Halloween: The 10 Best Characters in the Michael Myers Franchise, Ranked

The nature of the slasher genre doesn’t always lend itself to great character development. An unfortunate reality is that many of the characters that appear are doomed, and they don’t get much of a chance to grow on the audience. Halloween is one of the few exceptions, with a surprisingly deep cast of characters spanning the franchise’s 45-year history. Some of these characters have actually made appearances across multiple films (and even comics), while others made a strong impression in just one movie.

Characters like Michael Myers, Laurie Strode, and Sam Loomis will be obvious to those who have even a passing familiarity with the series. The trio might be the three strongest in any horror film franchise, and there’s a reason they’ve captivated audiences since 1978. However, moving beyond those three, the series has several other great characters. On the list, we’ll talk about some of the best, including where viewers can see these characters and their best moments.

Keep reading to see the best characters in the Halloween franchise!

10) Ismael Cruz

First appearance: Halloween (2007)

Played by Danny Trejo, Ismael Cruz is one of the most interesting one-off characters in the Halloween canon. The character debuted in 2007’s Halloween reboot, directed by Rob Zombie. Zombie’s Halloween movies struggled to gain a strong grasp on Michael Myers, introducing a take on the character that felt much closer to Jason Voorhees. However, Michael’s relationship with Ismael Cruz offered an authenticity otherwise missing from the series. Cruz is one of several employees at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, where a young Michael ends up after his first killing spree. While just about every character in Zombie’s films treats Michael with disdain (even before he becomes a murderer), Cruz is far more compassionate. 

When Michael escapes from confinement, Cruz discovers the chaos that has been wrought. Even knowing what Michael has done, Cruz still tries to peacefully restrain Michael. Unfortunately, none of his kindness matters, as Michael brutally beats Cruz before drowning him. The act feels much harsher than any of Michael’s other murders at that point in the film and the moment goes a long way towards establishing Michael’s evil. At the end of the day, Michael truly is just a force of nature, and no amount of kindness will spare those in his path. 

9) Dr. Daniel Challis

First appearance: Halloween III: Season of the Witch

For the longest time, Halloween III: Season of the Witch was considered the black sheep of the franchise. The movie was intended to be the start of an anthology format, with each film having loose connections between them. Halloween III‘s lack of Michael Myers led to a lot of frustration at first, but the decades have been kind to the film, as it’s actually quite good. A big part of the movie’s appeal is protagonist Dr. Daniel Challis. Challis is the definition of a flawed protagonist; he’s clearly an alcoholic, he’s barely there for his kids, and the only woman in the movie that he doesn’t flirt with is his ex-wife, Linda. However, it’s a testament to the acting of Tom Atkins that Challis remains somehow likable throughout the movie. 

In Halloween III, Challis drops everything to begin investigating the strange murder of Harry Grimbridge, a man murdered in the hospital Challis works at. Challis isn’t a detective, or even a therapist like Sam Loomis, but he still puts his own life at risk to try to stop the plans of the Silver Shamrock company, as well as its evil owner. Even when Challis manages to save himself, he still does everything he can to stop a broadcast that would have killed every child wearing a Silver Shamrock mask (and anyone around them). 

8) Conal Cochran

First appearance: Halloween III: Season of the Witch

A lack of Michael Myers proved to be the death blow for Halloween‘s anthology format, but Halloween III still boasts one of the most underrated horror movie villains ever. As the head of the Silver Shamrock company, Conal Cochran has used a mix of technology and witchcraft to create masks that turned the body of the wearer into bugs and snakes. Cochran’s plan is a massive sacrifice timed alongside the airing of a televised “giveaway” which would result in the deaths of countless children, and anyone nearby. While the masks themselves don’t seem like all that much to write home about, the catchy commercial jingle seems like the kind of thing that would easily hook kids in the ’80s. 

Played by Dan O’Herlihy, Cochran comes across like a darker version of Jurassic Park‘s John Hammond. Cochran is proud of the operation he’s come up with, and shows no shame or hesitation about his plans. The man shows not a single ounce of care about those who will be killed, with a coldness only matched in the series by Michael Myers himself. There’s something truly terrifying about the way Cochran rules his empire of machine men, which will kill off anyone who tries to stop his plans. Of course, that pales in comparison to the way he almost charmingly shrugs off questions about his operations. “Trade secrets,” indeed. 

7) Allyson Nelson

First appearance: Halloween (2018)

Debuting in 2018’s Halloween, Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak) is the granddaughter of Laurie Strode. Introduced alongside Laurie’s daughter Karen, Allyson is introduced as a smart and capable member of the family. Appearing (and surviving) in all three entries in David Gordon Green’s trilogy, Allyson’s relationship with her grandmother remains compelling throughout. When the trilogy begins, she’s the only member of her family willing to allow Laurie a place in her life.

Allyson’s strength in the modern Halloween trilogy is hard to overstate. She loses a lot across three films: both parents, a boyfriend, and even her fellow outcast, Corey. But like her grandmother, she shows a strength and an ability to move on from these tragedies. Laurie Strode does not get to form a lot of meaningful relationships throughout the Halloween series, and certainly not ones that the audience gets to watch play out across multiple films. Her relationship with Allyson is a rare example, and the series is all the stronger for it. 

6) Tommy Doyle

First appearance: Halloween (1978)

Introduced in the original Halloween, Tommy Doyle is a young boy that is babysat by Laurie Strode on the night Micheal Myers came home. Seeing Michael torment Laurie and murder her friends had a major impact on young Tommy across multiple continuities. Tommy would not appear again for several more films, but would return in 1995’s Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Played by Paul Rudd, this version of Tommy has spent years researching Michael Myers in an effort to bring down the killer. This version of Tommy is arguably the best, and while The Curse of Michael Myers is widely considered one of the worst films in the series, Rudd is a high point, offering a compelling protagonist. He also might be the single person who delivers Michael’s biggest beating in the series; after drugging the villain with several needles, Tommy is able to unload years of repressed anguish with a lead pipe. 

An older take on Tommy Doyle plays a major role in Halloween Kills, where he’s played by Anthony Michael Hall. That take on Tommy is a bit less impressive, and finds a lot less success against Michael Myers! 

5) Corey Cunningham

First appearance: Halloween Ends

Jamie Lloyd’s appearance in Halloween 4 hinted that Michael’s evil could have an influence on others, and Halloween Ends explored that concept in a much bigger way with Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell). At the start of Halloween Ends, Michael’s impact on Haddonfield is shown in a number of previously unseen ways. While the killer is long missing, his evil has tainted the town; just as the audience is anxiously expecting Michael’s return, so too are the citizens of Haddonfield. 

One Halloween night, as Corey Cunningham is babysitting, that fear and anxiety lead to the death of the boy Corey is babysitting. That horrific accident completely changed the trajectory of Corey’s life, but even as he finds himself spurned by all of Haddonfield, it’s not until he actually meets Michael Myers that things change for Corey. Halloween Ends offers no direct answers for why Corey embraces life as a killer, or why Michael takes him under his wing. We don’t know if Michael’s evil tainted Corey’s soul, just as it might have with Jamie. It’s just as possible that Corey and Michael simply saw themselves as kindred spirits. Whatever the case might be, Corey instantly became one of the most interesting characters in the Halloween canon.

4) Jamie Lloyd

First appearance: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

After Jamie Lee Curtis departed the Halloween franchise with Halloween 2, the series moved on to a much younger protagonist. Jamie Lloyd (played by Danielle Harris) was the daughter of Laurie Strode, who was killed off-camera between films. In that continuity, Michael was Laurie’s brother and Jamie’s uncle. Michael tormented poor Jamie for all of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Harris’ excellent acting endeared her to fans of the series, and Halloween 4 contains one of the most shocking endings in the entire franchise. In the film’s chilling, final scene, Michael is dead, but Jamie has seemingly picked up his mantle. In the film’s final scene, the character brutally attacks her foster mother while wearing a clown costume similar to the one Michael wore when he killed his sister as a child.

That ending was retconned away in Halloween 5, where Jamie was back to being a protagonist chased by Michael. In Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, a slightly older Jamie (played by actress J.C. Brandy) is killed early into the film. Given these unfortunate turns, we’ll never get a deeper dive into Halloween 4‘s brilliant ending. We can’t know if Michael’s evil turned Jamie, or if something that was already inside her led to that fateful moment, with this idea explored more fully with Corey Cunningham in Halloween Ends.

3) Dr. Samuel Loomis

First appearance: Halloween (1978)

The Ahab to Michael’s Moby Dick, Samuel Loomis isn’t just one of the best Halloween characters; he’s one of the best protagonists in horror movie history. Loomis is one of the first characters viewers are introduced to in the original Halloween, and he remains a part of the series for nearly two decades after. Just as Michael is singularly focused on inflicting harm on others, Loomis is every bit as focused on protecting them. We never see him date or form a family. Instead, he devotes everything to ending Micheal’s threat, first by trying to keep him locked up, and then again by taking the law into his own hands. 

In return for that devotion, Loomis is consistently doubted by the people of Haddonfield; the doctor’s concerns are always downplayed, and some even have the gall to blame Loomis for somehow not doing more to protect them. He’s basically the Spider-Man of the franchise, continually getting up when most others would stay down. That selflessness is a rarity in a genre where most protagonists are concerned more with their own survival than anyone else’s. 

After Jamie Lee Curtis took an extended break from the series, Donald Pleasance remained a constant, appearing across a total of five films in the series. While the quality of movies like Halloween 5 is debatable, Pleasance continues to give it his all as Sam Loomis. The actor passed away shortly after filming Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, but his spirit lives on, earning references in later films, and a slew of merchandise, including his own action figures.

2) Michael Myers

First appearance: Halloween (1978)

Out of all the villains in horror movie history, Michael Myers remains one of the best. From the moment he kills his sister in the original Halloween, Michael has been depicted as cold and emotionless. We don’t know how he feels or what he thinks. Movies like Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers have attempted to offer some deeper rationale for the villain’s actions, but the character works best as a force of nature. Michael is at his scariest when he’s willing to kill anyone or anything that stands in his way. 

The reality of life is that sometimes the cruelest people are simply just cruel. They delight in inflicting suffering on others, and we’ll never truly know why they do what they do. Some might think that a character like that lacks depth, but Michael’s evil colors everything else in the world of the Halloween franchise. It infects everyone and everything around him. It changes lives, and while others search for the meaning behind it, any attempt to dig into a deeper explanation usually ends poorly for that person. 

1) Laurie Strode

First appearance: Halloween (1978)

The original “final girl,” Laurie Strode is one of the most important characters in the history of the horror genre. Smart, capable, and easy to root for, Laurie’s evolution over the decades and across the various Halloween continuities has been compelling to watch. Laurie has appeared in nine Halloween films over the years (played seven times by Jamie Lee Curtis and twice by Scout Taylor-Compton), and her character has changed quite a bit based on the lore; she’s been Michael’s sister as well as a complete stranger to the killer. She’s been a mother in three continuities, but her children have always been completely different characters with unique personalities and different backstories. 

While Laurie’s circumstances have changed a lot across the last four and a half decades, there is one constant across all versions of the Halloween franchise: Laurie’s tenacity, and her ability to overcome tragedy. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later was the first Halloween film to seriously analyze Michael’s impact on Laurie, and Halloween (2018) expanded on that in a major way. The arc that begins in that film concludes with Halloween Ends, a movie that gave audiences a glimpse at something rare: Laurie allowing herself to be happy. The movie highlights her attempt to move on from Michael’s specter. For the first time since the early moments in the original Halloween, Laurie seems to be genuinely happy. When the villain finally does return, Laurie finally ends his existence, and gets the happy ending she’s deserved for so long.