Halloween 1978 Kills Ranked — Media Cross-Over Entertainment

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Do you ever watch Halloween and think to yourself “which kill is my favorite?” Well, that’s what this blog series is here to do! Every week we will be taking a look at a slasher film and rank the kills in that film from worst to best. We are starting off with a look at the original Halloween. Every kill is going to be ranked on three ratings. Those ratings being brutality, impact & special effects. Each rating gets scored from 0-10 and we use the average of the scores to determine the overall ranking for each kill. You can watch the video below or continue reading this article instead!

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Halloween (1978)

Halloween as you all already know was directed by John Carpenter and released in 1978. Halloween starred Jamie Lee Curtis (Daughter of Janet Leigh who starred in 1960’s Psycho) & Donald Pleasence and is credited to be the film that popularized the slasher sub-genre.

Originally titled The Babysitter Murders, Halloween was made on a budget of a mere 325 thousand dollars, but earned back over 47 million dollars at the box office! Making it the most profitable independent film of all time until The Blair Witch Project was released back in 1999.

Critics praised John Carpenters’ direction & score as well as the menacing presence of the main antagonist, The Shape. Or as we know him, Michael Myers. This OG Halloween’s success started a wildfire in pop culture. Giving birth to a film franchise that spans over eleven films as well as introducing novels and comic books into the mix.

I mean just look at this box art. This screams iconic. Also, have you ever noticed the face on the cover? No not pumpkin head! The one in the hand holding the handle of the knife. Some people still can’t see it. But now it’s all that I see!

Depending on who you ask, most people would say that Michael Myers takes the bronze medal in the big three of horror slashers. Though I give huge props to the Halloween series for never being quite as outlandish as his slasher counterparts. Sure the Halloween series delves into some questionable lore at times. As well as the continuous retcons to said lore should come with its own canon guide. The series never has to go to the moon or change genres completely like his counterparts Jason and Freddy. Because of that, Michael Myers is indeed my favorite Horror Movie Icon.

Many film critics, myself included, consider this original Halloween to be a cinematic masterpiece. But the pulse of every good horror movie lies in the kills. So let’s get to the rankings!

6. Christopher Hastings

The original Halloween has the least amount of kills out of all films in the franchise. With our first on the list being nothing to write home about.

Dr. Loomis is on his way to Haddonfield, adamant that Michael is heading home. While on the way he stops at a payphone to warn the Haddonfield police about Michael. After hanging up Dr. Loomis notices what seems to be an abandoned red truck parked behind the bushes on the side of the road just a few feet away.

After finding Michaels’s old hospital clothes he runs back to his car to continue his pursuit of the shape. Meanwhile, the camera pans over a body that Sam missed. This body belonged to Christopher Hastings. Since the death happened off-screen and all we get to see is some blood on his shirt I couldn’t see this kill being anywhere but last. I did award some extra points to impact, however. Though his body wasn’t discovered, this is the kill that gave Michael Myers his iconic coveralls. So for that, thank you, Mr. Hastings.

Brutality - 1
Impact - 4
Special effects - 1

Final rating - 2

5. Lynda

With our fifth place kill, Michael Myers gets into the Halloween spirit and dresses up like Bob. With a sheet over his body and dawning Bob’s glasses, Michael opens the door to Lynda’s not room and stares silently at her while she asks for her beer.

Failing to seduce who she believes to be Bob, Lynda goes to call Laurie to ask what’s taking Annie so long to come over. When Laurie answers that’s when Michael begins to strangle Lynda with the phone cord. Remember kid’s phones weren’t always wireless and loaded with apps! Just ask Lynda!

After listening to Michael give Lynda a better time than Bob could, Laurie hangs up the phone, slightly worried about what she just heard.

Brutality - 3
Impact - 3
Special effects - 1

Final Rating- 2.3

4. Lester (Doggy)

Michael is standing outside and stalking Lauries best friend Annie while she babysits Lindsey Wallace. When the Wallace family dog Lester stumbles upon the shape. Lesters bark is cut short off-screen and we cut back to the final moments of Michael strangling the German Shepherd.

Even though a lot of the confrontation is off-screen, I have to commend the practical effects of the dog’s lower half as Michael kills the furbaby. To achieve this shot, the dog’s trainer held the German Shepard in his arms and dropped him naturally. This was shot in slow motion to make it appear as though the dog had been killed. Poor puppy.

Brutality - 2
Impact - 1
Special effects - 5

Final Rating - 2.6

3. Annie Brackett

Annie convinces Laurie to babysit Lindsey for her so she can go pick up Paul. After finding her keys Annie enters her vehicle only to notice that her windows have fogged over. Cue an effective jump scare as Michael pops up from the back seat and begins to strangle Annie.

Personally, this is my favorite kill of the movie. Someone waiting in the backseat of my car to strangle me pops into my head almost anytime I drive at night.

This scene is effectively brutal in my opinion as well. Michael strangles Annie for nearly 30 seconds. She tries to fight back and even honks the horn for help but Michael eventually puts an end to the scuffle with a quick slice to the throat.

The throat slicing is where this kill loses points in my rankings. With how sudden and effective it is at finalizing the kill, there is no blood or anything. Instead, Annie slumps over defeated at last. With a little bit of love, this kill could have been my favorite in the whole franchise.

Brutality - 8
Impact - 4
Special effects - 1

Final Rating - 4.3

2. Judith Myers

A lot of people probably have this kill as their favorite in the film, or maybe even the franchise. To be honest, I wouldn’t blame you. This kill is so damn iconic! We watch from the pov of Michael as his older sister Judith makes out with her boyfriend before heading upstairs for some lengthy quality time. That’s when Michael enters his kitchen to grab the iconic kitchen knife that will become a staple in this series.

Did I say lengthy? Guess not as the guy comes back downstairs and heads out the door promising to call Judith later. Michael heads upstairs and grabs a clown mask from the floor which obscures our pov vision even more.

Did you know that the original mask for Michael Myers was supposed to be a sad clown mask? The opposite of what Little Michael uses here. I for one am happy with the mask we got instead.

Michael enters his older sister’s room and begins to stab her with the kitchen knife. This is where the kill loses some points for me. The direction of this scene is amazing but with Michael stabbing her nine times it’s a shame that all we get is a smear of blood with no visible puncture wounds. For the times it makes sense. But it still loses points regardless.

Brutality - 4
Impact - 9
Special effects - 2

Final Rating - 5

1. Bob

So what’s the best kill in 1978’s Halloween? Well, it’s Bob! Bob gives us a death scene that is more memorable and longer than the good time he was able to give to Lynda in his final moments.

The jump scare of when Michael pops out of the closet to begin choking Bob would hold up even today. Michael then lifts Bob off the ground and finishes him off with one stab from the butcher knife that pins him to the wall.

This is the scene that also gave us the first head tilt which becomes a staple in the series. I know horror master Tom Savini is known to have said that he hates this kill, citing the unbelievability that this butcher knife would hold Bob’s body weight. I just don’t care. I can ignore logic and look at this scene the same way Michael looks at Bob. With admiration.

Brutality - 5
Impact - 7
Special effects - 5

Final Rating - 5.6

So that’s my ranking for the six kills that we got in the OG Halloween. Go ahead and leave your rankings in the comments or check out the YouTube Video on the topic. Next week we will take a look at Halloween II. The first of soon-to-be 12 sequels and released in 1981. Halloween II upped the body count, but what about the quality? We will find out soon enough.

See you next time!

Halloween (1978) Rank the Kills