Andrew Grevas
John Carpenter and Debra Hill had no idea back in 1978 that they were changing the horror genre. They set out to make a scary movie about babysitters being stalked on Halloween night. They weren’t thinking about sequels – let alone 12 of them. They weren’t thinking about Corey Cunningham’s awful night of babysitting, heavy metal musicians directing reboots or angry mobs screaming “Evil dies tonight!”. But John Carpenter’s Halloween changed everything. It kick started the slasher craze and Michael Myers became a household name. Nearly 50 years after Carpenter and Hill took the horror genre by storm, we’re doing a Halloween franchise ranking here on 25YL to celebrate the day that he came home.
Now I will freely admit that my Halloween franchise ranking looks completely different from when I started working on Horror in Haddonfield: The Untold Stories of Halloween, my book on the franchise. Some will inevitably find these rankings controversial. But I qualify myself by saying that I spent two years watching these films, writing on these films & interviewing over 25 members of the franchise cast & crew. After all that work, here are my personal Halloween franchise ranking.
13. Halloween Resurrection
With all due apologies to Busta Rhymes and his sweet karate kicks, the eighth film in the series is the franchise low point. That’s not to say that Resurrection was all bad – it’s still an enjoyable film. But the awkward H20 epilogue at the beginning of the film hurts the film more than it helps it. The fact that the movie is stand alone (besides the aforementioned epilogue) isn’t a bad thing per se – but some kind of attempt to setup future films would’ve helped. Halloween is a series built upon ongoing stories and Resurrection actively fought against that, which ultimately hurts what otherwise was a fun popcorn flick.
12. Halloween Kills
Coming in second to last in my Halloween franchise ranking is the middle film from the recent Blumhouse trilogy, Halloween Kills. I will say this – Kills functions best when you look at it as the middle part of a trilogy and not as a stand alone film. When judged on its own merits, it’s hard to overlook how the film lifts too much from franchise past (the hospital setting from Halloween II and the angry mob of Haddonfield citizens from Halloween 4) and then throws in an astronomically large body count to make up for the liberal borrowing from previous films. “Evil dies tonight” clearly wasn’t intended to become the meme worthy punchline that it’s become. That being said, the opening flashback sequence was nothing short of brilliant & Judy Greer was top notch here, so this film wasn’t all bad. But it’s second to last on the list.
11. Halloween 5: Revenge of Michael Myers
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers comes in next on my Halloween franchise ranking. The drastic tonal shift from Midwestern Americana to European Gothic from the previous film to this one caught a lot of fans off guard. The refusal to follow up on the brilliant cliffhanger ending the previous film gave them to work with was a surprise to many as well. Killing off fan favorite Rachel so early in the film…well you get the point. That being said, Halloween 5 toyed with some interesting concepts and had memorable sequences such as the one at Tower Farm. And no matter what anyone says, I will always love Tina. But not even her excessive 80’s awesomeness was enough to make this film more than a mixed bag.
10. Halloween (2007)
Rob Zombie’s first Halloween film is 45 minutes of a glimpse into every true crime documentary ever and half shot by shot faithful remake of John Carpenter’s Halloween. Not everyone embraced Zombie’s grindhouse take on a cinematic classic, but the performances can’t be denied. Zombie was at his best when he wasn’t working from the source material and giving into his artistic impulses instead, which was made abundantly evident by his far superior sequel. His first trip to Haddonfield will mostly be remembered for the violence, which is unfortunate when considering the brilliant performances from Scout Taylor-Compton, Danielle Harris and others.
9. Halloween: Curse of Michael Myers
The Curse of Michael Myers best version exists not in either the Producers Cut or the Theatrical Cut, but rather in the script. Writer Dan Farrands took on the Herculean task of trying to make a cohesive narrative out of everything that came before the sixth installment in the series. Had corporate interference at the hands of the Brothers Weinstein been a non factor, this film would likely be much higher on my Halloween franchise ranking. Farrands script was written for fans, by a true fan and it’s a travesty that his vision was hampered by some of the most vile people in Hollywood history. While the theatrical release is flawed, Marianne Hagan gave a memorable performance as final girl Kara and in the first half of the film (at least), those iconic fall vibes where on display once again.
8. Halloween (2018)
The first entry into David Gordon Green’s trilogy for Blumhouse was highlighted by Jamie Lee Curtis’ raw performance and a new cast that absolutely rose to the occasion. Curtis’ take on Laurie was drastically different from Halloween H20, where Laurie put up a tough exterior. Here, she’s visibly broken. Her Linda Hamilton from Terminator facade is enjoyable, but it’s moments such as the heart wrenching dinner scene where we see the real Laurie and what the after effects of trauma truly look like. More than any of the scares or kills, that’s what should be taken away from this film – that great talent can make even tired tropes feel fresh.
7. Halloween H20
In perhaps an ironic twist of fate, next on my Halloween franchise ranking is the other time Jamie Lee Curtis returned to the series. Her portrayal of Laurie in Halloween H20 is much more subtle here than in the 2018 incarnation. She’s masking her inner turmoil with drugs and alcohol but when the realization hits that her son is now the age she was when she encountered Michael Myers, she snapped. Halloween H20 is the shortest film in the series but not a single minute is wasted – one story beat feeds into the next, which feeds into the next. Chris Durand’s portrayal of Michael ranks as one of the best in the series and a strong supporting cast (Adam Arkin, Josh Hartnett and Michelle Williams) makes this Steve Minor directed effort feel even more significant today. Obviously the retconning of the previous four films is an issue for some, but that aside, the film is a highlight of the franchise.
6. Halloween II (2009)
Rob Zombie’s second trip to Haddonfield is one of the most divisive films in the series, but it comes in at number 6 on my Halloween franchise ranking. Rob Zombie’s Halloween II is equal parts David Lynch, Giallo and grindhouse, which makes it feel unlike anything else in the series. An argument could be made that it was the precursor to the “elevated horror” craze that shortly followed too. Rob Zombie’s Halloween II is a film that you need to feel before you try to understand. While the horror genre (and this franchise) are full of films that explore trauma, this look is unlike anything else. It’s messy, it’s vulnerable, it’s raw and arguably an analogy for what Rob Zombie himself was experiencing at the hands of the Weinsteins while making this film. If you previously weren’t a fan of this film, turn your mind off and let it wash over you in a rewatch, so you can be ahead of the impending cultural re-examination of it.
5. Halloween II
While John Carpenter himself might not be a fan of Halloween II, most others are. Picking up exactly where the previous film ended, Michael is furious that he didn’t get the girl. The foreplay is over and violence ensues. While its predecessor was Hitchcocian in nature, Halloween II is a time period appropriate slasher. Narratively the stylistic changes make sense, as the masked killer is furious after failing to kill Laurie Strode and everyone in his way will pay for that. He’s done stalking. Bring on the blood. Had this been the ending of the Michael Myers saga, it would have been perfect. Laurie gets the cute boy (in the television version at least) and Loomis and Michael die together in Shakespearean fashion. The franchise lived on but this film still holds up really well.
4. Halloween Ends
Halloween Ends at number 4 on a Halloween franchise ranking? I know, I know. We’ve all heard the criticism. Michael looked weak! They should have introduced Corey in a previous film! We were promised an epic showdown between Michael and Laurie! None of these frequently spouted on social media critiques hold much water. Halloween Ends was an epic conclusion between Michael and Laurie but it was so much more than that. It was a film that learned from the mistakes of the franchise (Season of the Witch) by not removing Michael from the story, but making the story about his impact more so than about him. This film is about Haddonfield. It’s about how a town recovers (or doesn’t recover) from tragedy. It’s about how we treat our neighbors after really bad things have happened at home. Real world violence and things that scare us have an impact on our environment. Fictionally speaking, that’s the Michael Myers effect. We didn’t need another film where Michael chased around Laurie and friends and that’s not what we got. The film we instead saw, was a film where Michael’s shadow looked tall and a town failed to get out from underneath it for years. It also showed us that evil never truly dies because we’re the ones who conjure it back through our actions and how we treat one another.
3. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers captured the spirit of the original film in this series better than any other. It’s a rare, universally loved sequel that most horror fans recognize as saving this franchise. Rachel and Jamie collectively filled the Laurie Strode role, offering a sister dynamic that was relatable for many audience members. The supporting characters in this film are some of the best in the series and the script is insanely tight, with one story best flowing into the next. Everything makes sense in this movie. Of course the ending is arguably the best in the series and one of the best shockers in horror history. Given that the next film opted to not make young Jamie the new villain of the series, Halloween 4’s ending remains one of the great what ifs in movie history.
2. Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Coming in at second in my Halloween franchise ranking is the only film to treat Michael Myers as a fictional character, Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Tom Atkins and Stacey Nelkin have tremendous on-screen chemistry in this Invasion of the Bodysnatchers inspired film, which was intended to move this franchise into an anthology series and get away from the narrative of the previous two films. Decades after its release, Season of the Witch is now beloved deservedly but for many years, it was the black sheep of the series. Perhaps best known for its incredibly bleak ending and the ever catchy jingle heard throughout the film, Season of the Witch was bold, innovative and so 80’s it hurts, but also a genre classic that’s finally getting the recognition it deserves.
1. John Carpenter’s Halloween
We’ve reached number 1 on my Halloween franchise ranking and there was only one choice here. No matter how old you were or where you were when you first saw this film, we all saw something we liked, as John Carpenter and Debra Hill changed film forever with Halloween. This film has been written about and analyzed for almost five decades now, but there’s really only thing that needs to be said: John Carpenter’s Halloween is a perfect film that will stand the test of time. Totally.
What did you think of the Halloween franchise ranking? Sound off in the comments and let us know.
