Ranking the ‘Halloween’ Franchise Movies, From Best to Worst

The Halloween franchise featuring masked boogeyman Michael Myers has doled out seasonal scares since John Carpenter’s original movie debuted in 1978. That seminal slasher film introduced moviegoers not only to Michael Myers, but also survivor Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and the obsessive Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence).

To date, there are 13 movies in the Halloween franchise, 3 of which are confusingly named Halloween. There are also five timelines involved, including a few that pretend like select previous sequels never happened, a stand-alone entry that has nothing to do with Michael Myers, and a remake and its sequel directed by Rob Zombie.

The Halloween franchise has made more than $884 million worldwide and continues as an October binge-watch favorite at home. Which ones do you think are “tricks” or “treats”?

Halloween (1978)

John Carpenter’s seasonal slasher Halloween is about an escaped mental patient named Michael Myers who returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois to stalk and terrorize babysitters on Halloween. The movie introduced audiences to scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays “final girl” Laurie Strode.

Because of its innovative camerawork, instantly recognizable minimalist score, and blank-faced boogeyman who embodies pure evil, Halloween became one of the most influential slasher films in history. No other sequel, remake, reboot, or requel in the franchise comes close to capturing the chilling atmosphere created by Carpenter in the 1978 original. The movie also made future Oscar winner Curtis a star and one of the most enduring scream queens in history.

Halloween (2018)

Set 40 years after the events in John Carpenter’s seminal slasher Halloween, David Gordon Green’s imaginatively titled Halloween features the return of Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, who has been preparing for a final confrontation with killer Michael Myers for decades at the expense of her family and own happiness.

Although the Laurie character seems to have died in the abysmal 2002 sequel Halloween: Resurrection, 2018’s Halloween hits the reset button and ignores all of the other Halloween movies except the 1978 original. Without the confusing plot baggage some of those shoddy sequels introduced to the franchise, the 2018 Halloween effectively strips the movie down to its essence: good vs. evil.

This heart-pounding, course-correcting sequel became a treat at the box office and spawned two sequels, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends.

Halloween II (1981)

Halloween II, directed by Rick Rosenthal, picks up moments after the end of 1978’s Halloween with Michael Myers still on the loose while medics transport Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) to a nearby hospital. In this timeline’s first sequel, we learn that Laurie and Michael are siblings, which explains Michael’s motivation for returning to Haddonfield to try to kill his other sister.

Although Halloween II leans into gore more than the suspenseful 1978 original, it features the return of original stars Curtis and Donald Pleasance as Dr. Loomis. There are also enough shots of darkly lit, creepy hospital corridors to make you rethink that next inpatient procedure.

Halloween II‘s explosive ending seems to wrap up the Michael Myers story, but like the character Tommy Doyle says, “You can’t kill the boogeyman.” Many more movies featuring Michael Myers followed.

Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (1998)

In Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later we learn that Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) faked her death and is living as Keri Tate — the headmistress of a private boarding school in California — who hopes that Michael Myers isn’t still out there and coming for her and her son, John (Josh Hartnett). Spoiler alert: he is.

Halloween H20 arrived shortly after the first two Scream movies reinvented slasher films and showed reverence to 1978’s Halloween. H20, the seventh film in the Halloween franchise, ignores the events of all the other sequels except for 1981’s Halloween II. In the 1998 sequel, Curtis reclaims her scream queen crown after staying away from the horror genre for years. The triumphant ending shows Laurie seemingly finishing off Michael once and for all, but the dubious sequel Halloween: Resurrection retcons H20‘s satisfying conclusion (more on that later).

A Halloween H20 bonus treat is that Curtis’ mother, Psycho star Janet Leigh, appears as Keri Tate’s secretary. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that Leigh drives away in the same car she drove in Psycho.

Halloween Kills (2021)

In the first sequel to David Gordon Green’s Halloween requel, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is taken to a hospital to recover from her injuries sustained during her epic battle with Michael Myers. When the denizens of Haddonfield discover that Michael escaped Laurie’s trap and is still on the loose, a crazed mob sets out to finish off the notorious boogeyman once and for all.

The best part of Halloween Kills is the 1978 flashback scene that retcons what happened after Laurie and Dr. Loomis confronted Michael and he disappeared into the night. The mob scenes set in the present day with a fired-up Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall) shouting “Evil dies tonight” are a little cringe, but the return of original Halloween stars Nancy Stephens as Marion Chambers, Charles Cyphers as Leigh Brackett, and Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace is a treat for longtime fans.

As with 2018’s Halloween, original Halloween director and composer John Carpenter returns to create an intense, atmospheric synth soundtrack for Halloween Kills.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

In Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, we learn that Michael has remained in a catatonic state since the explosion at the end of Halloween II. While medics transport Michael in an ambulance during a patient transfer, Michael learns that he has a niece, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris). This awakens Michael from his decade-long slumber and prompts him to escape yet again and return to Haddonfield to stalk Laurie Strode’s daughter. Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) returns again to hunt down Michael in Haddonfield.

After the Michael Myers-free sequel Halloween III: Season of the Witch failed to excite audiences, producers revisited the Michael Myers storyline and clarified that both Michael and Loomis survived the events of Halloween II. Jamie Lee Curtis did not return for this sequel, which is why the character of Laurie Strode is said to have died, leaving Jamie an orphan.

Although Halloween 4 doesn’t reinvent the slasher genre, it features some eerie shots and chase sequences that are reminiscent and respectful of the first two movies. Too bad the new mask, which Michael lifts from a drug store, looks so cheap and rubbery.

Halloween Ends (2022)

Halloween Ends is the 13th and most recent installment of the Halloween franchise as well as the third movie in David Gordon Green’s trilogy. The movie is notable for featuring the final on-screen battle between Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers.

The primary — and 100% legit — complaint about Halloween Ends is that it introduces a new character named Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) who becomes a sort of protégé of the real Michael Myers, who has been badly injured and living in the sewer since the brutal beating he received in Halloween Kills. Although the narrative at first makes it seem as if Corey might end up becoming the new Michael Myers, the Corey character doesn’t even live to see the end credits, which makes the character’s protracted screen time seem a bit pointless.

If you’re a fan of the Laurie Strode character and Curtis’ portrayal of her, you’ll want to see everyone’s favorite “final girl” face off against Michael one last time and grind him into hamburger. It’s a redemptive conclusion for her character after being killed off in other Halloween timelines.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch tried to move away from the Michael Myers storyline and make the Halloween franchise an anthology series. In Halloween III, the sinister owner of a Halloween-mask factory hatches a plan to kill thousands of children wearing the masks on Halloween when a microchip embedded in each mask is triggered by watching the irritatingly catchy TV commercial for Silver Shamrock novelties.

Although Halloween III turned a profit, it didn’t make as much money as the previous two installments and producers went back to the Michael Myers storyline for Halloween 4. Critics were not kind to Halloween III: Season of the Witch during its initial release, but the movie has since become a cult favorite. Halloween III merchandise and masks can still be found today.

Halloween (2007)

Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake imagines a young Michael Myers as the product of an abusive home who grows up to become a hulking psychopath. The movie recasts Dr. Loomis with Malcolm McDowell, Laurie Strode with Scout Taylor-Compton, and Annie Brackett with Danielle Harris, who plays a different character, Jamie Lloyd, in another Halloween timeline. Sheri Moon Zombie plays Michael Myers’ mom.

If you’ve seen any of Zombie’s horror movies, you know that his design aesthetic is “grimy 1970s gas station bathroom.” The movie is ugly to look at and extremely violent, but at least he made the character of Michael Myers a brutal, terrifying on-screen presence again. Whether you imagine the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois as anywhere in America, like in the 1978 movie, or as some redneck wasteland, like in Zombie’s remake, is a matter of taste.

Halloween II (2009)

In this sometimes surreal sequel to Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake, Michael Myers still tries to reunite with his sister, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton), as Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) does a book tour exploiting the massacre. Sheri Moon Zombie appears in bizarre visions as Michael’s mother.

Halloween II retains the grimy esthetic of 2007’s Halloween and makes matters worse by depicting Dr. Loomis as a greedy opportunist, Laurie Strode as a shrill whiner, and Michael as a towering lumberjack who looks like Zombie on steroids when unmasked. The movie has a very different alternate ending that one can watch on disc, but neither ending satisfyingly concludes Zombie’s take on the Michael Myers story.

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is the sixth film in the Halloween franchise and the last one to feature Donald Pleasence, who passed away in 1995, as Dr. Loomis. Paul Rudd made his film debut in this sequel as Tommy Doyle, the little boy that Laurie Strode babysat in the original Halloween.

The theatrical cut of Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is so choppy and confusing that critics and audiences lambasted it. A drastically different and somewhat improved Producer’s Cut circulated for years before Scream Factory finally released it on Blu-ray. Although the Producer’s Cut has its fans, the convoluted “cult of Thorn” plot line of this and the previous movie wore thin and franchise producers wisely went in another direction with the next film, Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers takes place a year after the events in Halloween 4 when Michael’s niece, Jamie Lloyd, survived her uncle’s rampage only to attack her adoptive mother. This sequel explores a telepathic link between Jamie and Michael as the latter returns to Haddonfield and goes after his young niece again. Donald Pleasence returns as Dr. Loomis — now more like a crazed Captain Ahab going after his white whale.

The biggest misstep in Halloween 5 is continuing the “cult of Thorn” storyline, which imagines a cultlike cast of characters pulling Michael’s strings. The other fatal flaw is quickly killing off the previous film’s heroine, Rachel Carruthers (Ellie Cornell), to focus on her obnoxious friend Tina (Wendy Kaplan) — arguably the most annoying character in this or any franchise. You’re not supposed to root for the killer in a slasher movie.

Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

This eighth installment of the Halloween franchise is about an Internet reality show called Dangertainment that is filmed at the Myers house. Unbeknownst to the cast and crew, Michael Myers is still alive and has returned home.

Halloween: Resurrection is the worst movie in the entire Halloween franchise, which is somewhat surprising given that Rick Rosenthal — the director of the fan-favorite sequel Halloween II — directed this atrocious entry. After Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) seems to have chopped off the head of Michael Myers at the end of Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later, we learn that Michael put his mask on a paramedic’s head, meaning that Laurie killed an innocent man. This lands Laurie in a mental hospital, where Michael tracks her down and kills the iconic character in the movie’s opening scene.

After dropping the franchise’s beloved heroine off a roof, the action turns to the Myers house where characters played by the rapper Busta Rhymes and supermodel Tyra Banks are filming their lame reality program. At one point, Rhymes karate-chops Michael and blurts, “Trick or treat,” and you realize the only one tricked was you and anyone who paid to see this garbage.