Halloween: Being The Adventures Of Michael Myers | Halloween: The Night He Came Home | Halloween II
Halloween III: The Season Of The Witch | Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers
Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers | Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers | Halloween: H20 | Halloween: Resurrection

Setting: Haddonfield, 31 October, 1963 and 31 October, 1978

Halloween begins with a spooky opening sequence in which we look out from Michael's view, seeing his 17-year-old sister Judy make love to her boyfriend. We see what Michael sees as he puts on his clown mask, picks up a knife, goes upstairs and kills Judy. It is when he leaves the house that we get the initial shock - that Michael is only a six-year-old boy.

Fifteen years later, in 1978, Dr Loomis and a nurse travel to where Michael has been kept in Smithsgrove Mental Institute. Michael escapes the institute, steals Loomis's car and escapes to Haddonfield, the town where he grew up. There he sees Laurie Strode outside the Myers' house, a house which Laurie's father, an estate agent, hopes to sell - and he follows her and her friends Annie and Linda. On Halloween night, relationships are at the forefront of the teenagers of the area. Though Laurie is happy to be babysitting a young boy called Tommy, Laurie's friend Annie is babysitting too, but is hoping to be able to go on a date with Paul (who fails to turn up), and Linda is on a date with Bob.

Dr Loomis persuades Haddonfield's Sheriff Brackett, father of Annie, to keep an eye out around the Myers' House for Michael, but the sheriff is unconvinced.

Michael systematically murders Laurie's friends and then pursues Laurie herself. Dr Loomis arrives in time to save Laurie and shoots Michael six times. He falls off a balcony, but his body disappears...

Deaths:

Cast:

Characters with names in italics are recurring characters.

Review

There are two versions of the film Halloween. As well as the original 1978 cinema release, in 1982, during the making of Halloween II, John Carpenter shot additional scenes for Halloween.¹ At one stage, Halloween was originally going to be called The Babysitter Murders, but was fortunately changed to its more dramatic title before release.²

Halloween is an effective film and the opening sequence of the flickering pumpkin builds up the atmosphere simply and more effectively than in later films. John Carpenter's³ haunting electronic music is also fresh, and in the tradition of all horror films, the characters in this horror film watch horror films. The small cast also means that you know who everyone in the film is, and so the murders are more shocking than in later films with several disposable, and therefore easily disposed-of, extras. Dark and atmospheric, it took the films off in the right direction.

Further Reading

Halloween: Being The Adventures Of Michael Myers
• Halloween II
• Halloween III: The Season Of The Witch
• Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers
• Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers
• Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers
• Halloween: H20
• Halloween: Resurrection