On Halloween night in the town of Haddonfield, six year old Michael Myers stabs his babysitting sister to death. Fifteen years later he escapes from the institution in which he is held and heads back to his own town, with murder on his mind. Pursued by Dr. Sam Loomis, the psychiatrist who has been trying to analyse him since he entered the asylum, Michael hides out until nightfall, planning another night of horror in Haddonfield.... An incredibly tense horror / thriller from director John Carpenter, which relies more on suspense than actual gore. The final fifteen minutes, with Lawrie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) trying to escape the stalking Michael Myers is a superb example of editing and pacing. High praise too for the mordant theme, by director Carpenter and the performance of Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis, seemingly in need of care himself. Followed by six sequels, Carpenter only being involved with the first, and the most recent of which was 1998's Halloween H20.