In 1978, writers John Carpenter and Debra Hill created a pop culture icon and one of films' most notorious villains with Michael Myers and Halloween (Metascore: 87). Few fictional names elicit as much terror, with Myers and his trademark grey jumpsuit and expression-less mask popping up at parties and on trick-or-treat routes every Oct. 31. 

The independent film was a box office success, grossing more than $70 million worldwide. It spawned a massive film franchise, inspired a book series and several video games, and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. 

Jamie Lee Curtis revisits her role as Laurie Strode for the final time in Halloween Ends, which is the third and final installment in the H40 trilogy, which began with Halloween in 2018, released on the 40th anniversary of the original film. The new slasher flick, which will also mark the final appearance of Nick Castle as Myers, is a sequel to 2021's Halloween Kills, which sees Curtis' Strode lose her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) to Myers. So, if you thought Laurie wanted him dead before, multiply that by a million. She realizes it may take her dying to finally bring him down too, but that is a sacrifice she is willing to make.

Once the final Halloween film is over, you may be primed to binge more horror tales of vengeance. And if so, there's no shortage of movies to keep you up at night.

Here are 10 films like Halloween Ends to watch next, ranked by their Metascore. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2

Metascore: 85
Best for: Viewers who enjoy conclusions to epic film series
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Runtime: 130 minutes

OK OK so Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is not technically a horror film, but it has some scary scenes and it features one of the scariest film villains ever in Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). Plus, it's an epic conclusion to a massively successful film franchise a la Halloween Ends and it features a lead character who has managed to survive sooooo many instances that probably should have killed him. Laurie Strode is essentially Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) without magic abilities. 

"This is the most epic of the Harry Potter movies, the one that finally dispenses with side-quests and open-ended plotlines and offers up all the final payoffs." — Tasha Robinson, AV Club

Joe (2014)

Metascore: 74
Best for: Drama fans who want to see more of David Gordon Green's work
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Runtime: 117 minutes

Joe stars Nicolas Cage as Joe, an ex-con trying to get his life in order, and Tye Sheridan as Gary, a troubled teen who takes a job on Joe's tree-cutting crew to make money and escape his abusive father. Joe and Gary quickly form a bond but find that their attempts to stay out of trouble are constantly being thwarted by those around them. Although Joe is a drama and not a horror, it's worth checking out by fans of Halloween Ends because both projects are directed by Green, who was also at the helm for Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills and is set to direct the upcoming remake of The Exorcist.

"Director David Gordon Green finds a balance between symbolism and realism in his storytelling that allows the film to be many things at once." — David Lee Dallas, Slant

Candyman (2021)

Metascore: 72
Best for: Viewers who want a horror film with a social message
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Runtime: 91 minutes

Get Out's Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta teamed up to create a followup to the 1992 horror film of the same name. The new flick offers an updated approach to director Bernard Rose's original film by injecting the classic horror genre with a social justice take. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as Anthony, an artist in search of his next inspiration. After learning about the legend of Candyman, a killer with a legendary existence not unlike Michael Myers, Anthony begins to go down a dark path that leads him to an unthinkable origin story about his birth and relationship to the much-feared murderer. 

"While the movie could be a notch scarier, the unsettling imagery and slow build to chaos make me want another movie by this director stat." — Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post

Black Christmas (1974)

Metascore: 65
Best for: Fans of OG horror films
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Runtime: 98 minutes

Many film fans consider director Bob Clark's Canadian horror film Black Christmas to have had a major impact on the original Halloween film. It features a lead character who manages to evade the killer throughout the film, giving two reasons it earns a place on this list. The 1974 film, which features early appearances by Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, and Andrea Martin, follows an unknown murderer who sets their sights on the residents of a sorority house. Hussey plays Jess, a member of the sorority who manages to survive the brutal murders only to enact one of her own. You'll never look at plastic dry cleaning bags the same. 

"Not only does Black Christmas provide real chills, it introduces devices — like the opening, which is shot from the slasher's point of view — that inspired John Carpenter's Halloween and countless genre flicks to follow." — V.A. Musetto, New York Post

Scream (1996)

Metascore: 65
Best for: Late 1990s horror film fans who like their movies meta
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Runtime: 111 minutes

Do you like scary movies? Then Scream should be on your list. Curtis' Laurie Strode and Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott have one big thing in common: they've managed to survive enough killing sprees to fill up a franchise. Wes Craven's 1996 film follows high schooler Sidney on the one-year anniversary of her mother's murder, an event that coincides with a murder spree in her small town. The first film in the Scream franchise, which also stars David Arquette, Courteney Cox, and Drew Barrymore for about five minutes, includes characters discussing the original Halloween film and other horror greats, including Nightmare on Elm Street, while also cementing itself in the horror genre. 

"Compared with most of what passes for scary movies these days, this is golden: It's not stupid, it's not wussy and it pulls off a couple of pretty nasty jolts." — Frank Lovece, TV Guide Magazine

Ready or Not (2019)

Metascore: 64
Best for: Fans of satire, horror, family dramas, and weddings gone wrong
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Runtime: 95 minutes

Meeting the in-laws can be difficult, but meeting in-laws who believe in a family curse that requires a human sacrifice following every wedding is a bit worse than getting an ugly butter dish as an engagement gift. For Grace (Samara Weaving), marrying Alex (Mark O'Brien) seems like a dream until their wedding night at Alex's family estate turns into a bloody nightmare. In order to survive until the honeymoon, Grace must escape from Alex's heavily armed family. There's no shortage of blood and bodies in this darkly comedic horror film, which features a female protagonist that reminds us of Laurie Strode. 

"The charitable reading is that Ready Or Not understands how moneyed entitlement knows no gender — that the only way to break the arbitrary yet destructive grasp of the super-rich is to chop it off, or possibly light it on fire. So no, not a subtle movie. But a fairly satisfying one." — Jesse Hassenger, AV Club

The Final Girls

Metascore: 59
Best for: Fans of comedy and horror crossovers
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Runtime: 88 minutes

Like Scream, The Final Girls takes its genre head-on by not only discussing popular horror canon created by such films as Halloween, but also by incorporating many nods to the slasher flicks of the '70s and '80s throughout the plot. Taissa Farmiga stars as Max, who, along with her friends, attends a screening of her late mother Amanda's (Malin Akerman) horror film Camp Bloodbath on the anniversary of Amanda's death. When the movie theater catches fire, Max and her friends escape through a hole in the screen, which transports them into the middle of the film. Max is happy to reunite with her mother, but in order to survive the reunion, she and her friends must use the knowledge they have of the horror genre to make it to the end credits alive.

"It lobs a grenade at slasher-movie sadism by making us care about the characters as more than just body-bag fodder." — Kenji Fujishima, Slant

The Fog (1980)

Metascore: 55
Best for: Fans of the original Halloween film who want more Curtis and Carpenter
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Runtime: 89 minutes

In many ways, Curtis is the Halloween franchise, so it would only make sense for us to include The Fog, which sees Curtis team up once again with Halloween director Carpenter. The Fog also includes Curtis sharing the screen with her mother Janet Leigh, the OG scream queen who made her mark on pop culture history with Psycho. As for the film, The Fog has an entertaining premise, focusing on a small town that finds itself enveloped in fog during its 100th-anniversary celebration. The inclement weather brings the ghosts of fishermen who died off the town's coast. So, pack an umbrella, rain boots, and a machete?

"Even amid all the campy, uneven creepiness The Fog unleashes, you have to give it up to Carpenter for continuing his knack of making women just as ready as men to get into heroic, survival mode whenever some strange shit goes down." — Craig D. Lindsey, LA Weekly

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Metascore: 52
Best for: Fans of teen films and the slasher genre
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Runtime: 100 minutes

Before it was a TV show or a hit pop song, I Know What You Did Last Summer was a '90s teen film based on the Lois Duncan novel of the same title that introduced a new generation to slashers. Like the Halloween franchise, I Know What You Did Last Summer kicked off a series of films featuring a creepy killer who stalks his victims before offing them, and who can't quite seem to be killed himself. Teen film royalty Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Ryan Phillippe play a group of high schoolers who accidentally hit a person while driving and throw the body in a nearby lake. The group swears never to speak about the event and goes their separate ways. One year later, they are reunited when they each begin receiving messages from someone who knows…what they did last summer. Dun dun dun!

"Though it flies in the face of credibility and becomes downright silly by its end, I Know What You Did Last Summer knows its way around the rules of the popular horror-film genre." — Lawrence Van Gelder, The New York Times

Prom Night (1980)

Metascore: 45
Best for: Horror fans who want more Laurie Strode
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Runtime: 92 minutes

Prom Night isn't a critically acclaimed horror flick, but it does take inspiration from Halloween director Carpenter and it features Curtis once again managing to be the last person standing at the end of the slasher flick. Released in 1980 and featuring a disco-friendly soundtrack, the film follows a group of friends who taunted a young girl and then watched her accidentally fall to her death. Years later, the friends are now teens and a masked murderer is out to get revenge for the girl's death, choosing prom night as the backdrop for a lot of killing.

"Prom Night is a comparatively genteel hybrid, part shock melodrama, like Halloween, and part mystery, though it's less a whodunit than a who's-doing-it." — Vincent Canby, The New York Times