Was first released in the summer of '78 at all drive-in movie theaters nationwide. Scared the living dogsh*t out of everyone thereby making it an instant classic. Well done and well made. As most people know, John Carpenter did this one and had nothing to do with the other 8 Halloweens that would come out in the next 25 years or so. You can tell the difference. I still have the 20th anniversary t-shirt they issued back in 1998.