There are multiple different timelines to the Halloween franchise with one being somewhat of a spin off. The original Halloween set the standard for the tropes and paved the way for the Golden Age of Slashers; however, the original title for the movie was The Babysitter Murders. The film released on October 25th with Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, the “final girl”. It also happened to be her first movie. The film was very low budget, as the director John Carpenter funded the entire project with his girlfriend Debra Hill. Mustapha Akkad and Irwins Yablans, both independent film producers, approached Akkad and Hill to write and direct the project. They pitched it as a low budget independent film involving a psycho killer stalking babysitters, and the only way Carpenter would agree to it is if he had full creative control. They all agreed and history was made.
Halloween starts off with 6 year old Michael Myers stabbing his sister, Judith to death, with the kill being in the killers POV. He was sent to Smith Grove Sanitarium and was being treated by child psychologist Doctor Samuel Loomis. 15 years later, Michael escaped and returned to Haddonfield. In some timelines and iterations of Halloween and with the characters, it is told that Laurie and Michael are siblings, and the theory is that’s why he returned to Haddonfield, to kill Laurie. However, that fact was not disclosed until Halloween 2.
Michael lurks Haddonfield, stalking and preying on teens on Halloween night, killing them all one by one. By the end of the film, Michael is hunting Laurie and corners her a few times, but she’s a fighter and gets away each time. Within the last couple minutes, Dr. Loomis, who was hunting and searching for Michael with Sheriff Brackett, arrives, shooting him four times in the chest and torso area, knocking him out of the window. When Dr. Loomis went to see him on the ground, Michael was gone. John Carpenter’s Halloween was the first movie to really bring all the Slasher tropes together, such as killers POV, weapon of choice, human/masked killer, stalking teens, and the “final girl”.
Halloween is a franchise that has spawned multiple sequels, as well as remakes, reboots, and sequels to the reboots, as well as a video game and TV series in the works. The third movie, Season Of The Witch is almost a spin-off of the franchise, as it took it in a different direction.
I have always loved the original 1978 Halloween, as it was one of my first Horror movies. It really, truly does bring all the tropes together and paves the way for Slasher movies moving forward. It has suspense, fear, keeps you on the edge of your seat, and is always good for a scary good time! With it being 2026, is it a little past its time? Sure. But. Its still a timeless, iconic classic, especially during Halloween and for the Horror community. 5/5 stars!