Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, and Chucky are slasher staples who have fueled lengthy franchises, but Halloween's Michael Myers has been emerging from the shadows to massacre victims for nearly 45 years. Michael Myers is practically synonymous with slashers and the character has experienced a fascinating development across films, several reboots, and a conflicting chronology.
The release of Halloween Ends concludes David Gordon Green's legacy sequel trilogy and it even appears to be the definitive end of the franchise. The public has rated the many entries in the Halloween series on IMDb, which can give fans an idea of the movies that are worthy of a rewatch.
13 Halloween: Resurrection Takes Out Laurie Strode
Score: 3.9
Halloween: Resurrection is the low point of the franchise and the sequel's poor reception finally killed off the horror property until Rob Zombie's reboot. Halloween: Resurrection is a product of its time and its grand idea involves an internet reality show that's broadcasting from Michael Myers' old house.
Busta Rhymes' karate beatdown on Myers is far from the franchise's high point and it's almost strange enough to make audiences forget that Resurrection begins with the tragic death of Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode. It’s an aimless slasher film where no one even bears a connection to Michael Myers.
12 Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers Gets Lost In Its Lore
Score: 4.7
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is the sixth entry in the series and it’s forced to resolve many of the intentionally vague loose threads from The Revenge of Michael Myers, including the identity of the enigmatic Man in Black. There are two different cuts for The Curse of Michael Myers, both of which make some polarizing decisions regarding the series’ lore.
The Cult of Thorn is the breaking point for most Halloween fans and the franchise goes dormant until its first legacy sequel. If nothing else, The Curse at least entertains with Paul Rudd as grown-up Tommy Doyle in one of his first professional acting roles.
11 Rob Zombie’s Halloween II Explores Michael And Laurie's Trauma
Score: 4.8
Rob Zombie’s second Halloween film has more to say than its predecessor and it attempts to do something interesting with the uncomfortable familial connection between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode. Halloween II takes greater visual risks as Michael is periodically haunted by Lynchian visions of his deceased lover.
The sequel explores Laurie’s trauma from the first movie and even teases the idea that she could become Haddonfield’s next masked killer. Halloween II benefits from getting away from Michael’s childhood, but it’s still viewed as a lesser movie.
10 Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers Begins To Mess Up Michael’s Mythology
Score: 4.9
A lot of the understandable frustration that's directed at Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is that it fails to properly pay off the genuinely unnerving end of Halloween 4. Its predecessor concluded with the implication that Jamie Lloyd, Michael's niece, is the next recipient of this ancient evil.
Halloween 4 introduces interesting, albeit unnecessary ideas, but Halloween 5 is reckless with its plotting. Jamie and other valuable characters are discarded and the growing emphasis on the Cult of Thorn is the beginning of the end for the franchise.
9 Halloween Ends Is A Messy Finish That Turns Michael Into A Supporting Player
Score: 5.0
Halloween Ends, the conclusion to David Gordon Green’s "legacy sequel trilogy" to the 1978 original, is a confusing finish that only weakens its predecessors. Set four years after the events of Halloween Kills, Michael has retreated to the sewers and doesn’t even show up until halfway through the movie. Instead, Halloween Ends focuses on a new character, Corey Cunningham, who’s set up as Michael’s spiritual successor.
The pivot towards Corey falls flat and the movie doesn't quite hone in on the supernatural implications of Halloween Kills. Even Laurie’s arc is jarring, though her conclusion as horror's most iconic final girl is somewhat satisfying.
8 Halloween III: Season Of The Witch Ditches Michael Myers For Supernatural Horrors
Score: 5.1
John Carpenter’s original plan for the Halloween series after the “conclusion” of Michael and Laurie’s story in Halloween II was to turn it into an anthology series. However, the initially polarizing reception of Halloween III: Season of the Witch promptly ended these plans and brought Myers back in full force for Halloween 4.
Season of the Witch is an excellent, off-kilter horror film with almost apocalyptic stakes. The cursed masks and creepily sweet recurring jingle have helped the standalone sequel become a cult classic over time. However, its rating is still hurt by its lack of Michael Myers.
7 Halloween Kills Verges On Satire As Haddonfield Pledges To End Evil
Score: 5.5
David Gordon Green’s Halloween Kills left many fans confident about the direction of the subsequent two sequels that were quickly announced. 2018’s Halloween demonstrates a proper understanding of Michael Myers’ ethos, but Halloween Kills is considerably sloppier.
Halloween Kills explores the dangers of mob mentality as Haddonfield’s residents reach chaotic heights in the name of “evil dying tonight.” Strangely, Laurie is sidelined for most of the movie as she recovers in the hospital. Unfortunately, Halloween Kills has a meandering plot.
6 Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers Gets Back To The Series' Basics
Score: 5.8
Halloween 4 learns from the mistakes of its standalone predecessor. Dwight Little's film makes sure that Michael's return is properly intimidating. Laurie Strode is now out of the picture, but Danielle Harris emerges as Jamie Lloyd, Michael's niece and a substantially younger target.
There's palpable fear that surrounds Jamie and Dr. Loomis functions with a newfound ferocity. The sequel’s ending might even be the best conclusion to any Halloween movie, including the original. Halloween 4 gets a lot right and to many, it’s superior to the original’s first sequel.
5 Halloween H20: 20 Years Later Reunites Laurie And Michael After Two Decades
Score: 5.8
Horror fans were quick to celebrate when 2018’s Halloween announced that it would bring back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, but this same creative gimmick was previously turned to in 1998’s Halloween H20. Halloween H20 received plenty of criticism at the time and its teen-centric focus on Laurie’s son was very much a response to the success of Scream.
More audiences have turned around on H20 in recent years. Additionally, David Gordon Green’s sequel trilogy makes it easier to appreciate the trauma that Laurie carries in H20 and the cathartic note that it goes out on.
4 Rob Zombie’s 2007 Halloween Reboot Gets Into The Psychology Of Michael Myers
Score: 6.0
Halloween was finished after the disastrous efforts of Halloween: Resurrection. It’d take the franchise five years to pull itself back together, but 2007’s Halloween would reboot the series instead of building upon its predecessors. Rob Zombie is a compelling filmmaker who has a distinct visual aesthetic, which is fully on display in his remake.
Zombie’s take on Halloween features a lengthy prologue during Michael Myers’ youth that attempts to explain his murderous impulses and conflicted nature. It’s a fresh take with gratuitous gore that succeeds as a horror movie, but it’s not necessarily the best Halloween film.
3 1981’s Halloween II Carries Michael’s Halloween Night Carnage Over To A Hospital
Score: 6.5
John Carpenter didn’t make the original Halloween with the intention of it turning into a franchise that accrues more than a dozen entries. However, his input regarding the first Halloween sequel is impressive. Halloween II benefits from how it picks up immediately after the events of the first movie and gives Laurie no reprieve.
Michael is menacing in Halloween II and the switch to a hospital setting actually inspires some effective executions. Halloween II is also notorious for instigating the idea that Michael is so determined to take out Laurie because she’s actually his sister. However, many fans prefer that Michael is just an unbiased force of destruction.
2 2018’s Halloween Legacy Sequel Introduces A Newly-Hardened Laurie Strode
Score: 6.5
Legacy sequels are the latest trend in not only the horror genre, but also in all of film and television. Candyman, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and soon The Exorcist have all gone down the legacy sequel route. 2018’s Halloween taps into the primal rage that Laurie Strode has carried for 40 years.
There’s a patience to 2018’s Halloween that works in Michael’s favor and it prospers from dropping the sibling connection between him and Laurie. Audiences couldn’t have known that the success of 2018’s Halloween would result in two sequels that seem to be at odds with their themes and message.
1 John Carpenter’s Original Halloween From 1978 Remains An Iconic Slasher Classic
Score: 7.7
John Carpenter is responsible for some of the most impressive and terrifying horror films to come out of the 1970s and '80s between films like The Thing, Christine, and the foundational slasher movie, Halloween. One of the greatest detriments to the film’s many sequels is that they get too bogged down in clever concepts and surprise reveals. The original movie works so well because Michael Myers is a cryptic force of nature.
Each subsequent movie has diminishing returns with what it does with this universe. The atmosphere, cinematography, and simplicity of Michael’s murders are all at their best in 1978’s Halloween.