With the latest sequel now playing in movie theaters, many fans are celebrating the 44th anniversary of the original Halloween. Released in theaters in 1978, the film was co-written by director John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill. The film introduced Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, one of the horror genre’s most popular characters who has since gone on to reappear in many sequels, such as the brand new film Halloween Ends.
Reflecting on where it all began, Carpenter took to social media to join fans in celebrating the first film’s anniversary. He posted a handful of images from the production with one of them including the cover page for the original script. Carpenter simply wrote in the caption, “44 years ago…I made a little movie called Halloween.”
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Sharing the post to her own Instagram account, Curtis added, “AND WE ARE SO GLAD YOU AND DEBRA DID.”
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Halloween Is One of Horror’s All-Time Greatest Films
Compass International Pictures
Halloween tells the story of an escaped maniac named Michael Myers (Nick Castle, Tony Moran) who targets babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) on Halloween night. Meanwhile, the murderer’s psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) remains in pursuit, hoping to find Michael and stop him from carrying out any more killings. The cast also includes Brian Andrews as Tommy Doyle and Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace, the children babysat by Laurie, as well as P.J. Soles and Nancy Kyes as her pals Lynda and Annie.
Its premise is simple, but Halloween really struck well with viewers upon its release. It spawned a franchise that’s ongoing to this day, and even though we might have seen the last of JLC’s Laurie Strode in Halloween Ends, chances are we haven’t seen the last of the boogeyman. John Carpenter has suggested that we’ll probably see another film in the franchise soon enough if Ends did well at the box office, which it has, despite negative reviews.
But for as many sequels as the franchise continues to churn out, the original remains an absolute favorite for so many horror fans who say there will never be any topping that first film. Its continued popularity has even brought Halloween back to movie theaters for fans to get a chance to catch it on the big screen 44 years after its original premiere. We can be sure that many will be revisiting the classic Halloween once again this spooky holiday season, especially in honor of its 44th anniversary.
