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Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers(1988), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (1998), Halloween: Resurrection (2002), Halloween (2007)

Synopsis: Michael Myers, the physical embodiment of evil, stalks his sister Laurie through the ages, dispatching babysitters, boyfriends, and anyone else in his way. The original, and still the best, follows Michael after he escapes an insanitarium and returns to Haddonfield and murders babysitters. In the sequel, it is revealed that Laurie Strode is his sister, spawning a variety of sequels dealing with this dysfunctional family.

Killer Scene: In the original, Michael Myers disguises himself with a bed sheet and a pair of glasses after pinning Bob to a wall with a kitchen knife. When confronting Bob’s girlfriend, she flashes Myers some breasts, which he apparently doesn’t enjoy.

KILLSHEET

Violence: Over the course of the series, nearly every act of violence you can think of is committed, from gunshots to frequent stabbings to beatings and beheadings. Rob Zombie’s competent remake ups the grit-factor and features some more explicit violence and bloodier deaths.

Sex: As one of the trendsetters, Halloween thankfully had some exposed breasts, a tradition that continued through most of the series. Rob Zombie’s version, of course, ups the exposure of breasts.

Scares: The original Halloween, if watched in the dark, with a careful eye, layers on the scares with a terrific and legendary score, Myers appearing in the background of dozens of frames, and an emotionless killer. Later installments moved away from a tense atmosphere and instead opted for Myers as a lumbering slasher.

Final Thoughts: Like so many classic horror franchises, the series has some missteps. The original John Carpenter-helmed flick stands up alarmingly well today – so much so the remake was greeted with boos from fans. However, a half-dozen pretty terrible sequels left the franchise dead in the water with little respect. Rob Zombie’s remake, while inferior to the original, may prove to be the saving grace of the franchise. The original flick is a stalwart of the genre, and it is the duty of everyone, not just horror fans, to watch it at least once.