by Brett Hardel

Created on: January 17, 2009

Along with 1968's "Night of the Living Dead", if there was ever a independent horror film that caught fire with the public and critics, this is it. To date it has spawned seven sequels, a critically panned remake, and countless imitations. And on such a simple plot: Six-year-old Michael Myers (Will Sandin) murders his older sister Judith (Sandy Johnson) on Halloween night, 1963, after observing her making love with her boyfriend (David Kyle). Michael is institutionalized and ordered to stand trial at age twenty-one, and is placed in the care of Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance) who quickly realizes that his young charge is extremely dangerous. After fifteen speechless years, Michael (now played by Nick Castle) escapes on October 30, 1978, just prior to his having to stand trial for the murder of his sister Judith. Loomis trails Michael back to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, and as Loomis gets little support from authorities concerning Michael's escape, Michael stalks teenager Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis, in her screen debut) as well as her friends Annie (Nancy Loomis) and Lynda (P.J. Soles). While Loomis convinces Annie's father Sheriff Brackett (Charles Cyphers) of the danger in his town, Laurie and Annie go off to babysitting assignments across the street from each other. Michael tails them there, and Lynda and her boyfriend Bob (John Michael Graham) arrive at the Wallace house where Annie is to make use of the master bedroom. The three are stylishly knocked off and a concerned Laurie crosses the street to investigate as no one is answering the phone at the Wallace house...

Released on October 25th, 1978 and produced on a budget of $320,000 - $20,000 was the salary alone for star Donald Pleasance - it brought in $47 million in the United States and $8 million overseas. Distribution of the movie was limited, starting in Kansas City and then into the big cities with momentum picking up by word of mouth. Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" selected it as one of the top five movies of 1978 and "The Village Voice" offered high praise. A novelization by Curtis Richards was published in 1979 and reprinted in 1982, although at this writing it is currently out of print. A video game was released by Atari in 1983 and a gory one at that, especially for the times. There has been a comic book series, mass merchandising, many releases on VHS and then DVD, including an extended cut of the film (12 additional minutes shot during the production of "Halloween II" to fill the running time for it's 1981 television premiere), and even a 25th Anniversary Convention in 2003 held in the shooting location of Pasadena, California, and attended by stars Jamie Lee Curtis, P.J. Soles, and Charles Cyphers.

Learn more about this author, Brett Hardel.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.