<P> Halloween was produced on a budget of $300,000 and grossed $47 million at the box office in the United States and $23 million internationally for a total of $70 million worldwide, selling almost 30 million tickets in 1978 . It became one of the most profitable independent films . Primarily praised for its direction and musical score, many critics credit the film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). In 2006, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". </P> <P> Some critics have suggested that Halloween may encourage sadism and misogyny by audiences identifying with its villain . Others have suggested the film is a social critique of the immorality of youth and teenagers in 1970s America, with many of Myers' victims being sexually promiscuous substance abusers, while the lone heroine is depicted as innocent and pure, hence her survival . Nevertheless, Carpenter dismisses such analyses . </P> <P> On Halloween night 1963, in Haddonfield, Illinois, 6 - year - old Michael Myers, dressed in a clown costume and mask, stabs his older sister Judith to death with a kitchen knife in their home . Fifteen years later, on October 30, 1978, Michael's child psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis, and his colleague Marion Chambers arrive at Warren County Smith's Grove Sanatarium . Michael escapes from Smith's Grove, stealing the car that was to take him to court . Returning home to Haddonfield, Michael kills a mechanic for his uniform and steals a white mask, a knife and some rope from a local store . </P> <P> The following day, Halloween, Michael stalks high school student Laurie Strode after she and Tommy Doyle drop off a key at his former house so her father can sell it . Throughout the day, Laurie notices Michael watching her, but her friends Annie Brackett and Lynda Van der Klok dismiss her concerns . Loomis follows Michael to Haddonfield in search of him . After discovering that Judith Myers' headstone has been stolen from the local cemetery, Loomis meets with Annie's father, Sheriff Leigh Brackett . The two begin their search at Michael's house, where Loomis tells the sheriff about the danger Michael poses, explaining that Michael is pure evil and capable of further violence, despite years of catatonia . Sheriff Brackett patrols the streets while Loomis waits and watches the house, expecting Michael to return there . </P>

The movie halloween primarily takes place in which state