At 13 entries, Halloween is the densest saga of the big four. Leatherface and Freddy both have nine entries while Jason has an unsatisfying 12 (we need that 13th Friday the 13th). John Carpenter’s original Halloween was and remains one of the most important horror films ever made, and that will never change. But when something is that successful, it’s inevitable that at the very least its financial success will attempt to be replicated. Unfortunately, throughout his nearly 50 years of cinematic exposure, Michael Myers has had some major ups and downs. But on the upside, some of those ups have been as entertaining as the downs have been misguided.
Videos by ComicBook.com
So, throughout multiple timeline changes and decades of filmmaking, which entry has come the closest to recapturing the magic of the 1978 classic? Let’s find out.
13) Halloween: Resurrection
None of the next five entries are really worth watching, but Halloween: Resurrection is still the worst. And, while Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers gives it a run for its “massive step down” money, Resurrection still holds that title.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later was a perfectly effective post-Scream franchise revival, but Resurrection then threw away all the goodwill those 90 minutes built in about five. This is the movie that killed off Laurie Strode, and it did it as though she were never that important (and capable of making some very silly decisions). Then the rest is uninventive kills, a lame reality TV plot, and Busta Rhymes watching martial arts movies.
Stream Halloween: Resurrection on HBO Max.
12) Halloween (2007)
There are essentially two halves of Rob Zombie’s Halloween, and neither of them work. The first half is an origin story rife with abusive family members and child-on-child murder. The second half is an extremely violent rehash of the far more subtle and effective first film.
Halloween isn’t entirely devoid of merit. Michael’s mask is solid, Scout Taylor-Compton was a good choice to play Laurie Strode, and it was great to see Danielle Harris in the franchise once more, but that’s about it. The rest is loaded with unpleasant, brutal scenes and grating dialogue.
Stream Halloween (2007) for free with ads on The Roku Channel.
11) Halloween Ends
One can’t blame David Gordon Green and crew for trying something different, but Halloween Ends really does send out the trilogy started by Halloween (2018) out on a down note. This is one perpetually uncomfortable film.
The key problem is no secret: this is the Michael Myers movie that doesn’t have Michael Myers as its primary killer. Instead, it’s a 20-something young man who has been repeatedly bullied and goes on a bloody, vengeful spree. It’s a little too close to reality in the current state of United States life. It’s neat they had Laurie Strode kill of Myers once and for all, but it’s a bummer of a journey getting there.
Stream Halloween Ends on Peacock.
10) Halloween II (2009)
Like Halloween Ends and Rob Zombie’s first Michael Myers movie, Halloween II is ultra-violent to an extent that does not make for easy viewing. Zombie has never made an attempt to be subtle in his filmmaking, and Halloween II is arguably him at his most unrelenting brutal.
So why is Halloween II ranked above Halloween? It’s an overall tighter experience and there’s something to be said about Zombie’s efforts to alter the character of Laurie Strode to a fairly significant degree. It also gives Malcolm McDowell’s mean-spirited Dr. Loomis (a fault of the writing, not the actor) the send-off he deserved.
Stream Halloween II (2009) on fuboTV.
9) Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers exists in a very strange nebulous. It was dead center of a modernization for the franchise, making it feel disconnected from the fourth and fifth installments (whose plot points it continues) and the subsequent Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.
At the very least, Curse does some things right. It captures the feel of Fall so integral to the franchise, there are as many memorable performances as there are awful ones, and if you’re watching the Producer’s Cut it gives Dr. Loomis an interesting hard left turn of a franchise exit.
Stream Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers on HBO Max.
8) Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Man, what a step down from Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Halloween 4 is loaded with memorable set pieces and two fantastic lead performances by Ellie Cornell and Danielle Harris, who do a dynamite job of selling the dynamic between Rachel Carruthers and Jamie Lloyd.
Then, Halloween 5 steps in, makes nary a mention of its predecessor’s excellent ending, kills off Rachel in the first act, and makes you Harris perform Jamie as silent and traumatized for 80% of the movie. But perhaps those aren’t Revenge‘s biggest crimes, as there isn’t one scene that is truly memorable, much less up to the par of Return.
Stream Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers on AMC+.
7) Halloween Kills
We’re back in unpleasant Halloween territory with Halloween Kills. In fact, this may very well be the most blood-soaked installment of the franchise. But if the film really commits one sin, it’s giving the audience too much of what it has historically wanted, which is more overwhelming than a true fault.
Without a doubt this is a less streamlined cinematic experience than that of its predecessor’s, but it does continue to capture the spirit of Halloween when it was at its peak. And, as far as opening kills go, Michael’s dispatching of what amounts to an entire fire department really does set the stage for how this movie won’t pull a single punch.
6) Halloween (2018)
A box office juggernaut success for both Michael Myers and Blumhouse, Halloween (2018) was an event for the horror genre. And deservedly so, as it made Michael scarier than he was in years.
What’s keeping David Gordon Green’s trilogy starter lower on this list than some fans might like is its occasionally jumbled structure. It’s not really a movie that breezes by, sometimes languishing with side characters that neither the movie nor the audience find particularly interesting. But it succeeds where it counts, e.g. in the neighborhood house-to-house rampage and Michael’s confrontation with Laurie.
Stream Halloween (2018) on Hulu.
5) Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch wasn’t at all what audiences wanted from the franchise at the time, or ever since in fact, but its reputation has grown in subsequent decades for good reason. This is a movie that takes some big, wacky swings and most of them work.
Halloween III is a winner because its villain, Conal Cochran, is so formidable and through-and-through evil, the lead performances by Tom Atkins and Stacey Nelkin are charming as can be, and the music is memorable. It also captures the Fall feel, which really is so integral to this franchise. It makes you want to relive your trick ‘r treating days (just without a Silver Shamrock mask on).
Stream Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Peacock.
4) Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Plenty of people say Halloween (2018) is superior to Steve Miner’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later but, without a doubt, this one is more entertaining. It’s a little too short and the perpetual mask changes are irritating, but it’s a great blending of ’90s Scream horror revitalization sensibilities and ’80s slasher heyday.
This may also have what is very well the second best ending of the franchise. Laurie swinging that axe and cutting off Michael’s head? Perfect. It shouldn’t have gone any further than that (looking at you, Resurrection).
Stream Halloween H20: 20 Years Later on HBO Max.
3) Halloween II
A pretty great sequel front to back, it’s surprising Halloween II got as much hate as it did for as long as it did. Is the Laurie Strode sibling twist necessary? No, but it isn’t a silver bullet to the franchise.
This is the closest a film in the saga has ever come to capturing the exact tone (visual and thematic) of the original film, and that alone puts it up high. It helps that it takes place literally “the same night he came home.” The hospital setting works, Dr. Loomis’ plotline hasn’t become fully redundant yet, the supporting cast is mostly charming, Halloween II is a thrilling sequel.
Stream Halloween II on Peacock.
2) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers feels more like a studio film than anything Halloween or Halloween II, but it still works extremely well. If any sequel in the franchise has made you feel like Haddonfield, Illinois is a real, lived-in place, it’s this one.
Not all of the dialogue clicks in Halloween 4, but it works in every respect it should. It breezes by, has some creative kills, the aforementioned chemistry between Rachel and Jamie is fantastic, and it actually manages to be as scary as it is entertaining. This was the return Michael deserved, even if his mask is butt ugly.
Stream Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers on AMC+.
1) Halloween (1978)
It was never going to be anything other than Carpenter’s classic. Nine out of 10 people who have seen Halloween would say it’s a perfect piece of cinema. The other one would still say it’s great.
Peeping Tom and Psycho may have set a few bricks of foundation when it comes to the slasher subgenre, but Halloween was both the remainder of bricks and the mortar. This is a tonally engrossing, perfectly paced, excellently acted masterwork. Like Jaws, it is the purest example of how more can be displayed through less.
Stream Halloween on AMC+.
Most Viewed
-
Courtesy of Toei Animation
