Jamie Lee Curtis starred in John Carpenter's Halloween as teenager Laurie Strode.
Halloween is a 1978 American independent slasher film directed and scored by John Carpenter , co-written with producer Debra Hill , and starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut .. John Carpenter. John Carpenter. Debra Hill. Debra Hill. Donald Pleasence. Donald Pleasence. Jamie Lee Curtis. Jamie Lee Curtis. independent. independent film. slasher film. slasher film. scored. Film score. Halloween. Halloween. The film was the first installment in what has become the Halloween franchise .. Halloween. Halloween. The film is set in the fictional Midwestern town of Haddonfield , Illinois .. Midwestern. Midwestern United States. Illinois. Illinois. On Halloween night in 1963 , Michael Myers murders his sister .. Halloween. Halloween. Michael Myers. Michael Myers ( Halloween ). He escapes on October 30 , 1978 from Smith 's Grove Sanitarium , and returns home to kill again .. The next day , Halloween , Michael stalks teenager Laurie Strode .. Halloween. Halloween. Laurie Strode. Laurie Strode. Michael 's psychiatrist , Dr. Sam Loomis , knowing Michael 's intentions , goes to Haddonfield to track and stop him .. Dr. Sam Loomis. Samuel Loomis. Halloween was produced on a budget of $ 300,000 and grossed $ 47 million at the box office in the United States , $ 23 million internationally , for a total of $ 70 million worldwide , equivalent to roughly $ 267 million as of 2016 , becoming one of the most profitable independent films .. independent. independent film. Halloween. Halloween. Many critics credit the film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Alfred Hitchcock 's Psycho -LRB- 1960 -RRB- .. Alfred Hitchcock. Alfred Hitchcock. Psycho. Psycho ( 1960 film ). Halloween had many imitators and originated several cliches found in low-budget horror films of the 1980s and 1990s .. Halloween. Halloween. Unlike many of its imitators , Halloween contains little graphic violence and gore .. Halloween. Halloween. It was one of the first horror films to introduce the concept of the killer dying and coming back to life again within the same film .. In 2006 , the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being `` culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant '' .. National Film Registry. National Film Registry. Library of Congress. Library of Congress. Some critics have suggested that Halloween may encourage sadism and misogyny by audiences identifying with its villain .. Halloween. Halloween. sadism. Sadistic personality disorder. misogyny. misogyny. Other critics have suggested the film is a social critique of the immorality of youth and teenagers in 1970s America , with many of Myers ' victims being sexually promiscuous substance abusers , while the lone heroine is depicted as innocent and pure , hence her survival .. heroine. Final girl. Nevertheless , Carpenter dismisses such analyses .. Several of Halloweens techniques and plot elements , although not founded in this film , have nonetheless become standard slasher movie tropes .. Halloween spawned seven sequels and was rebooted in 2007 .. Halloween. Halloween. seven sequels. Halloween ( franchise ). rebooted. Halloween ( 2007 film )