Every Important Detail You Need to Remember From the Original Halloween

The movie begins in the idyllic town of Haddonfield, IL, in 1963. Michael Myers is a mere child when he murders his sister Judith on Halloween night. Her boyfriend had just left the house after fooling around with Judith, and she's seated (topless, naturally) and brushing her hair when Michael comes with a kitchen knife and stabs her to death. It's the first of many sequences that we see through Michael's eyes during the film.

Michael's parents find him looking nearly catatonic — still holding the bloodied murder weapon — outside their home.

The story flashes forward 15 years to Oct. 30, 1978. Psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis is en route to Smith's Grove Sanitarium to bring Michael to court. (It's inexplicably nighttime and it's pouring rain.) Loomis, having worked with Michael over the years, is adamant that he is pure evil and must never be released. With him is nurse Marion Chambers. Upon arrival, the two are alarmed to find that a number of patients seem to be wandering around freely.

When Loomis exits the vehicle to find out what's going on, Michael attacks. Marion is able to get out of the car with a few scrapes, but Michael steals the car and drives into the night.

It's the next day (Halloween), and Laurie Strode is on her way to school. When she bumps into young Tommy Doyle, it's established that she is supposed to babysit him later.

From the first few scenes with Laurie, we can tell that she's friendly and responsible, but definitely the nerd of her group of friends. Wise beyond her years, Laurie keeps her interest in boys close to the chest and is uninterested in partying with her peers.

Laurie has two primary friends: Annie Brackett (on the left) and Lynda Van der Klok (in the middle). Annie is brash and assertive, while Lynda is easygoing. Both are, for lack of a better term, pretty horny. We learn the Annie is also babysitting later — in fact, she'll be across the street from Laurie.

All day, Laurie sees glimpses of a particular car. Of course, we know it's Michael in Loomis's stolen vehicle, but she doesn't.

While walking home from school, Laurie actually sees Michael. She cautiously mentions it to Annie, who promptly dismisses her concerns. Annie's father also happens to be the sheriff. Annie also kind of sucks.

There are some key things that happen in the middle of the film, but unfortunately, there are no good photos. You'll just have to settle for this picture of Laurie looking out her window while I explain what goes down next.

Loomis has a hunch that Michael will return to his old home in Haddonfield. On his pursuit to track Michael down, he discovers a mechanic's truck along the side of the road. Michael's clothes are near the truck, implying that he has stolen the man's jumpsuit. This alarms Loomis and he hurries along on his journey to Haddonfield, while the camera pans and we see that Michael has already claimed his first victim of the night: the mechanic. Spooky!

Upon arriving at the town, Loomis enlists the help of Sheriff Leigh Brackett (aka Annie's dad) once he's discovered that the headstone of Janet Myers has gone missing. Michael burgles a local hardware store and steals rope, knives, and a mask — totally normal stuff. Loomis and the sheriff visit Michael's old house together, and Loomis stays there to stand guard.

Annie picks up Laurie, and together they drive to the neighbourhood where they'll be babysitting. Annie lights up a joint, to Laurie's dismay. Laurie gives in (because peer pressure) and partakes, though the marijuana only makes her paranoia worse.

The two go to their respective homes to babysit. Laurie is taking care of Tommy, and Annie is watching Lindsey Wallace (played by Real Housewife Kyle Richards, just FYI). Annie is a terrible babysitter. She spends all her time talking on the phone to her boyfriend, Paul, while Lindsey watches scary movies. At one point, she spills popcorn oil on herself, strips down to her underwear in the kitchen, and pulls a men's dress shirt off the laundry line. She marches outside to the laundry room, is presumably taunted by Michael (who we don't see), and gets stuck climbing out the window. Lindsey rescues her, but Annie ends up dumping her in Laurie's charge anyway so she can go pick up Paul.

Once Lindsey is out of the house, Annie gets into the car . . . but guess who's in the backseat? Michael strangles her with the stolen rope and she becomes his second victim of the night.

At this point, Laurie is alarmed by a number of things: Michael's strange appearances throughout the day, a few silent phone calls she's received, the fact that Annie hasn't returned to the Wallace house, and Tommy's insistence that he's seen the "boogeyman" outside. With the kids ready for bed, she goes over to the Wallace house to investigate. There, she finds the corpses of Annie, Bob, and Lynda — the latter of whom is ceremoniously positioned on the bed with Judith Myers's gravestone by her head and a lit jack-o'-latern nearby.

Michael has lured Laurie into his trap, and it's time to make his move. She manages to escape the house, but not before he slices her arm and she tumbles down the stairs.

Upon getting out of the house, she does what anyone in extreme, immediate danger would do: She hollers for help at the top of her lungs and bangs on a neighbour's door. The neighbour pulls her curtains shut, and Laurie is forced to run back the the Doyles's house and scream for Tommy until he sleepily lets her in.

Laurie locks the front door, but Michael has already found a way in. She stabs him in the neck with a knitting needle. He falls to the floor, seemingly dead.

He's not dead.

Laurie shoves the kids in a bedroom, while she goes to hide in a closet. Armed with a coat hanger, she fights him off until he drops his knife. She grabs it and stabs him in the stomach. Satisfied that he's now definitely dead, she tells the kids to run to the neighbour's house.

He's not dead.

Michael gets up and starts to strangle Laurie. She is able to momentarily unmask him, and we see his face. Just as things look dire, Loomis busts in and repeatedly shoots Michael. He had seen the kids fleeing the house, and instinctively knew Michael must be near. Michael stumbles back over the railing on the second story and falls to the ground.

Between sobs, Laurie asks Loomis if it was the boogeyman, to which Loomis replies: "As a matter of fact, it was."

When Loomis goes to confirm where Michael has fallen, the body has already disappeared into the night.