Annie and kills Lester, the family's German Shepherd. Tommy spots Michael from the windows and thinks he is the boogeyman, but Laurie sees nothing and dismisses him. Annie takes Lindsey to the Doyle house so she can pick up her boyfriend while Laurie watches both of the kids. Michael hides in Annie's car and strangles her before cutting her throat. Lynda and her boyfriend Bob arrive at the Wallace house and have sex. Bob then goes downstairs to get a beer from the kitchen, where Michael pins him to the wall with a chef's knife. Michael poses as Bob in a ghost costume to taunt Lynda, who teases him to no effect. Annoyed, she calls Laurie to find out what happened to Annie, but Michael strangles her with the phone cord while Laurie listens on the other end, not knowing what is happening. Meanwhile, Loomis discovers the stolen car and searches the streets. Worried by the phone call, Laurie goes to the Wallace house and finds her friends' bodies and Judith's tombstone in one of the upstairs bedrooms. She runs into the hallway, where Michael slashes her arm, causing her to fall over the banister to the first floor. Though injured, she escapes the house and flees back to the Doyle house with Michael in pursuit. Tommy lets her in, and she orders him and Lindsey to hide. Laurie tries to call for help, only to find the phone dead. Michael sneaks in through the window and attempts to attack Laurie again, but she defends herself by stabbing him in the neck with a knitting needle, causing him to collapse. Thinking Michael is dead, Laurie staggers upstairs to check on the children, where she tells them that she killed the "boogeyman", but Tommy insists that you cannot kill the boogeyman just as Michael reappears upstairs with a knife. While Tommy and Lindsey hide in the bathroom, Laurie lures Michael to the bedroom closet and stabs him in the eye with a piece of wire hanger and in the chest with his own knife. After Laurie sends Tommy and Lindsey to a neighbor's house to call the police, Michael rises and attacks her again. Seeing the kids screaming from the house, Loomis investigates and finds Laurie fighting Michael off by dislodging his mask, revealing his face. As Michael puts his mask back on, Loomis recognizes him and shoots him repeatedly, causing him to fall off the bedroom balcony. When Loomis goes to check on the body, he is unsurprised to see that Michael has vanished. He stares into the night as Laurie sobs in terror, telling him "it was the boogeyman."
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