John Carpenter’s original Halloween is returning to theaters beginning on Sept. 27 on more than 1,000 screens — three weeks before the reboot arrives. The announcement was made Wednesday by CineLife Entertainment, the event cinema division of Spotlight Cinema Networks, which has teamed up with Compass International Pictures and Trancas International Films.
In the film, villain Michael Myers (played by Nick Castle) has spent the last 15 years locked away inside a sanitarium under the care of child psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis. On the night before Halloween, Myers escapes and makes his way back home to Haddonfield, Ill., where he stalks high-school student Laurie Strode, memorably played by Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut.
The original film has been restored and remastered digitally, created under the supervision of original cinematographer Dean Cundey.
“I’m thrilled to have the original make its way back into theaters, as we prepare for the release of the sequel,” Carpenter said. “Having both back in theaters this fall is remarkable.”
Halloween screened at the Toronto Film Festival and has been selected as the opening night film of the 14th edition of Fantastic Fest on Sept. 20 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas.
In the new film, Curtis’ character has a final confrontation with Michael Myers, who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago. The new Halloween finds Strode as a reclusive grandmother still traumatized by her encounters with the killer and praying every night to get one more chance to dispatch Myers. After he escapes prison, she gets her wish.
Castle also reprises the Myers character. Jason Blum, the producer of The Purge and Insidious, is reviving the franchise. Carpenter serves as an executive producer and creative consultant for the film. David Gordon Green is directing from a script he co-wrote with Danny McBride.
