In 1978, John Carpenter's Halloween immediately announced itself as a classic installment of the horror genre, and it kicked off a narrative that's been continued (and had that continuity nullified) for decades, culminating in David Gordon Green's upcoming Halloween Ends.
Carpenter's original film alone is heavily populated by chilling, well-crafted moments that give the viewer shreds of Michael Myers, even if only visually. Myers is an enigma, yet that is the appeal, and he's used his anonymity to his benefit in some of horror's best scenes of the past few decades.
Killing Karen In Halloween Kills (2021)
Karen Nelson's death in Halloween Kills is an ice-cold gut punch, and not just because she's played by beloved character actress Judy Greer. It's an abrupt scene that requires a bit of explanation in Halloween Ends, namely because Michael moves from beaten down (yet inevitably victorious) on the sidewalk to that upstairs room almost instantaneously.
Michael's never been averse to unexplained teleportation, but it's a silly factor that Green's two recently-released films have thus far mostly managed to avoid. Regardless of logic, Michael's killing of Karen is swift and shocking, but at least she got to have a legitimate character arc in not one but two Halloween films.
Good To Be Back In Halloween (2018)
Steve Miner's Halloween H20: 20 Years Later was a financial success as well as a critical one (for the franchise). However, Green's Halloween (2018) would top that film on both fronts by a substantial margin, even after adjusting for 20 years of inflation.
The apex of the film's trailer (at the very least for fans), was the shot of Myers leaning forward, picking up his mask, and putting it on. The wordless moment (which remains wordless in the finished film) speaks volumes. Michael is back, and this is the second time audiences are truly seeing him as what he is: devoid of personality to the point he only feels truly comfortable wearing a latex blank expression.
The Reunion In Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Even back in the late 1990s, it was clear who the definitive scream queen of the 21st century was (and always would be): Jamie Lee Curtis. A performer of irrefutable talent, Curtis has done what many other horror vets have not...embrace it. Besides Curtis, the only A-lister to embrace the genre after getting their start in it has been Kevin Bacon, and both have found success in their subsequent efforts.
But while Bacon has the newly-released They/Them, Curtis has mostly stuck with Myers, and it works more often than not. The fact that she did even one more after Halloween II is still astonishing, but if there was a movie to get her back it was Steve Miner's H20.
No Appreciation For A Classic In Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers (1989)
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers may have the compelling visual element of the franchise's earlier installments, but it's overall one of the least remarkable entries. Almost all of the film is cliché or viewed as misguided, even going so far as to kill off Rachel (one of the Halloween saga's most likable characters) in the first act. It also entirely ignores the ending of the previous film, which could be considered one of Michael's best moments were it not (a possessed) Jamie Lloyd holding the knife.
Even still, Revenge gives audiences one of the best examples of Michael toying with someone before making them a victim. After Rachel exits the narrative, Jamie Lloyd begins sharing the spotlight with Tina Williams whose boyfriend, Mikey, values his car more than he values her. Michael takes a hand rake to the vehicle, which elicits the intended reaction before Michael turns the garden tool to the man. It's one of several scenes of the film that not only manages to build tension but give Michael an interesting weapon as well.
In The Bedroom In Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988)
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers pulled out all the stops in its efforts to make audiences' reunion with Myers feel like an event. It worked, and Halloween 4 remains one of the franchise's largest-scoped and purely entertaining entries.
There are also plenty of showy moments: the ambulance crash site, Jamie Lloyd terrified in the costume store, and Michael hitching a ride with a gang of doomed drunks acting as a mob in search of the very man in the cab of their truck. But it's Jamie's dreamy first encounter with Myers in her bedroom that stands as the film's most visually compelling. The music is effective as are the perfectly spaced rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning, and it's a suitably jarring scene that serves the purpose of positioning Jamie Lloyd as the film's true protagonist.
Mr. Sandman, You Are In Flames In Halloween II (1981)
Rick Rosenthal's Halloween II is the franchise's underappreciated entry; It gets more credit than many of the other sequels, but it's still not enough. The film is every bit as atmospheric as the original, but it's darker, both literally and thematically.
Halloween II is more of the night he came home, but the cat's out of the bag on just how formidable he is, so the film had to take him out in a big way (this was supposed to be the end of Myers). It did, as Michael gets blinded, memorably swings a scalpel around while covering his bleeding eyes, and goes out in an explosion with his doctor. Of course, there had to be a final jump scare, but fortunately, the shot of Myers stumbling down the hallway engulfed in flames is the best of the movie.
I Saw Him Through The Clothesline In Halloween (1978)
Everything starts small, even the rivalry (sibling or otherwise) between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. From standing outside of her house, plain as day, behind a clothesline to their violent reunion in Halloween (2018), it's always been about escalation.
But there's still nothing quite as chilling as simplicity, and it's telling that all Myers has to do is stand behind some hung bedsheets to be a legitimately intimidating cinematic presence. It helps that Carpenter's music is as haunting as it gets, with just about every moment's effect buoyed by the perfect note.
Wasn't This Locked In Halloween (1978)
There are a number of little Myers moments in the original film that show his penchant for creepiness, e.g. standing behind the bush as Laurie and Annie are nearing their homes.
But his dispatching of Annie shows just how calculating Myers is. In sequels, he would become more of a literal boogeyman, but in Carpenter's landmark original, he's just a six-year-old kid who killed his sister, who doctors tried (and failed) to help for over a decade, who then got out and did the same.
Have I Got Your Ghost In Halloween (1978)
Carpenter's Halloween is a mostly bloodless affair, downright tame by the standards of the 2020s, but it remains as frightening as it ever was. Like Ridley Scott's Alien, Halloween is an exercise in taking a perfectly-paced stroll through a haunted house. And, while the streets of Haddonfield are more spacious than the hull of the Nostromo, they feel just as restrictive.
That claustrophobia is the heart of Halloween's genre mastery, and why it's still revered by horror's modern titans such as Jordan Peele. The residents have been lulled into a false sense of security, and that relatability makes each victim seem more like a human than a film character, and it doesn't take any blood to make a death scene effective. All it takes is a phone cord and a quip or a well-placed camera and a striking chord on the soundtrack.
Just A Boy In Halloween (1978)
John Carpenter's Halloween opens with a scene so impeccably crafted and shocking the franchise could never really top it. The viewer is given a POV and heavy breathing, the individual's ID is unknown.
Those who haven't seen Carpenter's original still know that the film opens with a kid killing his sister. There's no incentive for doing so, punishment for not, he's just a little boy who picked up a knife, and there was probably never a moment where he could tell you why.