Halloween

Name: Halloween
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Released: October 25, 1978
Duration: 91 min
Rating: 87
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran

1978

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 21 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 647 Ratings

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8.8

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8.8	User Score Universal acclaim based on 647 Ratings

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Halloween

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Movie Details & Credits

Compass International Pictures | Release Date: October 25, 1978 | R

Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran

Summary: On Halloween night in 1963, 6-year old Michael Myers stabbed his sister to death. After being in a mental hospital for 15 years, Myers escapes and returns to Haddonfield, Illinois to kill.

Director: John Carpenter

Genre(s): Thriller, Horror

Rating: R

Runtime: 91 min

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Critic Reviews

100

David Grove

Arguably, the greatest horror film of the past thirty years.

100

Empire Adam Smith

Halloween remains about as distilled, raw an experience in terror as is ever likely to be committed to celluloid. Read full review

100

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

The unmasking "reveal" at the beginning of the movie is a great coup, and the film continues to be very scary, helped by Carpenter's own theme: a trebly plinking of piano notes and that buzzy synth in low register. Read full review

David Ansen

A schlock horror movie made for a pittance by 30-year-old John Carpenter, which happens to be the most frightening flick in years. Halloween is a superb exercise in the art of suspense, and it has no socially redeeming value whatsoever. Nasty, voyeuristic, relentless, it aims at nothing but to scare the hell out of you. [4 Dec 1978, p.116]

Josh Larsen

You know those countless slasher flicks in which a psychotic maniac slices his way through horny teenagers, only to be thwarted by the virginal heroine in the end? Halloween is the fountainhead. Despite countless imitators, however, few have been able to match the level of craft and psychological depth on display here. Halloween is a landmark, and a legitimately enduring classic. Read full review

Ron Pennington

Carpenter creates excellent tension throughout and he avoids excessive blood and gore in the murder sequences. The violent actions are mostly implied more than graphically depicted, which serves to heighten the effect. Read full review

Gary Arnold

Halloween is a stab at a derivative minor classic. It's apparent where Carpenter got his horror devices - and a minor misfortune that he hasn't been able to synthesize them in a fresh or exciting way. Read full review

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User Reviews

KimmyTee

Mar 12, 2011

Greatest horror film that has ever been made. This movie is amazing and will always be my favorite. It is so creepy and scary without even showing blood and gore. I can't imagine not loving this movie. This movie is horror! You can't top Michael Myers. John Carpenter is amazing!!

25 of 28 users found this helpful253

BANNEDGGlndccnt

Jan 31, 2022

GOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOOD GOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOODGOOD good

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ChadEM

Nov 14, 2007

As good as it gets in the horror genre. "Halloween" is the perfect horror movie: atmospheric, well acted, masterfully directed by John Carpenter, and scary as hell. It is, essentially, a bloodless film, yet it is remembered as a brutal, gory slasher movie. Watch it on a late October night As good as it gets in the horror genre. "Halloween" is the perfect horror movie: atmospheric, well acted, masterfully directed by John Carpenter, and scary as hell. It is, essentially, a bloodless film, yet it is remembered as a brutal, gory slasher movie. Watch it on a late October night with all the lights out and the sound way up, and you'll see why it's the best/scariest horror movie ever.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Thegodfatherson

Oct 14, 2013

I LOVE HALLOWEEN. It's one of the best horror movies ever made and my favourite horror movie! Any fan of horror movies is intimately familiar with Halloween even if they've not seen the actual film itself. The movie has been mimicked and parodied extensively and the cliches present haveI LOVE HALLOWEEN. It's one of the best horror movies ever made and my favourite horror movie! Any fan of horror movies is intimately familiar with Halloween even if they've not seen the actual film itself. The movie has been mimicked and parodied extensively and the cliches present have become embedded in pop culture. The movie begins with the view from the eyes of a killer, who watches a girl have sex with her boyfriend. As soon as he leaves, he stabs her with a knife. The killer turns out to be her six-year old brother and is committed to a mental institution. Fifteen years later, Michael Myers (Tony Moran), returns to his old home to kill once again. His targets this time include three high school students: Annie (Nancy Kyes), Lynda (P. J. Soles), and Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis). Who dies next and who ends up living is the guessing game the audience gets to play (along with the characters). Whether intentionally or not, the movie ends up having a moralistic message. All the people who are killed are involved in sexual acts. Michael Myers is portrayed as the embodiment of evil, as opposed to being a "normal" serial killer, and some of the things he does has a hint of the supernatural. It's interesting that the movies Halloween inspired, in the slash-and-gore horror genre, borrow less from the Psycho-like feel present in the film and instead seek to showcase the scenes we don't see. There's little gore in the film and a lot of the fear is psychological. The movie is made more frightening simply because we don't see body parts splattered about. Yet later movies chose to abandon suspense as a means of achieving terror and sought instead to shock people by showing more blood and gore. Halloween's status as a cult film is assured. The movie has several flaws, but the primary reason it has gained such a status has to do with director John Carpenter's minimalist distillation of the most pure, adrenaline generating, horror and suspense moments seen before in previous films. Definitely worth a rental on Halloween night.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

HellHoleHorror

Apr 30, 2022

This is the original stalker-slasher movie. The violence is almost implied rather than graphic but this works really well in building tension and creating a sense of death in the air. You never really see the killer and you never really need to. All you need to know is that he is inhuman andThis is the original stalker-slasher movie. The violence is almost implied rather than graphic but this works really well in building tension and creating a sense of death in the air. You never really see the killer and you never really need to. All you need to know is that he is inhuman and pure evil! This is explained anyway. The acting is great and the long shots almost create a sense of heightened foreboding. This is a must-see for any horror fans. It killed a generation of free-love and spawned countless copies. Only gripe is that it plays as a comedy to modern audiences. A piece of horror film history even tributed to by Scream (1996) and many others.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

alejandro970

Oct 31, 2021

Just behind Psychosis, this is one of the forerunners of the psychotic killer genre. One of its strengths is how the musical background and suspense go hand in hand in a way that causes anxiety in the viewer, without simple resources. Just in case, tonight lock doors and windows.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

queenstephanie

Apr 26, 2020

overrated. not scary, no interesting characters, not a smart plot. none of the companies called this scary without the music, and the music is more entertaining than scary

2 of 10 users found this helpful28

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