20 Horror Movie Endings That Are Practically Perfect

5. Halloween - The Boogeyman Attacks

On a technical level, John Carpenter's Halloween is a horror masterpiece that eclipses every single one of its many imitators, and these closing scenes alone display this. The final showdown between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode contains some of the most elite directing in the history of the horror genre.

The excruciating long takes, sharp editing, atmospheric lighting, and consummate mastery of suspense make this truly terrifying cinema, and, unlike most of the slasher flicks that followed Halloween, it's devoid of gore or jump scares. Instead, it's all atmosphere and suspense, and this is all that was needed to get entire cinemas hiding behind their popcorn. Put it this way, any aspiring filmmaker who wants to make a horror movie owes it to themselves to watch Halloween, for they'll learn so much from Carpenter's bravura directing. 

Halloween ends on a cliff-hanger. Michael is shot and falls from a balcony, but when his psychiatrist, Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance), checks down below, he finds that Michael's body has vanished. It finishes with a series of shots of the neighbourhood, accompanied by Michael's sinister breathing. He could be anywhere. 

This story of an inexplicable evil invading suburban America ends on a disturbingly enigmatic note and denies its audience any sort of closure, although this would eventually come in the form of a staggering twelve further instalments over the years. Interestingly, Halloween wasn't made with a sequel in mind at all, but such was its brilliance that audiences were thirsty for more.