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Movies / On DVD / Halloween
Halloween

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Halloween (1978)

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Reviews Counted:4

Fresh:3

Rotten:1

Average Rating:N/A

Consensus: Scary, suspenseful, and viscerally thrilling, Halloween set the standard for modern horror films.

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: Perhaps the most influential and successful independent film ever made, HALLOWEEN is the movie that put director John Carpenter on the map as a viable filmmaker. An exercise in simple, pure horror,... Perhaps the most influential and successful independent film ever made, HALLOWEEN is the movie that put director John Carpenter on the map as a viable filmmaker. An exercise in simple, pure horror, HALLOWEEN takes us into the world of a mad killer, Michael Myers, who at a very young age stabbed his older sister to death. Locked away for many years in a mental hospital Michael escapes one night and returns to his hometown to continue his killing spree. Jamie Lee Curtis, in her first role, plays the resourceful babysitter who is chased by the killer on Halloween night. Produced for very little money and a tight shooting schedule, HALLOWEEN was a stunning success when it was released. Written by John Carpenter and his longtime producer Debra Hill, the film set their careers on fire, with both of them working together many times over the next 25 years. The film also made a star out of Jamie Lee Curtis and turned the slasher movie into a viable, successful genre. HALLOWEEN has been copied, parodied and even turned into a franchise of its own, but the original is still considered the best of the bunch. HALLOWEEN was John Carpenter's first foray into horror, and remains the standard to which all other modern horror films are measured. [More]

Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, P.J. Soles, Nancy Loomis

Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, P.J. Soles, Nancy Loomis, Charles Cyphers, Kyle Richards, Arthur Malet, David Kyle, Nick Castle, Peter Griffith

Director: John Carpenter

Director: John Carpenter
Screenwriter: John Carpenter, Debra Hill
Producer: Debra Hill
Composer: John Carpenter

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Oct 28, 1997

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Reviews for Halloween

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Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
10/18/08
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

After a promising opening, Halloween becomes just another maniac-on-the-loose suspenser.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 33 Comments
08/27/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

John Carpenter's 1978 tour de force, perhaps the most widely imitated film of the 70s.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
08/27/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Halloween is an absolutely merciless thriller, a movie so violent and scary that, yes, I would compare it to Psycho.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 2 Comments
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Halloween remains untouched -- a modern classic of the most horrific kind.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
06/18/02
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
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