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Yeah, that's right: after deep, deep research (a Google search) I found out exactly what Michael Myers' mask is. It's Captain Kirk, aka William Shatner. This mask is demented; human and realistic, but also hollow and misshapen. It's the type of mask that can be brought along through remakes and reboots and still strike fear. In fact, prior to seeing the original, I first saw the Rob Zombie remake of the franchise and the more rugged look of the mask terrified me. Then, when I watched the original, I was just as freaked out by the oddity of the mask's features. Halloween is an iconic franchise and while you could argue it's soundtrack or legendary final girl are the reason behind its infamy, the truth is that without his mask, Michael just isn't the same.
When Creep came out, it quietly bubbled around blogs and discussion boards as a horror movie to watch. Promotion well deserved. Creep is horrifyingly intimate. It's a cat-and-mouse game featuring an eccentric cancer patient hiring a videographer to make videos for the patient's son. Then, like any good horror movie things take a turn for the insane and the twists and turns come into the forefront. One of the things that make Creep so good is its use of a Wal-Mart-looking mask worn by the patient. He calls the mask Peachfuzz and the innocent, yet creepy name left tingles in my spine. Peachfuzz is a scary mask, not because of its disturbing features but because literally anyone could purchase it. Something about the low-level of effort to make something outlandishly scary makes this mask downright bone chilling.
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I will never forget the first time the pig mask in the Saw series jumps out. I pulled back so hard that it made my stomach tight. While maybe not as prominent as some of the other masks on this list, the short screen time given to the pig masks in Saw are noteworthy for the very grotesque and unsettling tone they set. The inability to tell if they were supposed to be real or if they were in fact masks is questionable and the black hair that cascaded around them only added to the disturbing features.
Name a more iconic trio, I'll wait. No, but really. When The Strangers came out they became the poster children of modern slashers and for good reason. The three distinct faces each offered a dimension of insanity to the intense horror movie. While more plastic and shiny than the man's, the two women's masks are frozen and clownish. Contrasted with the canvas bag-like mask worn by the man, Dollface's and Pin-Up Girl's masks provide the perfect compliment. The masks of The Strangers provide distinction in anonymity and for that they deserve distinction. Whether emerging from the shadows or appearing under a street light, this set will stand the test of time.
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If The Strangers is the iconic trio, is there a more iconic killer. Leatherface is the epitome of masked slashers. Made from his victims' faces, the disgusting and terrifying look of Leatherface's masks (either the original or the remakes) is enough to stop someone dead in their tracks. There is no horror movie mask that can ever reach the level of Leatherface's. Even the iconic Ghostface mask pales (get it, it's a white mask) in comparison to the bumpy and torn up features of Leatherface's face.
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