10 Horror Movie Twists That Rewrote The Rules
2. The Killer Vanishes & Will Return - Halloween (1978)
Slasher movies existed long before Halloween came out, with titles such as Peeping Tom and Black Christmas predating it. Nevertheless, it was John Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece that gave the horror subgenre the spotlight it needed to flourish over the last half-century.
A major reason why is that it popularized numerous components of the slasher landscape, including the triumphant “final girl” surviving her ordeal and the shadowy killer disguising himself with a mask. Of course, another momentous aspect of Halloween is its unsettling closing shakeup regarding the fate of Michael Myers.
It's an ending as famous as any other horror movie climax.
After finding Myers strangling heroine Laurie Strode in the Doyle house, Myers’ childhood psychiatrist – Dr. Samuel Loomis – shoots him six times, knocking him off the balcony. Initially, he lies motionless on the lawn below; however, when Loomis checks on Myers moments later, Myers is gone, and audiences are left stunned as his haunting breathing implies that he’s waiting to return.
Prior to Halloween, slasher villains tended to definitively die or overtly live at the end of their films. So, having the “boogeyman” only temporarily be vanquished – with the promise of him resuming his killing spree should a sequel be made – was as startling as it was influential.
Today, the trope has become a core part of the slasher formula.