Few names are as iconic in the horror world as Michael Myers. Since 1978, Michael Myers has been thrilling and horrifying film audiences in equal measure. The ultimate slasher, Michael may look human, but under that intimidating exterior, he's a soulless, pitch-black monster who can only be stopped by truly lethal means.
However, as is the case with many horror villain deaths, these deaths are almost never permanent, but they do serve to give the individual movies a sense of closure and a momentary calm. Below are all of Michael Myers' deaths, from worst to best.
10 Halloween 6: Injected With Tranquilizers Then Beaten With A Pipe
Halloween 6: The Curse Of Michael Myers is a low point for the series. The central premise is a misguided attempt to explain Michael's invulnerability and the supernatural twinge of his evil - he bears the curse of the Thorn, which drives him to kill his kin.
Ironically enough, the most supernatural-tinged Michael Myers film has the lamest death for Michael - injected with a sedative by Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd) then beaten with a pipe. The ending indicates this death wasn't permanent, but considering the series rebooted after this, it might as well have been.
9 Halloween Resurrection: Electrocuted By Busta Rhymes
While The Curse Of Michael Myers is a series low-point, Halloween: Resurrection is the low point. Demolishing all the meager goodwill which the previous film, Halloween: H20 had established, Resurrection put the series in limbo for another five years.
Michael Myers' defeat, which was achieved by him being pushed into loose electrical wiring and fried, only earns second-to-last place because it's a bit more interesting than a simple bludgeon.
8 Halloween 4: Shot By Police Squad And Plunged Down A Well
John Carpenter had envisioned Halloween as an anthology series and considered the story of Michael Myers over after Halloween II. With Halloween III: Season Of The Witch, he attempted to implement the anthology approach with a totally new story, but the result was a failure.
The anthology idea having died on the vine, Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers brought the series back to its roots. As such, the film mostly functions as a low-rent recreation of the original film - while it never reaches the same heights, the kitsch does have some charm. Michael's fate, shot by a police squadron, feels like an exaggerated version of the first film's ending. That said, his seemingly lifeless body then falling down a well, a symbolic grave is a nice touch.
7 Halloween II (2009) Theatrical Cut: Shot Then Stabbed By Laurie
Rob Zombie's Halloween II has been undergoing a minor, and deserved, reassessment in recent years. His first film faltered when trying to recreate the original (any uses of Carpenter's classic score were downright distracting), but when Zombie gets to do his own thing, it works.
That said, his director's cut is considered superior to the 15-minute shorter theatrical version. In the truncated version, Michael butchers Loomis then is hit by a police sniper. Laurie approaches her dying brother, then stabs him repeatedly. She exits the farmhouse holding his mask, and the film ends with her in a sanatorium.
6 Halloween II (2009) Director's Cut: Shot By The Police After Killing Loomis
The Halloween II director's cut changes the circumstances of the ending for a different, more satisfying turn of events. Michael still kills Loomis, but in this version, he has his mask ripped off beforehand. Before he kills the doctor, he finally speaks - "Die!" Considering Loomis had spent the film exploiting Michael and his victims for some media attention, it's a satisfying moment.
Michael still gets blown away by the police, which can be a dissatisfying end for an invulnerable killer. However, the strength of Halloween II lies not with Michael, but Laurie. In this version, Laurie gets hit by friendly fire and the final scene - in a white hall, grinning at an apparition of her mother as Nan Vernon's "Love Hurts" plays - is not her being committed, but either an afterlife or dying dream.
5 Halloween II (1981): Locked In Burning Room By Dr. Loomis
The massive success of the original Halloween demanded a more direct follow-up than anyone involved in the original film had planned on. John Carpenter and co-writer/producer Debra Hill intended the sequel to be the final chapter of Michael Myers' story. Fittingly, the film ends with Dr. Loomis sacrificing himself to save Laurie and destroy Michael in a gas explosion; the very last shot of the film is a side-view close-up of Michael's lifeless, burning body.
While later writers worked around even this over-the-top demise, with Halloween II taken on its own, it makes for a fairly satisfying, no loose-ends conclusion.
4 Halloween (2007): Shot In The Head By Laurie
In Rob Zombie's Halloween duology, Michael and Laurie's sibling relationship is not a hasty retcon, but the foundation of both films. While the second one is far superior in general, the first does have a more visceral ending for the long-lost siblings. After a drawn-out chase sequence, Laurie has Loomis' gun pointed at an unconscious Michael's head.
She pulls the trigger many times, hoping to hit the loaded chamber - which she does just as Michael reawakens. As the shot goes off, the blood-drenched Laurie screams. In one of Zombie's many impactful cross-cuts, the film ends with a shot of a 10-year old Michael holding a baby Laurie.
3 Halloween (2018): Trapped In Laurie's Basement And Left To Burn
David Gordon Green's Halloween is one of the three most successful films in the series. The third act, in particular, is a crowd-pleasing delight, with two moments standing out. One is when Laurie's daughter Karen (Judy Greer) feigns fear to lure Michael towards her - cue a well-timed "Gotcha" and a shotgun blast that scrapes his head.
The second is Michael's defeat itself. Trapped in the basement by a row of blades/makeshift bars, Laurie drops a flare at The Shape's feet. Flames consume the house, and three generations of Strode women exit victorious, having confronted their shared trauma and burned it away.
2 Halloween (1978): Shot By Loomis Then Vanishes
Michael's first defeat set the chilling trend that death was only a temporary obstacle for him. After being shot by Dr. Loomis multiple times and falling off a deck, he lands in the backyard, unmoving. Then, in the blink of an eye, he vanishes. As Loomis stares off with bitter resignation and Laurie finally breaks down, the film begins a montage of locations all across Haddonfield.
Over each, Michael's breathing can be heard. The message is obvious, and it evokes his name of "The Shape" - he could be anywhere, lurking in the shadows.
1 Halloween H20: Decapitated By Laurie
There have been many attempts at delivering a "final chapter" for Halloween throughout the franchise's history. While Halloween H20 is far from a perfect film, it does feature the best demise for Michael. Thanks to Jamie Lee Curtis' return, the film resumes the conflict of the first two, between Michael and Laurie.
After Michael's defeat and the authorities' arrival, Laurie hijacks the ambulance holding her brother. Michael's awakening causes a crash - Laurie walks away unscathed, while Michael is pinned by the van. He reaches out towards her, but any kinship is cut short by Laurie decapitating him with a swing of her axe. While H20 wound up not being the final Halloween outing, if it had been, there were plenty worse notes to go out on.