Halloween is a horror thriller, from 1978, directed, co-written and scored by John Carpenter, in which a young woman is terrorised by the knife-wielding killer Michael Myers.
Classification Issues
- Violence
- Strong violence includes stabbings, stranglings and shootings, as well as the implied killing of a dog. There is also defensive violence such as a woman stabbing her attacker with a knitting needle and a wire hanger in attempts to fend him off. While the violence is relatively undetailed and instances of blood injury are occasional, the relentless nature of Myers’ actions gives these scenes a heightened intensity.
- Threat and horror
- There is strong threat as Myers stalks his victims, making sudden appearances behind them and then disappearing from sight. One intended victim is chased through a house and hides in a closet, cowering in terror as the killer attempts to batter through the doors. A woman is attacked in her car but manages to escape. The threat is sometimes sustained and accompanied by sudden 'jump' scares.
- Nudity
- There are moments of breast nudity.
- Additional issues
- There is a scene of moderate sex, as well as occasional moderate sex references. Two women smoke a marijuana joint in a car. Mild bad language includes uses of 'asshole', 'ass' and 'shit'.
Cinema classification
In 1978, the BBFC viewed John Carpenter's teen slasher picture Halloween for the first time. At the time, Carpenter was a successful young writer-director with films including Dark Star (rated A earlier that year) and Assault on Precinct 13 (rated X in 1977).
Examiner reports on file note that the distributor assured the BBFC that the film was “'part tribute to Hitchcock and part send-up/tribute to William Castle, the maker of many 'B'-picture horror films”.
The reports detail the murders and horror sequences in the film, noting that they are ”fairly bloody”. It also explores the “macabre” tone of the film, including the surprise twist ending in which Myers’ body disappears, suggesting he will live on in subsequent stories (the film spawned several sequels, spin-offs and remakes), and the fact that the audience sees much of the film from Myers’ point of view “with his heavy breathing”, which creates a “chilling atmosphere”.
Given the lack of lingering detail, however, the reports recommended that the film could be passed X, without the need for any cuts. The X rating was similar to the modern 18, and meant only adults could watch the film in the cinema.
Video classification
When Halloween arrived for classification on video in 1986, there was a new suite of age ratings available.
The Examiner reports focus on the gender relationships in the film, and the fact that several of the murders show a male psychopath attacking young women, plus the sexual element to Myers’ slaying of his older sister in the film’s opening scene, during which the victim's breasts are exposed. They also discuss the casual drug use depicted in a scene where two girls are seen smoking marijuana in a car. The Examiners in 1986 therefore recommended that the horror, violence, “psychokiller” theme and other issues merited an 18 classification rather than the lower rating of 15.
Halloween retains its 18 on video to this day.
Subsequent cinema submissions
Halloween was sent to the BBFC for a new cinema viewing in 2012 and remained an 18 for strong threat and horror.
However, when it returned in 2018 – 40 years after its first release – it was considered afresh. The BBFC’s Classification Guidelines at the time stated that "violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury" and that while "there may be strong threat and horror" provided there is not "a sustained focus on sexual or sadistic threat". The Compliance Officers at the time felt that Halloween sat comfortably within these guidelines and the film was reclassified 15 for strong threat, violence and nudity.
