For exactly 40 years, movie audiences have been thrilled and terrified by masked serial killer Michael Myers in the Halloween film franchise. Directed and co-written by fan-favorite filmmaker John Carpenter, the original 1978 film brought slasher movies irrevocably into the Hollywood mainstream, gave the subgenre one of its most iconic killers, and launched the career of definitive scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis.

With a new film in the longrunning series poised to return audiences to Haddonfield for a final showdown between Curtis' Laurie Strode and Myers, here is a comprehensive ranking of all eleven films in the slasher franchise including its attempts to distance itself from Myers in 1982, a soft reboot in 1998, the Rob Zombie reboot in 2007, and this year's latest installment. The ranking system averages the scores between review aggregate sites Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, while providing the audience score as well. The audience score doesn't affect the average but does provide a comparison to see how professional critics regarded the films apart from the general public.

Let's begin with the worst rated installment in the entire franchise:

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11. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers - Average Score: 8

The sixth entry of the Halloween franchise closed out the Cult of Thorn trilogy that began with Halloween 4, as Michael Myers turned his attention to remnants of the Strode family that moved into his childhood home in Haddonfield and an adult Tommy Doyle (played by a young Paul Rudd) while original film star Donald Pleasence reprised his role as Dr. Sam Loomis posthumously, as he died before the film's release. Directed Joe Chappelle, there two versions of the film are available to the public, the theatrical cut released in 1995 and a producer's cut of the film that was screened for test audiences months ahead of the wide release that led to extensive reshoots.

Contemporary reviews labeled the film the worst in the entire franchise, and its reputation didn't improve in the years that followed. "By far the worst in the series, is bland and deadening," declared Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle with Daniel M. Kimmel of Variety offering a slightly softer criticism noting that the entry was a "Run-of-the-mill horror item is notable only for final appearance of the late Donald Pleasance." The film has a critics' score of 6% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 10.

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers currently holds an audience score of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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10. Halloween: Resurrection - Average Score: 15.5

The eighth installment in the slasher franchise, and the direct sequel to 1998's Halloween H20, 2002's Halloween: Resurrection marked the return of director Rick Rosenthal, who had previously directed Halloween II. After a prologue featuring the brief return of Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, the sequel follows Michael Myers as he returns to his childhood home to discover it is the subject of a web-broadcast reality series and begins hunting the contestants.

Featuring found footage-style cinematography interspersed throughout the film, shot from the characters' various body cameras, the sequel attempted to make the franchise relevant with its reality show premise, more hip-hop oriented soundtrack, and a laughably climactic fistfight between Michael Myers and Busta Rhymes. As you might expect, the film failed to connect with audiences and critics upon its initial release. "There's no evidence of craftsmanship or energy. Everything, from the plot to the execution, is plodding and obligatory," wrote James Berardinelli for ReelViews while Lou Lumenick from the New York Post observed that "it's so devoid of joy and energy it makes even [Friday the 13th sequel] Jason X ... look positively Shakesperean by comparison". The film has a critics' score of 12% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 19.

Halloween: Resurrection currently holds an audience score of 26% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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9. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers - Average Score: 22.5

The middle installment of the Thorn trilogy, the 1989 film has Michael Myers placed into a year-long coma after the events of the previous film, kept alive only by a kindly hermit. Revived the following Halloween night, The Shape kills the hermit and tracks down his niece Jamie Lloyd who has been placed under the supervision of Dr. Loomis as she develops a mysterious psychic link to her uncle.

Directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard, the fifth Halloween film was fast-tracked after the huge commercial success of its predecessor with the decision to abandon Halloween 4's implication that Jamie would follow in her uncle's murderous footsteps and instead return the focus to Myers while building his connection to a secretive druid cult. The sequel received the worst critical and commercial response at that time with Richard Harrington of the Washington Post writing it was "a prime example of the principle of diminishing reruns," while TV Guide's review dismissed the sequel as "Frustrating, confusing, loud, and offensive". The film has a critics' score of 14% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 31.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers currently holds an audience score of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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8. Halloween II (2009) - Average Score: 27

The tenth installment of the film series and a direct sequel to Rob Zombie's reboot of the franchise saw the producers give Zombie more creative freedom for the follow-up than his initial remake. With that in mind, Zombie chose to focus on the concept of Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) being intensely traumatized by the events of the previous film while learning of her familial connection to Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) as she descends deeper into her own inner darkness with Myers himself reappearing to stalk her once again. Two versions of Rob Zombie's sequel are available to the public; the original theatrical version first released in September 2009 and an unrated cut upping the violence and providing several alternate takes released on home video.

More graphically violent than its predecessor and filled with lurid, surreal imagery, Rob Zombie's Halloween II was poorly received by critics who felt the sequel's themes on the after-effects of violence were completely undercut by the requisite slasher horror featured heavily in the film. Rob Nelson of Variety wrote that the entire film was "Repellent not only in content but in visual style, writer-director Rob Zombie's hatchet job on the series he revived so artfully two years ago plays like a violent act of euthanasia," while Chuck Wilson from LA Weekly offered a slightly less harsh criticism of the film suggesting that "Zombie has talent to burn, but he's slumming here, and one suspects that he knows it". The film has a critics' score of 19% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 35.

2009's Halloween II currently holds an audience score of 45% on Rotten Tomatoes.

RELATED: Jamie Lee Curtis Shares New Halloween Poster

7. Halloween II (1981) - Average Score: 35.5

Halloween II

Taking place immediately after the conclusion of the original film, 1981's Halloween II saw co-writers John Carpenter and Debra Hill returning to co-write the second installment tying up the cliffhanger ending from the 1978 film with Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her career-making role as Laurie Strode. Still on the loose that fateful Halloween night, Michael Myers pursues Laurie to a local hospital as Dr. Loomis discovers that Laurie is actually Myers' long-lost sister explaining his murderous vendetta against her.

Carpenter declined to helm the sequel with Rick Rosenthal making the film his feature directorial debut instead. Dissatisfied with Rosenthal's original cut, Carpenter personally oversaw reshoots to up the gore for the follow-up to match the wave of slasher movies that had been released since the success of the original Halloween. Critical response was mixed with praise mainly falling to returning actors Curtis and Donald Pleasence while criticism was leveled at the considerable drop in quality from the original with the horror favoring gory kills over well-paced suspense. "It's a little sad to witness a fall from greatness, and that's what we get in Halloween II," observed Roger Ebert in his review with the Chicago Sun-Times. "This uninspired version amounts to lukewarm sloppy seconds in comparison to the original film that made director John Carpenter a hot property," declared a review from Variety. The film has a critics' score of 31% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 40.

1981's Halloween II currently holds an audience score of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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6. Halloween (2007) - Average Score: 36

After the disappointing response to Halloween: Resurrection, the producers decided to reboot the horror franchise entirely entrusting Rob Zombie with a retelling of the original film. In addition to creating his own modern version of the night Michael Myers returned to Haddonfield, Zombie expanded on The Shape's origins showing the events leading up to the slasher committing murder for the first time as a child and his obsession with the iconic mask.

The franchise's ninth installment saw strong box office performance, second only to 1998's Halloween H20: 20 Years Later without adjusting for inflation. Critical response was divided with most critics dismissing the attempts to humanize the franchise's killer and its heightened brutality under Zombie's vision. "As a sensory experience, the redo is flat. Even if giving audiences a start were Zombie's strength, fans already know when the scares are coming," wrote Tom Russo in the Boston Globe. Variety's Dennis Harvey was slightly more lenient observing that "The best that can be said about Rob Zombie's Halloween remake is that he makes it his own, though the considerable alterations only flatter John Carpenter's 1978 slasher-pic template". The film has a critics' score of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 47.

Rob Zombie's Halloween reboot currently holds an audience score of 59% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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6. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers - Average Score: 36

After the mixed reception to Halloween III with most criticism decrying the absence of the iconic killer Michael Myers, the producers decided to resurrect the masked slasher for the next installment in the series. Taking place a decade after the original film, Halloween 4 retcons Myers and Loomis' death in the fiery climax of Halloween II with both men gravely injured from the blast and Myers rendered comatose from his wounds. After overhearing that Laurie Strode had a daughter, Jamie Lloyd, in the interim, The Shape suddenly and murderously revives and returns to Haddonfield to track her and her foster family down.

The fourth Halloween's critical average is actually tied with the 2007 Rob Zombie reboot as the sixth worst (or fifth best) in the franchise. Critics and fans lauded to the return of The Shape to the series along with the return of Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis and debut of Danielle Harris as Jamie Lloyd but felt the film overall had more in common with its countless imitators since the launch of the franchise. "Of all the Halloween sequels, including the irrelevant and unwatchable Halloween III, Halloween 4 stands out as the best of a generally uninspired lot," offered James Berardinelli in his review on ReelViews while Variety dismissed the sequel as "a no-frills, workmanlike picture". The film has a critics' score of 29% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 43.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers currently holds an audience score of 53% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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4. Halloween III: Season of the Witch - Average Score: 40.5

An attempt by the filmmakers to re-position the franchise as an anthology horror series, the third installment of the series is only one not to feature Michael Myers at all. Instead, in an original story written by director Tommy Lee Wallace saw the sequel-in-name-only follow a doctor (Tom Atkins) that discovers a novelty company plot to sacrifice children nationwide with magically cursed masks on Halloween night.

As the last film overseen directly by both the original film and Halloween II screenwriters John Carpenter and Debra Hill, the confusing lack of Michael Myers disappointed audiences and critics alike leading to Halloween III earning considerably less than its predecessors at the box office. Critics were divided with the majority feeling that without its iconic slasher, the franchise had become another uninspired horror series with Roger Ebert dismissing the film in his review for Chicago Sun-Times as "a low-rent thriller from the first frame" while a positive review from Vincent Canby of the New York Times admitted that "Wallace clearly has a fondness for the cliches he is parodying and he does it with style". The film has a critics' score of 43% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 38.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch currently holds an audience score of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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3. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later - Average Score: 52

Marking the 20th anniversary of the horror franchise, the seventh Halloween film served as a soft reboot of sorts completely ignoring the events of all but the first two films in the series. Taking place exactly twenty years after the events of the original film, Michael Myers discovers Laurie Strode faked her death years ago and tracks down his sister as she attempts to live her new life in California. While Laurie protects her teenage son, she finds herself on a collision course with her murderous sibling once again.

Directed by Stephen Miner from a script originally written by Kevin Williamson (Scream), H20 marked the return of Jamie Lee Curtis after 17 years away from the franchise that launched her career. The film was the highest earning entry in the film series at that time without adjusting for inflation, earning $85 million at the global box office. Critics lauded the film as the best sequel in the entire franchise to date, a reputation it has largely maintained in the years that followed. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "Halloween: H20 is as stylish and scary as it is ultra-violent. It brings back a stunning Jamie Lee Curtis in the role that made her a star and it's a work of superior craftsmanship in all aspects," while James Berardinelli in ReelViews noted that "Now that they have produced something vaguely enjoyable, hopefully the filmmakers will let the series rest in peace". The film has a critics' score 52% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score 52.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later currently holds an audience score of 49% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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2. Halloween (2018) - Average Score: 75

halloween trailer

Taking place exactly 40 years after the events of the original 1978 film, the eleventh and latest installment of the Halloween franchise ignores the events of all but the first movie including the familial link between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. After being questioned by a true crime documentary podcast, The Shape escapes custody once again for a new bloody rampage on the unsuspecting residents of Haddonfield only to find that Laurie has spent the past four decades preparing for his inevitable return.

Premiering a month ahead of its release to the general public at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the 2018 revival received a standing ovation after its screening and garnering rave reviews with critics immediately declaring it the best sequel of the entire longrunning horror franchise for its atmospheric cinematography and underlying message of feminist empowerment and overcoming trauma. John DeFore from The Hollywood Reporter praised the film writing that "[John] Carpenter should be pleased, and so should genre buffs - for once, this is a pic their less geeky girl/boyfriends should enjoy," while Katie Walsh's review for Nerdist observed that "for all of the deep and fascinating semiotic analysis of this film, it's also just a great Halloween movie". The film has a critics' score of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 66.

Ahead of its wide release, the 2018 Halloween does not currently have an audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

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1. Halloween (1978) - Average Score: 85.5

The original classic that catapulted the slasher movie subgenre into the Hollywood mainstream, John Carpenter's Halloween saw masked killer Michael Myers escape custody and return to his hometown of Haddonfield to stalk teenage babysitter Laurie Strode and her friends when they cross him one fateful Halloween.

Directed by Carpenter, who also co-wrote the film with Debra Hill, the 1978 film was filmed in less than a month of a budget of $300,000 launching the career of then-known Jamie Lee Curtis. A surprise hit immediately upon release, the film earned $70 million at the global box office -- over $263 million after adjusting for inflation -- and spawned a wave of slasher movies looking to replicate its success including the Friday the 13th franchise. A reflective review by Dave Kehr in the Chicago Reader called the film "John Carpenter's 1978 tour de force, perhaps the most widely imitated film of the 70s," while James Berardinelli praised the film on ReelViews noting that "Halloween remains untouched -- a modern classic of the most horrific kind". The film has a critics' score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 78.

The original Halloween currently holds an audience score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Debuting October 19, the latest Halloween is directed by David Gordon Green from a script written with Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, and Andi Matichak with Nick Castle and James Jude Courtney sharing the role of masked killer Michael Myers. The film is executive produced and scored by original filmmaker John Carpenter.