When you think of a scary movie to watch on Halloween, what comes to mind? The first thing is more than likely John Carpenter’s 1978 classic, Halloween. The movie was a hit, and to this day, people still watch it. But what made it so popular, and how was it made?
It all started with an idea from Irwin Yablans. He was inspired to make a low-budget horror film about babysitters being stalked and terrorized. Yablans sought out Moustapha Akkad, an experienced film investor who he had worked with before. After getting a left over and relatively low $300,000 from one of Akkad’s other projects, he searched for John Carpenter.
He was impressed by John Carpenter’s film Assault on Precinct 13 and pitched the idea to Carpenter, who started developing a script with Debra Hill, the movie’s co-writer. They also added in the setting of Halloween night at this time.
Debra Hill based the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois on her home town of Haddonfield, New Jersey. Carpenter was also given all creative control on the movie. He was inspired by the 1973 film, West World. The blank, psychotic, and emotionless character of Michael Myers was based on an encounter with a mental patient John Carpenter had while on a college tour of a mental institution.
“There was this kid, must’ve been 12 or 13, and he literally had this look that I gave the lines to Donald Pleasence to say. It’s a schizophrenic stare is what it is,” Carpenter said.
After completing the script, they searched for actors. Jamie Lee Curtis was chosen to play the lead role in the film. She was not a well known actor at the time. However, once John Carpenter learned that she was the daughter of Janet Leigh, the star of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, he chose to cast her as a tribute to her mother’s famous role and to gain publicity for the film.
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were both asked to play the secondary main role of Dr. Samuel Loomis, however, both turned it down. After this, Yablans suggested Donald Pleasence. Pleasence was coerced by his daughter to take the role, due to her liking John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13. Donald Pleasence was also paid $20,000 dollars, which was more than any other actor in the movie.
Nick Castle, childhood friend of John Carpenter, was also originally there to watch Carpenter make the movie. But, Carpenter suggested that Castle take the role of Michael Myers himself, instead of paying a stunt man to do so.
Carpenter wanted the antagonist of the movie to wear a mask, however on a low budget could not get one custom made. The prop department then decided to go to a store to look for masks. Many different masks were considered, including a mask of the character Spock from Star Trek, a Richard Nixon mask, and a Don Post clown mask based on Emmett Kelly.
They eventually decided to use a Captain Kirk mask, also from Star Trek, which used the face of actor William Shatner. The mask was spray painted white, the hair was spray painted brown, the eye holes were cut to be a little bit wider, and the hair was frayed and ruffled. According to John Carpenter, the team unanimously decided it was perfect for the emotionless, blank, and cold look that they wanted for the movie.
The film used a unique and new camera system to film the movie. It was called a Panaglide. It used a counterweighted and spring-loaded arm connected to a vest worn by the operator, and allowed for a smooth, floating, or gliding motion while filming.
It helped them move the camera through difficult positions, like hallways or staircases, which helped them save time and money considering their low budget. This camera system also made the movie more unsettling, adding a human-like motion to the way the camera was moving to imitate stalking.
The movie began production on April 24, 1978. They shot for just about 20 days, mainly in South Pasadena, California. A few scenes were also shot in Altadena as well as Sierra Madre.
The movie was relatively simple for its time. It did not have much blood and no over the top special effects or gore. The soundtrack by John Carpenter was chilling and terrifying. The surprising, out-of-nowhere appearances of Michael Myers throughout the movie combined with the soundtrack played a major role in the fear factor of the movie.
Halloween was released on October 25, 1978 and was only available to see in Kansas City, Missouri. By word of mouth, and the major popularity of the movie in Kansas City, it eventually got a wider release in theaters all over the world. Needless to say, it was a hit. It made approximately $47 million in the United States, and $70 million worldwide. This made the film a complete hit, making over 200 times their budget.
A sequel to the film was released in 1981, and had a significantly higher budget. It did not make as much money as the original however, and concluded the story of Michael Myers. A third movie was released, however it was not nearly as successful as the first two movies.
It tried to turn the franchise into an anthology, just focusing on chilling events happening that focus on the holiday of Halloween. But fans wanted Michael Myers. So the producers gave them Michael Myers. 10 Halloween movies have been released since then with Michael Myers as the main antagonist, with the last one just coming out in 2022.
Halloween had a major impact on the horror and slasher genre. Friday the 13th was released in 1980. The movie was filmed in a very similar way to Halloween to convey the stalker-like camera angles.
While the original Friday the 13th’s killer was not Jason Voorhees, when he was introduced in Friday the 13th II, he was portrayed in a very similar fashion to Michael Myers. It’s safe to say that without Halloween, iconic movies like Friday the 13th, Scream, and Nightmare on Elm Street would have never existed.
Halloween is now 47 years old as of October 25, 2025. It still stands as one of the most popular and well-received horror movies of all time.
