Halloween
1978 · Movie · R · 91 min · ★ 7.6 · 94% critics
Fifteen years after a family tragedy on Halloween Night, a masked escapee breaks free from a mental hospital and returns to a small town to resume his killing. As Halloween night unfolds, fear spreads and people nearby realize they may be next.
Also known as John Carpenter's Halloween · The Babysitter Murders · Halloween : La Nuit des masques
Where to watch
Streaming on AMC+ and Shudder.
2 hours to watch.
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Details
- Years
- 1978
- Release date
- 1978-10-24
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 91 min
- Critic score
- 94/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.6/10 (6,194 votes)
- Box office
- $70,274,000
- Budget
- $325,000
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want an old-school Halloween-themed slasher driven by eerie tension and a memorable masked figure; Not for you if you need lots of character depth or lots of gore, like you might prefer The Texas Chain Saw Massacre or A Nightmare on Elm Street instead.
Pros: iconic suspense; memorable villain; effective stalking | Cons: weak character chemistry; predictable scares; uneven pacing
Themes
- mask
- police
- halloween
- babysitter
- marijuana
- stalking
- serial killer
- maniac
- killing spree
- family
- evil
- psychotic
- +1 more
Cast & crew
Donald Pleasence
as Loomis
Jamie Lee Curtis
as Laurie
Nancy Kyes
as Annie
P. J. Soles
as Lynda
Charles Cyphers
as Brackett
Kyle Richards
as Lindsey
Brian Andrews
as Tommy
John Michael Graham
as Bob
Nancy Stephens
as Marion
Arthur Malet
as Graveyard Keeper
Directed by John Carpenter