10 Secrets From The Set Of John Carpenter's Halloween 1978

6. Michael's Car Was A Rental And The Agency Had No Idea

Halloween Car
Compass International Pictures

Tommy Lee Wallace was tasked with finding a 'government-looking' car to appear in the film as the vehicle that Michael steals and escapes from the asylum in. While the fact that Michael drives has been an ongoing joke for several years, the actual car itself had an interesting history.

The car that Wallace picked was a 1976 Ford LTD station wagon. The amount of thought that went into this car... was simply to source it from the nearest rental-agency.

That was it! The iconic car that drives slowly by Laurie, Annie, and Linda as they walk home from school was a cheap, two-week rental. The wire mesh to separate the front and back seats of the car was installed by Wallace, as were the asylum logos and the Illinois licence plates.

The rental agency were never informed that their vehicle would appear in the film, and to this day Carpenter loves the look of the car that was used.

Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"