Director John Carpenter was approached by producers Irwin Yablans and Moustapha Akkad to make a movie about psychotic killer. Carpenter wanted full creative control. The producers agreed, and Halloween was born.
Carpenter only spent 10 days writing the screenplay with Debra Hill, and then shot the movie for $300K across 20 days. As indie as it gets. This naturally created challenges, but Carpenter had developed the skillset to overcome them. For example, the iconic mask was created from a Captain Kirk one they had bought for just two dollars.
In this official documentary, the cast and crew share their insight on the production of Halloween. The film went on to make $70 million at the box office, making it one of the most successful horror movies ever made.