View source for Halloween (1978 movie)

{{for|the 2018 movie and near final installment of the franchise|Halloween (2018 movie)}}
'''''Halloween''''' is a 1978 [[horror movie]] and the first film in the [[Halloween (series)|''Halloween'' movie series]]. On Halloween 1963 in [[Illinois]], six year old Michael Myers [[murder]]s his [[sister]]. Fifteen [[year]]s later, he escapes from a [[psychiatric hospital]], returns home and [[stalking|stalks]] [[teenager]] Laurie Strode and her friends.

It was remade [[Halloween (2007 movie)|in 2007]]. The movie's script was created and the movie was filmed in under twenty days.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/59788/15-terrifying-facts-about-john-carpenters-halloween|title=15 Terrifying Facts About John Carpenter’s Halloween|date=October 26, 2018|publisher=Mental Floss}}</ref>

==Plot==
On [[Halloween]] night 1963, in the town of Haddonfield, [[Illinois]], six-year-old [[Michael Myers]], dressed in a clown costume, stabs his older sister Judith to death with a kitchen knife in their home. Fifteen years later, on October 30, 1978, Michael's psychiatrist, [[Samuel Loomis|Dr. Samuel Loomis]], and his colleague, Marion Chambers, arrive at Warren County's Smith's Grove Sanitarium to escort Michael to court. Michael escapes the sanitarium, stealing Loomis' car in the process, and returning home to Haddonfield.

On the road, Michael kills a mechanic for his coveralls. He then steals a mask, knives, and rope from a local hardware store. The following day, on Halloween, Michael begins [[stalking]] high school student [[Laurie Strode]] after she drops off a key at his former house, so her father can sell it. Throughout the day, Laurie notices Michael following her, but her best friends Annie Brackett and Lynda Van der Klok dismiss her concerns. Loomis arrives in Haddonfield in search of Michael, visiting Judith's [[grave]] in the local [[cemetery]], only to find her [[tombstone]] stolen. He meets with Haddonfield's [[sheriff]], Leigh Brackett, Annie's father, and they both go to Michael's house, where Loomis tries to convince Sheriff Brackett about the danger Michael poses. Sheriff Brackett patrols the streets while Loomis waits at the house, expecting Michael to return.

Later that night, Laurie babysits Tommy Doyle, while Annie babysits Lindsey Wallace just across the street, unaware that Michael has followed them. When Annie's boyfriend, Paul, calls her to come and pick him up, she takes Lindsey over to the Doyle house to spend the night with Laurie and Tommy. Annie is just about to leave in her car when Michael, who had hidden in the back seat, strangles her and slits her throat. Soon after, Lynda and her boyfriend Bob Simms arrive at the Wallace house. After having sex, Bob goes downstairs to get a beer for Lynda, but Michael fatally stabs him. Michael then poses as Bob in a ghost costume and confronts Lynda, who teases him, to no effect. Annoyed, Lynda calls Laurie, but Michael strangles Lynda with the telephone wire just as Laurie picks up. Meanwhile, Loomis discovers the stolen car and begins searching the streets.

Suspicious, Laurie goes over to the Wallace house, and finds the bodies of Annie, Bob, and Lynda in an upstairs bedroom, as well as Judith Myers' headstone. Horrified, Laurie cowers in a hallway, when Michael suddenly appears and attacks her, slashing her arm. Barely escaping, Laurie flees back to the Doyle house. Michael follows, but Laurie manages to fend him off long enough for Tommy and Lindsey to escape, defending herself by stabbing him with a knitting needle, a metal hanger, and his own knife. Loomis sees Tommy and Lindsey fleeing the house, and investigates and sees Michael attacking Laurie. Loomis shoots Myers off the balcony; when Loomis goes to check Michael's body, he finds it missing. Loomis stares off into the night, while Laurie begins sobbing in terror. As various shots of the Doyle and Wallace houses are displayed, the Myers house is shown, as sounds of Michael's breathing are heard, leaving his whereabouts in further doubt.

==Cast==
<table style="width:400px;" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">

<tr>

<td  style="text-align:right; width:50%;">'''[[Donald Pleasence]]'''<br>'''[[Jamie Lee Curtis]]'''<br>'''[[Nancy Kyes]]'''<br>'''[[P.J. Soles]]'''<br>'''[[Charles Cyphers]]'''<br>'''[[Kyle Richards]]'''<br>'''[[Brian Andrews]]'''<br>'''[[John Michael Graham]]'''<br>'''[[Nancy Stephens]]'''<br>'''[[Arthur Malet]]'''<br>'''[[Mickey Yablans]]'''<br>'''[[Brent Le Page]]'''<br>'''[[Adam Hollander]]'''<br>'''[[Robert Phalen]]'''<br>'''[[Tony Moran]]'''<br>'''[[Will Sandin]]'''<br>'''[[Sandy Johnson]]'''<br>'''[[David Kyle]]'''<br>'''[[Peter Griffith]]'''<br>'''[[Nick Castle]]'''
</td>

<td  style="text-align:left; width:50%;">Dr. [[Samuel Loomis]]<br>[[Laurie Strode]]<br>[[Annie Brackett]]<br>[[Lynda van der Klok]]<br>Sheriff [[Leigh Brackett]]<br>[[Lindsey Wallace]]<br>[[Tommy Doyle]]<br>[[Bob Simms]]<br>[[Marion Chambers]]<br>[[Angus Taylor|Graveyard Keeper]]<br>[[Richie (Halloween 1978 Character)|Richie]]<br>[[Lonnie Elamb]]<br>[[Keith (Halloween 1978 Character)|Keith]] <br>Dr. [[Wynn]]<br>[[Michael Myers]] (age 21)<br>[[Michael Myers]] (age 6)<br>[[Judith Margaret Myers]]<br>[[Daniel Hodges|Judith's Boyfriend]]<br>Laurie's Father<br>[[Michael Myers|The Shape]]

</td>
</tr>
</table>

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Other websites ==
* {{IMDb title|0077651}}

[[Category:1978 horror movies]]
[[Category:1978 thriller movies]]
[[Category:1970s horror thriller movies]]
[[Category:1970s serial killer movies]]
[[Category:American horror thriller movies]]
[[Category:Halloween movies]]
[[Category:Halloween (franchise) movies]]
[[Category:Movies directed by John Carpenter]]
[[Category:Movies set in Illinois]]
[[Category:Movies set in the 1960s]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry movies]]
[[Category:1970s English-language movies]]
[[Category:Movies set in psychiatric hospitals]]
[[Category:Movies set in the 1970s]]
[[Category:1970s independent movies]]
[[Category:American independent movies]]
[[Category:American psychological movies]]
[[Category:American serial killer movies]]
[[Category:American teen horror movies]]
[[Category:Cult movies]]
[[Category:Movies about children]]
[[Category:Slasher movies]]