10 Terrifying Halloween-Set Horror Movies

The original Halloween is far from perfect. Its timeline makes no sense, it's weird to see a slasher villain drive a station wagon, and Donald Pleasence's lovable performance isn't enough to save Loomis from looking like kind of a dolt. But John Carpenter's classic slasher flick still outshines the rest of the franchise for one simple fact that the sequels and reboots seem to have forgotten:

Michael Myers is just a man, and anyone can become his victim.

This fact is best represented by the film's unmasking scene, made effective by how truly unremarkable it is. Michael isn't some wet, rotted zombie like Jason Voorhees. He's just a slightly unattractive dude, like half the mask-wearing gentlemen you'll run into in your own neighborhood this Halloween.

Later films like Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 or the more recent Halloween Kills got railed for trying to attempt this same scene, the main criticism being that Myers was too human. But this doesn't mean fans have lost touch with what made the original work. We still appreciate the original's justifiable fear of our fellow man, but don't appreciate the moronic attempt to evoke that same fear in a film that gives its killer supernatural endurance.

Halloween worked with a small body count and a simple idea. Over-the-top sequels may be fun, but they'll never be as scary.