First let me make it clear that I do not worship at the alter of John Carpenter, I find him to be one of horror's most inconsistent figures; at his best, he's undeniably a genius, but for every The Thing, there's a Ghosts of Mars...
Still, if you're reading a horror blog, there's really no point dragging out any suspense about this one; Halloween is an amazing movie, which cemented the slasher as a sub-genre, and inspired directors for the next 30 some years.