The Halloween Movies Ranked

The Halloween series is the elder statesman of slasher movie franchises. When the original movie premiered in 1978, it introduced Michael Myers and changed the history of the horror genre forever. Below are all the Halloween movies ranked.

Almost all the installments feature Michael Myers as the antagonist. Myers is a serial killer who is described as the essence of evil. In 1962, at the age of six, Michael commits his first murder when he stabs his older sister, Judith. His parents place Michael in a mental institution.

Fifteen years later in 1978, the now-grown Myers escapes from the institution and goes on another killing spree. He attacks a shy teenage girl, Laurie Strode, and her friends.

A Family Affair?

In Halloween II, Laurie is revealed to be Michael’s younger sister. This plot twist was adopted by all subsequent installments until Halloween (2018) which rebooted the series by ignoring all of the previous sequels.

Laurie was played by Jamie Lee Curtis in several installments of the series. She was played by Scout Taylor Compton in the 2007 remake and its sequel. Both of the remake movies were directed by controversial heavy metal rocker and horror filmmaker Rob Zombie.

Michael’s niece, Jamie Lloyd, also becomes a target in a few of the sequels. Jamie is played by Danielle Harris in Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 and by J.C. Brandy in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Danielle Harris later returned to the series as Annie Bracket in Rob Zombie’s movies.

The series is mainly set in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. Other than Laurie, Michael’s main antagonist is psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis. He is played by veteran British actor Donald Pleasence in the original series and by Roddie McDowall in the 2007 remake and 2009 remake sequel. Loomis knows that Michael is an evil supernatural force and is determined to stop him at all costs.

The series has had numerous ups and downs over the years, but that hasn’t stopped it from raking in profits for the last four-plus decades. This franchise has proven to be just as unstoppable as Michael Myers. Miramax is planning to c ontinue the franchise with a television series.

The Halloween movies in order of release

Halloween (1978)
Halloween II (1981)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (19182)
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
Halloween H20 (1998)
Halloween Resurrection (2002)
Halloween (2007)
Halloween II (2009)
Halloween (2018)
Halloween Kills (2021)
Halloween Ends (2022)

Choose Your Own Adventure

Due to numerous remakes and reboots, the “Halloween” franchise has become quite convoluted. At this point, the series resembles one of those old Choose Your Own Adventure books. There are several different ways that the series can be watched:

Original Timeline:

Halloween (1978)

Halloween II (1981)

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

H20 Timeline:

Halloween (1978)

Halloween II (1981)

Halloween H20 (1998)

Halloween Resurrection (2002)

H40 Timeline:

Halloween (1978)

Halloween (2018)

Halloween Kills (2021)

Halloween Ends (2022)

Rob Zombie’s Halloween

Halloween (2007)

Halloween II (2009)

Other: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (an independent sequel that has nothing to do with Michael Myers storyline)

The Halloween Movies Ranked

13. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

The Curse of Michael Myers is an incoherent mess, a disparate jumble of ideas thrown together into an awful script. Michael is manipulated by a druid cult that has placed a curse on him. He pursues his long-suffering niece Jamie while his geriatric psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis, continues to feebly attempt to stop him.

Sadly, this was Donald Pleasence’s last film before his death. Neither he nor his character goes out on a high note in this pathetic addition to the series. This film also marks the last appearance of Michael’s niece Jamie, who gets an utterly unsatisfying ending to her storyline.

12. Halloween Resurrection (2002)

Unless you love the idea of watching Michael Myers get beat up by Busta Rhymes, you should skip this one. The only reason that it’s ranked higher than Curse is that it has a more coherent storyline: Michael killing a bunch of people who are filming a reality show at his childhood home.

It’s a sequel to Halloween H20, but it makes that movie seem like a masterpiece. There’s no atmosphere or tension whatsoever. The less said about this movie the better.

11. Halloween Ends (2022)

Halloween Ends is a ridiculous, insultingly stupid ending to director David Gordon Green’s trilogy. Michael spends most of the movie hiding in a sewer. He is replaced by a boring copycat killer. This is the Halloween equivalent to Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, a horrible movie that replaces Jason with a copycat in a hockey mask.

Of the big three ’80s slasher franchises, how is it that Nightmare On Elm Street is the only one that had the good sense to feature its iconic villain as the main antagonist in every movie? The series is capped off (for now) with a stale, anticlimactic ending.

10. Halloween II (2009)

This putrid sequel to the 2007 remake turns Michael into an emo vagrant who fantasizes about his dead mother. Rob Zombie showed some deference to the original Halloween in his first movie, but he goes fully into his own vision here. That’s not a good thing. This is the worst version of Michael in the entire series. He’s absolutely pathetic in this movie. So is Laurie, who does nothing but scream and cry.

There’s little similarity to the original version of Halloween II, other than that some of the story takes place in a hospital. I’ve always thought Zombie was a weird fit for this series. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Hatchet would fit him much better.

9. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

This bizarre sequel has nothing to do with any of the other installments in the series. Instead of Michael, it features an evil Irish mask-making company that is plotting to murder kids with rigged Halloween masks. The masks are set to go off at midnight on Halloween, potentially slaughtering millions of children across the country at the same time (time zones don’t exist in this movie’s world, apparently).

Season of the Witch has plot holes the size of the Grand Canyon. The special effects are laughably awful. There’s a creepy and wholly unconvincing romance between an oafish middle aged detective and a gorgeous much younger woman whose father just passed away. Her method for coping with grief is banging old geezers, I guess.

On the plus side, it has a nice ‘80s synth soundtrack, and the masks look kinda cool. Too bad the storyline is so damn boring.

8. Halloween (2007)

Rob Zombie’s controversial remake attempts to humanize Myers by extensively covering Michael’s childhood, something which was glossed over in the previous films. This is the first movie where Michael talks (but only as a kid).

Unfortunately, this one has the same flaws as many of Rob Zombie’s movies: annoying redneck characters, clunky dialogue, wild overacting, and a lack of tension or suspense. The first half is innovative, but the second is just a slapdash, poorly conceived imitation of the original movie’s climax.

7. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

This one has some good scenes, like Jamie escaping from Michael through a laundry chute, but poor direction and a weak script keep it from working. This is basically a second-rate version of its immediate predecessor, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.

There are glimmers of atmosphere and style, but the film is filled with weird pretentious nonsense like the Myers house inexplicably transforming into a gothic mansion. Not to mention that Jamie is mute for no reason during the first half of the movie.

6. Halloween H20 (1998)

The Halloween series seemed almost dead after the failure of The Curse of Michael Myers, but the success of Scream in 1996 led to a revival. Jamie Lee Curtis returned to the series for the first time since Halloween II. After faking her death and changing her name, she is now the head of a boarding school in California.

But Michael Myers has finally figured out where she is, and he has unfinished business with his long-lost sister. This movie is much better than most of the sequels, but it’s kind of bland and has too many jump scares. If you like the first couple of Scream movies, this is worth a watch. It’s more professional, and has better acting, than most of the sequels.

5. Halloween Kills (2021)

Michael continues to slash his way through Haddonfield in this sequel to Halloween (2018). It picks up minutes after the previous film ended. This time, a squad of vigilantes attempts to take down Michael.

This is easily among the most violent movies of the series. There’s plenty of entertainment value for fans, but it lacks the depth and character development of the ’18 movie. If you want gore, Halloween Kills delivers in spades. But it doesn’t have a whole lot else to offer.

4. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

This movie ignores the third installment and is a sequel to Halloween II. Ten years after the events of the first two movies, Michael Myers awakens from a coma and escapes (again). He returns to Haddonfield (again) with Dr. Sam Loomis pursuing him (again).

Since his sister Laurie was killed in a car crash (this was later retconned in Halloween H20), Michael sets his sights on his niece Jamie (Danielle Harris), a young girl who is living with her teenage foster sister Rachel (Ellie Cornell) and Rachel’s parents.

Harris is quite good for her age despite being forced to say awful dialogue like “Everybody’s dead, I just wanna go home!” The chemistry between Harris and Cornell is the best part of this movie. They are truly believable as sisters and it’s easy to root for them to survive.

On the negative side, this movie lacks originality and is content to simply repeat material from the previous installments. It fails to recreate the atmosphere and creepiness of the first two movies. Also, the mask that Michael wears is unintentionally hilarious. It makes him look like a deranged mime.

3. Halloween (2018)

The franchise spent nearly a decade in hibernation after the disastrous remake of Halloween II in 2009. This installment revived the series by ignoring all of the previous sequels and reimagining the relationship between Michael and Laurie.

Michael is back to being the motiveless psychopath that he was in the original movie. Forty years after the night that changed both of their lives forever, Michael and Laurie cross paths again after Myers escapes from a bus that is transporting mental patients.

Laurie’s daughter and teenage granddaughter also battle Myers. The film examines modern true crime culture as well as the enduring effects of generational trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The fresh approach did a great job reviving the series.

2. Halloween II (1981)

Picking up exactly where the previous movie left off, Halloween II features a dynamite synth soundtrack and strong performances by Donald Pleasance and Jamie Lee Curtis. After surviving the original movie, Laurie is transported to a local hospital. Unfortunately, Michael follows her there and begins to dispose of the hospital staff. Michael finds creative uses for many of the hospital’s medical tools.

Halloween II lacks the artistry of the original film, but it’s a hell of a fun movie and the climax is wrought with tension. In terms of pure entertainment value, this might be the best of the series. The scene where Michael pursues Laurie down a long hospital hallway is a classic, and the final (for now) confrontation between Myers and Loomis is unforgettable.

1. Halloween (1978)

An all-time classic that changed horror movies forever. 21-year-old Michael Myers, a mental patient who stabbed his older sister to death when he was six years old, escapes from Smith’s Grove Hospital in late October 1978. Myers goes on a Halloween night rampage in the small midwestern town of Haddonfield. He is doggedly pursued by his psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis, played excellently by Donald Pleasence.

Director John Carpenter skillfully builds suspense without going overboard with gore. The original Halloween turned Jamie Lee Curtis into a star and had critics comparing Carpenter to Alfred Hitchcock. It would be hard to overstate the impact that Halloween had on the horror movies of the past four decades. It’s impossible to imagine that any future Halloween installment will have the same impact.

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