Hollywood Horror Comes to Life in Nightmarish Interactive Show ‘Creep LA: Awake’

7. "Hotel" - Season 5

Murphy brought Lady Gaga in to lead the fifth season, set at a hotel in California that is truly inhospitable to its living -- and dead -- guests, after franchise alum Jessica Lange exited the series at the end of "Freak Show." So, yeah, "Hotel" is -- and probably always will be -- the campiest of all the seasons, given the over-the-top headliner brought in to carry the narrative.

Also Read: ‘American Horror Story: Apocalypse’ Teaser: It’s the End of the World as We Know It (Video)

6. "Coven" - Season 3

The third installment, a story of past and present witches in New Orleans, was Jessica Lange at her Jessica Lange-iest. The queen of Murphyland played the "Supreme" aka the head of the titular coven, who is fighting to remain in control as her body deteriorates. And she went toe to toe with newcomer Emma Roberts -- a cocky young witch looking to dethrone her elder -- which brought all the camp up to 11.

Also Read: ‘AHS: Apocalypse': Ryan Murphy Teases Violet and Tate ‘Together Forever?’ (Photo)

5. "Cult" - Season 7

A season that centered around the 2016 presidential election was bound to be a little melodramatic, given the real-life events it had as a jumping-off point. Things get real dark -- but then Evan Peters (bumped up to lead alongside Sarah Paulson for the first time) rubs Cheetos all over his face and Billy Eichner makes his debut. So it oscillates wildly between horrifying and hilarious. 

Also Read: ‘American Horror Story: Apocalypse': Here’s Everything We Know About Season 8 – So Far

4. "Roanoke" - Season 6

"Roanoke" was a unique season, a story-within-a-story that does the job of linking all the previous years together, therefore officially declaring a shared "AHS" universe. But because of the way the season was broken up, it jumped between horrific events in the past and more mundane incidents in the present. So "Roanoke" goes right here in the middle.

Also Read: ‘AHS: Apocalypse': Evan Peters Returns as Tate, Emma Roberts Rises From the Dead (Photos)

3. "Freak Show" - Season 4

The camp of "Coven" disappeared come the fourth season, when Murphy brought things back to reality with his cast of freaks. It was a season filled with more internal fears, centered around characters with external features that set them apart from the rest of society. But it was also Lange's farewell installment, so she got to chew the scenery -- and sing more than one song -- as Elsa Mars, the flamboyantly costumed leader of the outcasts.

Also Read: ‘AHS: Apocalypse': Harmons Welcomed Home in First Look at Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott on Set (Photo)

2. "Asylum" - Season 2

"Asylum" was, as the on-the-nose title suggests, set in an insane asylum -- in the '60s, meaning out-of-date treatments and mindsets about the mentally ill. The season also pulled in a religious motif that would send shivers down the most lapsed Catholic's spine. 

Also Read: ‘AHS': Taissa Farmiga Will Reprise Both Her ‘Murder House’ and ‘Coven’ Roles for ‘Apocalypse’

1. "Murder House" - Season 1

The one that started it all ends this list as the creepiest of the creeps. The episodes follow the Harmon family as they move into the titular dwelling, completely unaware of all the bloodshed it's seen before them. "Murder House" ends with the whole clan dead, stuck inside their forever home -- with Michael Langdon aka the Antichrist (whom Connie Britton's character Vivien died giving birth to) alive and well, growing up right next door. Oh and...

Also Read: ‘AHS': Taissa Farmiga Will Reprise Both Her ‘Murder House’ and ‘Coven’ Roles for ‘Apocalypse’

... come "Apocalypse," Michael is an adult, played by Cody Fern, and rocking a seriously extra 'do. And it's literally the. end. of. the world. So, yeah, at the moment we'd say the mashup of Season 1 and Season 3 is going to be a real coin-flip between camp and creep. 

Also Read: Connie Britton to Return for ‘AHS: Apocalypse’ (Exclusive)

12. “Halloween: Resurrection” (2002) 

The worst “Halloween” movie commits two cardinal sins. First, it nullifies the intense and satisfying finale of “Halloween H20” by striking Laurie Strode’s personal victory from the record; now, not only did she kill an innocent man instead of Michael Myers, but Myers destroys her instead. Second, and perhaps more laughably, the eighth film in the series desperately tries to be “hip” and “now” by building a limp narrative around an online reality TV series set in Myers’ actual house. “Resurrection” isn’t smart enough to be meta, nor is it scary enough to be engaging. (But Busta Rhymes does roundhouse-kick Michael Myers in the face, so it’s not a total waste.)

11. “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers” (1995) 

In the sixth “Halloween,” the franchise completely flew off the rails by introducing the Cult of Thorne, a supernatural organization that needs Michael Myers to kill every member of his family to stave off the apocalypse. Paul Rudd stars as Tommy Doyle, the little boy who survived Myers’ attacks in the original “Halloween,” and Donald Pleasance returns for one last film as Dr. Loomis -- only to be (confusingly) killed off-camera during the closing credits. “The Curse of Michael Myers” is confusing, choppy, and utterly absurd.

10. “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers” (Producer’s Cut) 

The substantially different “Producer’s Cut” of “The Curse of Michael Myers” was a bootleg cult commodity for many years, and it was officially released on home video in 2014. It’s still a fundamentally strange motion picture, but at least this version makes more sense, revealing more disturbing truths about the Cult of Thorne and giving Dr. Loomis an interesting cliffhanger to go out on, as opposed to the frustrating anti-death in the theatrical release. The “Producer’s Cut” still isn’t good, per se, but it’s a lot more effective and entertaining.

9. “Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers” (1989) 

Michael Myers returns to finish the job he started in “Halloween 4,” by killing his niece, Jamie, once again played by Danielle Harris. This time, Jamie is trapped in a mental hospital, and she’s got psychic powers, which don’t always help her friends survive Myers’ latest murder spree. The scene with young Jamie trapped in a laundry chute is genuinely terrifying, and Pleasance adds some real emotion to his climactic confrontation with Myers. It’s an eccentric, somewhat enjoyable slasher sequel, but the goofiness ultimately bogs it down.

8. “Halloween” (2007) 

Rob Zombie rebooted the whole “Halloween” franchise with a remake that tried, for better or worse, to get inside Michael Myers’ head. The remake shows Myers growing up in an abusive household, flashing early signs of becoming a serial killer, and then relegates the majority of John Carpenter’s original film to a third-act murder spree. Did Zombie completely miss the point by trying to explain the unexplainable, making Myers just another serial killer? But by not repeating what had been produced before, he did try to preserve the original film’s integrity. Taken on its own, Zombie’s “Halloween” is a satisfying, albeit cynical and depressing horror movie.

7. “Halloween II” (1981) 

The first “Halloween” sequel picks up right where the original left off, with Michael skulking into the shadows and resuming his murder spree. It’s a lean, mean slasher, but it’s also where the franchise’s problems started to develop. The revelation that Laurie Strode was Michael’s sister had the same impact as Zombie’s “Halloween,” revealing too much about the killer’s motives and telling the audience that they’re basically safe unless they’re either related to the killer or standing near someone who is. Throw in some frustrating pacing issues, and you’ve got a sporadically satisfying but flawed follow-up.

6. “Halloween III: Season of the Witch” (1982) 

John Carpenter envisioned “Halloween” as a series of unrelated horror movies set on or around October 31, and if they’d released “Season of the Witch” instead of “Halloween II,” he might have gotten away with that approach. But after two Myers movies, fans balked at Tommy Lee Wallace’s unusual flick, about evil Halloween masks designed to murder people in a mass pagan sacrifice. And yet time has been relatively kind to “Season of the Witch,” a highly entertaining and spectacularly weird movie with a killer ending, oddball performances and memorable murders. It’s no match for the original “Halloween,” and it’s exceptionally hard to take seriously, but it’s a hoot.

5. “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers” (1988) 

After sitting out a season (of the witch), Michael returns in “Halloween 4,” an impressively scary, rock-solid slasher. Myers is back to kill the rest of his family, specifically Jamie, the daughter of Laurie Strode (who died between films), and it’s up to her babysitter to save her. Creepy cinematography and suspenseful set pieces help bolster a film that builds to a terrifying finale… which “Halloween 5” almost completely ignored. Taken on its own, “Halloween 4” is one of the best and scariest films in the series. It sticks to the fundamentals of the franchise and reaps all the rewards.

4. “Halloween II” (2009) 

Rob Zombie played with fire by remaking John Carpenter’s “Halloween,” one of the most celebrated horror movies ever made. But the “Halloween” sequels were always a hodgepodge of disjointed ideas, and Zombie’s effort to condense all those weird elements into a single film is a major improvement. “Halloween II” shoves the hospital attacks, psychic connections, scary evolutions of innocent characters and Dr. Loomis’ strange post-Myers adventures together and creates a hypnotic, trippy, disturbing movie that could have sent the whole rebooted franchise into a fascinating new direction. (Even though it didn’t.)

3. “Halloween” (2018) 

David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” isn’t the first film to ignore the majority of the franchise’s continuity, and it’s not the best either. But it’s an impeccably stylish slasher thriller, in which Myers returns to Haddonfield 40 years after the massacre, where Laurie Strode is waiting for him along with her estranged daughter (Judy Greer) and her loving granddaughter (Andi Matichak). The scares are freaky, the dynamic between all three generations of the Strode family is honest and mature, the cinematography and score are absolutely spectacular. If only the story weren’t so contrived. And if the film’s themes were actually explored instead of  awkwardly spoken aloud, it might have been the second best film in the series.

2. “Halloween: H20” (1998) 

The first “Halloween” film to completely reset the franchise continuity (and to depict Laurie Strode as a traumatized woman living in fear of Michael’s return) is a slick and emotionally satisfying finale to the franchise -- even though it turned out not to be the finale. Myers finally tracks down Laurie, living under a new name and working at a private school, where her son (Josh Harnett) and his girlfriend (Michelle Williams) are hiding out for Halloween when they should be on a field trip. Myers attacks and gets a few bloody kills in before Laurie rescues the kids and walks right back inside, with the sinister “Halloween” orchestral theme now playing as her empowering ballad. The slasher elements are above average, but it’s Curtis who brings “H20” to life by delivering one of the finest performances of her career.

1. “Halloween” (1978) 

Turn off the background noise of the sequels, reboots and retcons, and just watch John Carpenter’s “Halloween” for what it always was: a terrifying urban legend come to life. Carpenter films the hell out of “Halloween,” with eerie Panaglide shots from Myers’ POV, giving him a wraithlike quality, and then masterfully edits his shots to build the suspense until Myers’ wrath finally, brutally breaks the tension. It’s a smart, earnest, believable horror movie that has always been terrifying. It probably always will.