Sam Loomis

Sam Loomis is a fictional psychiatrist and one of the main characters from the original Halloween film series. Played by actor Donald Pleasence, he was introduced in the 1978 feature film Halloween, directed by John Carpenter. Pleasence reprised the role for the movie's 1981 sequel, Halloween II. Skipping the unrelated third installment in the series, Loomis appeared next in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers in 1988, and again in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers in 1989. The character's final appearance was in Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers in 1995, which also proved to be Donald Pleasence's final film work before passing away in France on February 2nd, 1995.

Overview
Doctor Samuel Loomis was a child psychologist who worked at Smith's Grove Sanitarium in Warren County. While there, Loomis met a patient who would later become the single guiding force of his entire life and career -- Michael Myers.

On November 5th, 1963, six-year-old Michael Myers had been admitted to Smith's Grove for the October 31st murder of his older sister Judith. The child (now seven) was blank, emotionless slate to Loomis, never speaking, barely even moving. Sam recognized the deep-rooted trauma in the boy's psyche and knew that special treatment would be required if he were to ever help him.

Overview
Sam Loomis was a child psychologist who worked at Smith's Grove Sanitarium in Warren County. His most disturbed patient was ten-year-old Michael Myers who murdered four people on Halloween night, including his older sister Judith.

The Eyes of a Psychopath
Initially, Loomis was able to maintain a steady dialogue with Myers, who appeared to have no recollection of the murders he had committed. Myers developed an affinity towards wearing masks, a hobbie which Loomis did not appear to discourage. As their sessions went on, Myers grew increasingly frustrated with his stay at Smith's Grove and wanted to go home. Loomis occasionally had to remind Michael that he couldn't go home because of the terrible things he had done. One of Michael's more severe emotional outbursts took place during the holiday season. Sam had bought Michael a new sweater for Christmas.

Early the following year, Loomis noticed that Michael was becoming more and more withdrawn. He rarely spoke and was never seen without one of his masks. His mother, Deborah Myers, came in to see him once a week. During one of her visits, Deborah tried to cheer Michael up by giving him an old photograph of himself and his infant sister "Boo". Following the visit, Doctor Loomis began walking Deborah out to her car. Before they even reached the elevator, the hospital alarms sounded and orderlies rushed into the visitor center. Loomis and Deborah chased after them and found that Michael had murdered an attending nurse named Wynn. Michael was subdued, but the incident had a profound impact on Deborah who now finally realized that her child was an unrepentant monster. She committed suicide a short time later.

With the death of Deborah Myers, Michael became nearly catatonic. He barely moved and ceased speaking altogether. Loomis stayed with Michael, observing his behavior for the better part of fifteen more years. Ultimately, he concluded that nothing could be done for Michael and resigned himself to the notion that Michael Myers was no longer human, but a creature of pure evil. He documented his work with Michael in a best-selling book he called The Devil's Eyes.

Hunting in Haddonfield
One evening, something inside of Michael's mind snapped and he broke out of Smith's Grove, murdering several staff members in the process. Administrators Morgan Walker and Doctor Koplenson telephoned Loomis at home and he came down to the sanitarium. Walker had no idea how to proceed with capturing Michael and acted as if he didn't know where he was hed. Loomis fired back, "It must be great living in denial, I must try it some time." followed by, "You know exactly where he is going". After learning the details of the escape, Loomis drove to Michael's home town of Haddonfield.

He went to the Haddonfield cemetery where he spoke with the caretaker Chester Chesterfield. They discovered that the headstone for Judith Myers' grave had been removed and replaced with the crucified remains of a dead animal. Loomis was taking no chances with Michael. He stopped at a gun shop and purchased a .357 magnum from the proprietor Derek Allen.

He then consulted with the local sheriff, Lee Brackett. Brackett had heard of Loomis via his book, and was not impressed by anything Sam had to tell him. Loomis insisted that Michael Myers was on his way to Haddonfield and that everyone was in danger, in particular a young woman named Laurie Strode. Brackett told Loomis what he knew of the Strode family. Seventeen years ago, he responded to a 911 call which related to the suicide of a woman named Deborah Myers. Brackett found the infant Laurie in the house, but to avoid having the child grow up with the stigma of the Myers' name, he omitted her from his official report, drove into the next down and dropped her off at the hospital. He found out a few months later that the baby had been adopted by a friend of his, Mason Strode. Loomis put the pieces together and realized that Michael must have learned somehow that Laurie was his sister.

The two began driving towards the Strode house when Brackett received a 911 call from Laurie Strode originating at 1987 Winchester. They drove to the house where Brackett found his daughter Annie bleeding in the foyer.

Confrontation
Loomis tracked Michael back to the old Myers house and found the killer just as he believed that he was attempting to kill his sister, Laurie. He shot Michael several times in the back, but this only stopped him for a few moments. He ushered the frightened Laurie into Sheriff Brackett's car, but Michael revived and came after her again. He pulled Laurie out of the police cruiser and began dragging her into the house. Loomis pleaded with Michael, begging him to let Laurie go. He told him that he had failed him and that Laurie should not have to pay the price for his mistakes. Michael grabbed Loomis with both hands and crushed his skull. He then dragged him back inside the Myers house.