Halloween: The Biggest Highlights From Every Series Entry

When it comes to horror movie franchises, few have seen the level of quality of the Halloween series. While the series unquestionably has its low points, every entry has at least one scene or element that makes it stand out. Compiled herein are the biggest highlights of every entry in the 40-year history of the series, from the 1978 original, all the way to the 2018 reboot. Sometimes, the highlight is a specific scene, or character, or just one particular element worth watching. The saga of Michael Myers, Laurie Strode, and Sam Loomis has taken some crazy paths over the years, spanning multiple continuities and reboots. Despite all of this, there’s always been some strong quality throughout.

Fans will have to wait another year until the release of Halloween Kills, but in the meantime, newcomers to the franchise can get caught up on the rest of the series this Halloween season!

Halloween (1978) – Its simplicity

The original Halloween is a masterpiece of the horror genre, but it’s also the rare horror film that transcends its genre to become a truly great film. The slasher subgenre hasn’t always been known for its depth, but the original Halloween is a stark contrast. A large part of the film’s quality comes from its simplicity. While subsequent entries in the Halloween series would become bogged down in excess, the original film is a master class in “less is more.” In this film, Michael Myers isn’t a bullied child, or a pawn of a death cult. Instead, he is a force of nature, silently planning, stalking, and killing his foes. There’s something truly haunting about this portrayal, and it’s one of the biggest reasons the movie continues to hold up, after all these years.

Halloween II (1981) – A direct follow-up

Halloween II takes place the second after the first film ends. It’s a choice that few other horror sequels have made, but it’s one that works quite well, allowing the consequences of the first film’s events to breathe. Surprisingly, a combined cut of the two films has never been released. Part of the reason might be the fact that, tonally, the film feels quite different from the original, and seems to be more influenced by slasher films that had been released between. As a result, Michael’s kills in the film feel somewhat exaggerated and dialed-up. Halloween II never quite reaches the heights of the original, but its status as a direct continuation has long given it an endearing quality.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch – Silver Shamrock

Halloween III is easily the most unique entry in the entire franchise. This “sequel” abandons Haddonfield and its inhabitants for a new tale focusing on the evil Silver Shamrock Novelties corporation. Using a combination of technology and witchcraft, the company intends to kill every child that’s wearing the hot new masks of the holiday season. Long considered the black sheep of the series, time has redeemed the film in a major way. Viewers that are able to get past the fact that the film doesn’t connect with the previous entries will be happy to find that there are a number of cameos and callbacks, giving it some connective tissue.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers – The Best Ending

Following negative reactions to Halloween III, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers brought back The Shape, alongside Sam Loomis. Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode did not return, however, and was revealed to have died between films. However, Laurie left behind a daughter, named Jamie Lloyd. Played by Danielle Harris, Lloyd is a much younger protagonist, but a compelling one, nonetheless. Pursued by her uncle Michael throughout the film, Jamie survives, only to become a killer herself as she violently stabs her adopted mother to death in an absolute shocker of an ending. Donald Pleasence’s reaction to the events makes Jamie’s turn all the more heartbreaking, as he’s stopped from killing her. It’s an absolute gut-punch, and truly one of the best sequences from the entirety of the series.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers – The Acting of Danielle Harris

While Halloween 4 has the most incredible ending in the history of the series, it put Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers in a difficult position. The film retcons the previous film’s ending, revealing that Jamie did not, in fact, kill her stepmother. Making matters worse, the film unceremoniously dumps the majority of the characters introduced in the previous film (most notably Jamie’s stepsister Rachel), and the resulting film is the first real hiccup in the series (though certainly not the last). Thankfully, the acting of Harris is a true highlight of the film. The young actress brings it in every scene she’s in.

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers – Tommy Doyle Returns

Speaking of characters that are unceremoniously killed off, this entry sees the last appearance of Jamie Lloyd, as she’s killed early on by uncle Michael. Jamie’s position as the main character this time around is taken by Tommy Doyle, the boy that Laurie Strode babysat in the original Halloween. Portrayed by a young Paul Rudd (the only kind of Paul Rudd, really), Tommy is haunted by the events in the first film. Halloween 5 and The Curse of Michael Myers try desperately to make sense of Michael’s constant survival, but the result is a mess. However, Rudd’s role in the film gave the series a strong new protagonist. Rudd would not get an opportunity to play the role again, but this version of Tommy would return in a number of Halloween comics.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later – A New Start

While Halloween III takes place in a different universe, Halloween H20 is the first time the franchise branched off into an entirely new continuity. In honor of the 20th anniversary of the original film, H20 retconned the previous three films, bringing back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, serving as a continuation of Halloween II. It was a smart decision, getting the series closer to its roots than it had been in quite some time. This is the first time that fans would see the series start to embrace a branching timeline, but it’s far from the last. It’s a recipe that would be replicated another 20 years later, setting the series apart from other horror franchises in a major way.

Halloween Resurrection – Michael Inspires a New Killer

Following the events of H20, Halloween: Resurrection sees Michael once again pursuing his sister Laurie. This time brings Michael to a mental institution where Laurie Strode has ended up following the events of the previous film (long story). For the first time in the multiple continuities that make up the Halloween saga, Michael actually succeeds in killing Laurie. The sequence itself is a highlight, however, the film’s best scene happens shortly after her death, when Michael passes on a mask to one of the other inmates, Harold, seemingly inspiring a new killer. While Michael is silent throughout the series, moments like these show that the character is more than a mindless engine of destruction, but rather a true force of evil and chaos. Haunting.

Halloween (2007) – Michael Kills Ismael Cruz

After Resurrection, the series would receive a new reboot in the form of Rob Zombie’s Halloween. Zombie’s film ignores all previous takes, and his versions of the characters are different in many significant ways. The film puts a heavy focus on Michael’s younger days, showing him before the murder of his sister, and giving viewers a glimpse at his time in a mental facility. This version of Michael grows up in a very cruel world, and one of the few people that shows him true kindness is Ismael Cruz, played by Danny Trejo. When an older Michael breaks free from the facility, the audience might have expected the killer to spare the only person that had shown him kindness, but that is not the case. Instead, Michael cruelly dispatches Cruz, seemingly taking great pleasure in his death. While Zombie’s takes on the characters are wildly different from the previous iterations, the scene completely encapsulates Michael Myers’ true nature.

Halloween II (2009) – Michael Kills a Paramedic

One of the biggest takeaways from Rob Zombie’s work on the Halloween franchise is that everyone in Haddonfield is a horrible person. That’s why there’s a true satisfaction when Michael kills off a paramedic in Zombie’s Halloween II. Like the original Halloween II, Zombie’s version is also a direct follow-up to the previous film. After Michael’s reign of terror, Laurie Strode and Annie Brackett have been left near death. As a pair of paramedics transport a (seemingly) dead Michael Myers, they discuss the things they would do to Annie Brackett’s bloody corpse, given the opportunity. In the middle of this conversation, the ambulance slams into a cow, and the driver is instantly killed. The other paramedic survives, but just barely. When Michael emerges from the ambulance still alive, he takes time to brutally cut off the paramedic’s head. While the act is horrific, it’s hard to feel bad for his victim, this time around.

Halloween (2018) – A Return to Simplicity

Like H20, Halloween (2018) goes back to the basics, ignoring most of the series. This time around, however, the new continuity even ignores the second film, jettisoning the plotline about Michael and Laurie being siblings. It’s a bold choice, but it strips away the excess, getting the series back to the simplicity that worked so well in the original film. One of the reasons the original Halloween works so well is the fact that it feels like Laurie is selected at random. Michael saw her near his house and decided she would be his victim, entwining their fates. Getting back to the core of the series is one of the many smart decisions made in this Halloween, and it’s part of the reason that the film is one of the very best in the series.

*****

That’s it for the biggest highlights of the Halloween franchise! What are your favorite moments in the series? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!