Many of the horror movie classics that we love to watch are based on real people or events from around that time. John Carpenters’ 1978 horror movie franchise, “Halloween,” was originally inspired by someone he met when he was in college.  In a documentary, A Cut Above The Rest, he talked about the behind the scenes and what inspired him to create the character, Micheal Myers. 

“‘I had a class—psychology or something—and we visited a mental institution,’” he says in the 2003 Divimax DVD documentary, A Cut Above the Rest. “‘We visited the most serious, mentally ill patients. And there was this kid, he must have been 12 or 13 and he literally had this look.’” He then continues to go on to talk about one of the most iconic phrases from the slasher film,“‘This blank, pale emotionless face. Blackest eyes. The devil’s eyes.” This phrase became iconic because John created Micheal Myers to be emotionless, a character without cause, the only goal was killing his sister and those who got in his way. Micheal was made to be a sociopath. Sociopaths are generally a person who has an extreme antisocial personality disorder, which manifests over time. Throughout the world, many serial killers were diagnosed with ASPD (sociopathy) or psychopathy, which both are severe antisocial personality disorders. Many of the traits these two disorders share are a lack of empathy and a lack of remorse for what they have done. Micheal showed many of these traits throughout the franchise. The reason Micheal kills is because he knows he can, and he knows he creates fear in those who hear his name. Micheal kills with no remorse or empathy, just like he was created to do. Micheal’s character would soon grow to become an iconic character, next to ghost face and Jason, as time passed. Throughout the decades the movie franchise grew and soon became an iconic slasher film inspiring other horror movies. Halloween was the first of its kind being made on a budget of $300,000. Much of the cast worked for free or on a lower budget than what they would normally. Many actors and actresses that they originally asked later came to regret saying no due to the fact they thought the movie wouldn’t become a big hit when in reality, it was a big hit. The movie made over 70 million when it came out in theaters on October 25th, 1978, and the days following. Even to this day it is a favorite slasher next to Ghostface (Scream) and Jasion vorhees (Friday the 13th). Many things went on during the filming of the “Halloween” movie that was later revealed.  Throughout the whole filming process, many changes were made and taken out and later put back in. John Carpenter would go on to make 58 movies after Halloween. John Carpenter soon became associated with the horror genre, working from the late 70s to the 80s, creating films that people came to love.