This has been so imitated that many scenes/moments induce laughter: teenagers asking "who's there" when a killer is loose; Jamie Lee Curtis thinking she's killed Michael Myers twice then not checking; horny teenagers easily exposed; a conveniently incompetent police force; absent parents.
But a lot of it maintains it's power too: hearing the opening theme song still sends chills down my spine; John Carpenter's direction is excellent; the story is superb and Michael one of the great villains. As Danny Peary pointed out he's really just a child who never grew up - he delights in playing games, teasing and hiding and being naughty to teenagers; he never hurts other kids.
There's other things too that list this above standard horror fare: the high quality of the acting, not just Donald Pleasance as a slightly deranged shrink (he's much more fun than Chris Lee would have been), but also likeable newcomer Jamie Lee Curtis (who I should point out is never specified a virgin, she just doesn't have a date that night) and PJ Soles and Nancy Loomis who are who friends - they have actual specific characters to play and seem realistic, which I attribute to Debra Hill's influence on the script. It's also scary rather than gory.
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