25 things you didn’t know about your favorite horror movies

Halloween (1978) – A low budget and a different name

After years of sequels and remakes, and an upcoming continuation starring Jamie Lee Curtis, it’s important to take some time to appreciate the original 1978 horror classic Halloween.

On Halloween night in 1963, six-year-old Michael Myers stabs his older sister to death and is promptly institutionalized. 15 years later, Myers manages to escape on the anniversary of his sister’s death and heads to his hometown. While his psychiatrist tries to track him down before he causes havoc, Laurie Strode (Curtis) is busy babysitting her neighbor, not realizing the danger she’s in.

The movie that has gone down as a classic, and a favorite to watch on Halloween, was almost called something completely different. The original script was titled The Babysitter Murders, and the events would take place over several days.

Due to budget constraints, they decided to make everything happen between one or two days, to reduce costume changes and locations. They decided Halloween was the scariest night of the year, so that made it the perfect day for the story to place.

In fact, because of the film’s low budget, a lot of the cast wore their own clothes instead of having an expensive costume budget. Jamie Lee Curtis apparently bought Laurie’s wardrobe entirely from JCPenney and spent less than $100.

For a suburban teen in the 1970s, that seems like a pretty smart decision on behalf of the filmmakers. They may have done it because of budgetary reasons, but in the end, it probably made the characters look more believable as teenagers than if they had an expensive wardrobe department.