Halloween, in all its slasher perfection, still possesses its share of plot holes and continuity errors – here are seven of its most glaring. While it wasn't the first movie to take advantage of the subgenre, Halloween inspired a slew of other memorable slasher movies, including 1996's Scream. Directed by John Carpenter and co-written by Debra Hill, the original movie introduces Michael Myers' reign of terror on his hometown Haddonfield.
Having murdered his teenage sister as a child and been diagnosed as pure evil by his doctor, Michael escapes a psychiatric institution fifteen years later to return and wreak havoc on Haddonfield. He pursues Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) throughout Halloween night, culminating in a fierce battle for survival. Halloween has spawned many sequels and reboots, but the original will always remain the best.
Most of Halloween's errors are minor, like the way palm trees and mountains are not geographically accurate for Illinois, yet they pop up a few times in the background. Michael's knife not being long enough to impale one of his victims to the wall also raises some questions. These and the following plot holes and continuity errors do not make sense, but they don't detract from enjoying the movie either. With that being said, let's take a look at the more glaring blunders.
Michael Myers Can Drive a Car
Halloween's biggest plot hole is that Michael Myers can drive. After breaking out of Smith's Grove Sanitarium, Michael steals a nurse's station wagon and drives to Haddonfield, murdering a mechanic and stealing his uniform along the way. In the years since he's been in the institution, it's very unlikely he received lessons, even though Loomis speculates someone must have been giving him lessons. In the 1979 novelization, it is implied Michael learned how to drive simply by watching Loomis when he gave him a ride to his trial hearings.
The Police Search For The Stolen Station Wagon
Another plot hole exists with Michael's stolen vehicle. The station wagon still displays its license plate number, so it would have made sense for Loomis to start there and alert the Haddonfield police about it. The station wagon even has a "For Official Use Only" sign on the door, making it stand out even more. If Loomis had access to this information and passed it along to Sheriff Brackett, the car would have likely been located earlier in the night. That may have developed the tension more since the bigger question would be Michael Myers' whereabouts, not the car's.
Loomis and the Station Wagon
Halloween is filled with moments of utter dread, especially when the audience sees something characters don't. Loomis misses the car the first time, failing to see Michael pass right behind him in broad daylight. There's another instance where Loomis should have noticed the stolen vehicle sooner since it's parked mere feet from him while he's standing outside the abandoned Myers' house, keeping watch. The car has likely been sitting there for hours since Michael has been off disposing of Laurie's friends. It would have made more sense if Loomis was walking around the neighborhood and spotted it when he heard Laurie's screaming, rather than missing something that's literally right in front of him.
The Store Robbery
Early on in the story, Laurie sees Michael Myers in his mask outside her school and then again stalking her and her friends while walking home. Later, when Annie and Laurie drive to babysit for the night, they stop by the local store, where a robbery has taken place. It seems very recent, as the alarm bells are still ringing when they pull up to talk to Annie's dad Sheriff Brackett. The sheriff says a few masks and knives were stolen, among other things. Michael is seen wearing his mask earlier in the film, which is arguably several hours ago, so does that mean the alarm bells were ringing all that time? Additionally, if the robbery just occurred, how could a store inventory have been taken so quickly?
Trick-or-Treaters
Sheriff Brackett tells Dr. Loomis there are plenty of trick-or-treaters and teens playing pranks and getting high in the neighborhood, who take precedence over some escaped psychiatric patient. Yet, neither Michael nor the babysitters are really seen interacting with any trick-or-trickers. To preserve continuity, it would have made sense for the street to be busier or for kids to be out pulling pranks. An argument could also be made that perhaps Halloween falls on a school night, so trick-or-treaters wouldn't be out as frequently. It still doesn't align with the sheriff's comment on all the minor offenses supposedly being committed offscreen. 2018's Halloween fixes this, as Michael stalks the neighborhood among throngs of oblivious trick-or-treaters.
Michael's Knife In The Climax
Another continuity flub occurs with Michael and his butcher knife. During the climax, Laurie stabs Michael and drops the knife in the living room before heading upstairs. Michael has the knife when he's later attacking Laurie in the closet and she drops it after stabbing him again. At the end of the movie, the closing shots show different parts of the house. In the living room, the knife is exactly where Laurie left it the first time, even though it should be upstairs. Michael isn't depicted in Halloween with multiple knives, even though the sheriff says earlier a few knives have been stolen from the store.
Time Continuity Errors
Time moves at an alarming rate in Halloween. At the beginning, Michael watches his sister Judith and her boyfriend run upstairs to mess around. It takes less than a minute for him to enter the house, grab a knife, and hide in the living room while Judith's boyfriend is seen pulling on his shirt and leaving. What exactly did Judith and her boyfriend accomplish that finished so quickly? Later on in the story, Annie picks Laurie up to babysit. It looks to be late afternoon, and the sun is far from setting. By the time they arrive at their respective houses, it's dark out. Haddonfield is not that big a town, so why would it take so long for them to drive?
Again, Halloween is a near-perfect movie and has done so much for the slasher genre. These niggly plot holes and continuity errors should not put viewers off of watching Michael Myers prey on unsuspecting teens. In a lot of ways, observing these little inconsistencies can develop one's critical eye and make repeat viewings even more rewarding.