MC: Institutional Context of Halloween (Carpenter, 1978)

Halloween is an American independent film made in 1978. It was directed by John Carpenter and distributed by Warner Bros Pictures. It's about a six year old boy who kills his sister and then it shows him fifteen years later and that he has escaped from a psychiatric hospital and is now stalking some teenager girls.

Production

• It was produced on a budget of $325,000 and made $47 million at the box office in the USA and $70 million worldwide. 
• The film was originally going to be called 'The Babysitter Murderers' however the film producer Yablans suggested setting the movie on Halloween night and calling it Halloween instead.
• The films financier Akkad set the budget for the film at originally $300,000. This was considered low at the time. He was worried about the fact they had a tight four week schedule, a low budget and Carpenter had very limited experience as a film maker however he said that Carpenter told the story to him in a very suspenseful way, basically frame by frame, and that he said he didn't want to take any fees. This showed that he had confidence in the film. Carpenter received $10,000 for directing, writing and composing the music for this film, retaining rights to 10% of the films profit. 
• Costumes and props were often hand crafted or something that could be bought inexpensively due to the low production values. Wallace (who was the production designer) created the trademark mask worn by Michael Myers throughout the film from a Captain Kurk mask bought for $1.98. Many actors wore their own clothes.
• The film was filmed in 20 days due to the low budget dictating the location and time schedule. Local families dressed their children in Halloween costumes for the trick-or-treat scenes. Many artificial autumn leaves had to be reused. 
• Due to the low production values of this film, it featured no A-listers (at the time) and the actors got very little compensation. Jamie Lee Curtis, who was cast as the heroine of the film, was an unknown actress and was not the filmmakers first choice. However, once they worked out she was the daughter of the main Pyscho actress, they thought it would be great publicity for the film. 
• Film critics said the camerawork of the film was what made it a 'resounding success'. POV shots and steadicam were used quite a lot to encourage audience participation and help to build the tension and suspense. 

Distribution

• Distributed by Compass International Picture in Canada and the USA and it was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures internationally. 
• The film used many traditional marketing techniques such as film posters, trailers, prints and TV slots. 
• The film posters were distributed to many different countries; all of which being a bit different in order to suit the type of audience there. 
• It had a platform release. It was first released on the 25th October 1978 in Kansas City, Missouri. It then gradually was released in the rest of the states, going from Chicago, Illinois and New York. It had its LA release on the 27th October 1978 and then went to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 22nd November 1978. 
• The film grossed about $47 million from the United States, and another $23 million internationally so it had a total gross of $70 million. 
• There was a re-release of the film on the 25th October 2012 to mark its 35th anniversary.