The opening sequence is an homage to both Psycho (1960) and Halloween (1978). 'Steven Spielberg' asked Tobe Hooper to direct _E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)_ but he turned it down because he was busy on this movie. However Hooper and Spielberg would work together on Poltergeist (1982). Dean Koontz wrote a novelization of the screenplay under the psuedonym Owen West. The book contains a lot of backstory added by Koontz. Because of this, it is often mistaken that the movie is based on th ...[Read Story ]