#How to Watch Chronologically and by Release Date
Table of Contents
“How to Watch Chronologically and by Release Date”
This is one of the most iconic horror franchises of all time, and new fans are born every day. This year, the supposed final entry, Halloween Ends, will be released, so now is a great time to get caught up. While watching the films in order of release date is certainly an option, viewers will notice that intertwining storylines will be at odds with each other for most of the series. Here, we have compiled a simple way to organize the films in order of storylines. As stated before, many of the later sequels ignore earlier films, so this is the best way for fans to pick and chooses how they want the series to go in their viewing.
The original movie was released in 1978, and from it spawned the slasher genre. As the ’80s went on, it was clear that a new film released in the heart of the slasher boom was a smart idea. This led to Halloween II and the beginning of what we will refer to as the original timeline. This timeline follows Laurie Strode as she deals with the horrors of Michael Myers and how he impacted her life. This timeline ignores most of the movies released in the ’80s and ’90s and contains the following movies:
Halloween (1978)
This is where it all started. Halloween follows a small Illinois town as it is terrorized by an escaped mental patient. A six-year-old boy named Michael Myers murdered his sister in cold blood on Halloween night, 1963. 15 years later, Michael escapes and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield to claim more lives. His psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance), is in hot pursuit. Loomis desperately tries to warn the local police station, but by the time they take him seriously, Michael has already chosen his next victim. Michael targets Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), a young girl who spends her free time babysitting. Throughout the day, Michael stalks Laurie and her friends before striking that night.
This terrifying, largely slash-free masterclass in horror is held at such a high bar for a reason. It doesn’t need excessive gore to be scary, it uses atmosphere and suspense to create fear. The film is somewhat of a slow burner, with Michael waiting until nearly the third act to begin killing. Michael lurks in the background, causing audiences to be on edge waiting for The Shape to make his move, and when he does, it is more than worth it. Halloween (and its immediately iconic ’70s film score) had a major hand in starting a new era of horror and should be seen by anyone who claims to be a fan of the genre.
Halloween II (1981)
Taking place immediately after the original on the same night, Halloween II finds Dr. Loomis devastated to learn that six shots to the body weren’t enough to stop Michael Myers. As Laurie is taken to the hospital, Loomis sets out to find Michael, and to discover the reason behind his rampage. Michael learns where Laurie was taken and goes to finish what he started earlier that night. As with any slasher film, this film ups the body count in a far bloodier way. Michael leaves a trail of bodies in his wake and turns the hospital into his own playground. In his research, Loomis discovers the reason Michael has targeted Laurie: she is his sister.
This sibling twist supposedly came from a drunken John Carpenter, and he reportedly hated it; “I think it was, perhaps, a late night fueled by alcoholic beverages, was that idea. A terrible, stupid idea! But that’s what we did,” Carpenter said. He felt that giving Michael a motive ruined his mystery. Still, the fact that Michael and Laurie were siblings would remain canon until 2018.
Michael eventually corners Laurie, and Loomis arrives to stop him at the last moment. Loomis causes an explosion, supposedly killing himself and Michael in the process. This film feels closer to some other generic slashers of the time, but it is still a fun watch. The deaths are much more gruesome and Michael is much deadlier, with more focus on slashes than atmospheric scares.
Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later (1998)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later was the first Halloween film to feature Jaime Lee Curtis since 1981 and takes place 20 years after the original massacre. In the years following that deadly night, Laurie Strode moved to California and changed her name in an attempt to escape the trauma caused by her brother. Laurie, now under the name Keri Tate, is the headmistress of a private school and has a son.
Even though Michael Myers seemingly perished in front of her, she is still haunted by his memory. As it turns out her paranoia is warranted, as Michael is alive and has found out where she is. Once again, Laurie must fight for her life as her psychotic brother begins to rack up bodies on his way to end her. Only this time, Laurie isn’t going out without a fight.
This movie was a return to form, and many fans preferred it over the other sequels post-Halloween II. Seeing Jamie Lee Curtis return to the franchise excited fans, and many were satisfied. This film came in the wake of Scream, which changed horror and helped revive slasher films, and Halloween H20 is closer in tone to Scream than it is to Halloween. While it isn’t meta, it still has a new-age feel to it that many agree doesn’t fit in great with Halloween. Even Michael Myers seems to be dumbed-down a bit, as he is treated as a slapstick buffoon in some scenes. Overall, this isn’t a terrible entry. However, this same premise of Laurie having a rematch with Michael would happen once more in another 20 years.
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Halloween: Resurrection directly follows H20, and closes the first chapter of Michael and Laurie’s feud. Jamie Lee Curtis was all over the marketing, and fans were anxious to see the two come to blows once more. They were immensely disappointed to see Laurie die in the opening moments. In fact, that is one word many fans used to describe this film: disappointing.
H20 seemed to give Michael Myers a definitive ending. In the closing moments, Laurie decapitated Michael with an ax. This movie retcons that by stating that it wasn’t Michael in H20, but a paramedic wearing his mask. Fans saw this as cheap, and it left a bad taste in their mouths right away. The rest of the film was an attempt to cash in on the already waning popularity of the found footage genre. The plot follows a group of students who take part in a live event. They are to explore the supposedly haunted Myers house as they film their adventure via body cam. The feed is broadcast as a live web show, and the viewers soon learn that Michael is lurking in the house.
A large issue many have is that Resurrection doesn’t fully commit to the found-footage aspect. Some action is shown in a POV camera feed, but a majority is filmed as a normal movie. The movie makes Michael even more silly, by doing things such as having him get Kung-Fu kicked by Busta Rhymes. Outside the opening, this film doesn’t follow the events of the last movie, even though it was marketed as the finale of the Strode/Myers arc. While this technically was true, fans still felt cheated. The film even ends with a jump scare, showing that Michael was still alive. This was the official end of the official timeline. Many fans choose to ignore this entry, meaning that to many H20, was the true finale.
The original series of sequels following Halloween II featured an overarching story featuring Michael’s true origins. This timeline intended to show why exactly Michael was the killing machine he was. Many didn’t like this, as they believed he was scarier when he had no motive. This story arc doubled down on the Myers familial connection, showing that Michael’s true intention was to wipe out his bloodline. These are the sequels the original timeline ignored. The Thorn timeline contains Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981) as well as the following movies:
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
As many fans know, John Carpenter’s original plan for the series after Halloween II was to create an anthology of unrelated movies bearing the Halloween name. The third film was to start this trend, but it was panned (see below). Fans apparently only wanted to see Michael do his thing, so the fourth film gave them what they want.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers takes place 10 years after that tragic night, and a lot has happened. It is revealed that Laurie had a daughter named Jamie, and died in a car accident sometime before the events of the movie. Michael has been in a comatose state ever since he was set on fire in Halloween II. On the 10-year anniversary, he once again awakens and sets his sights on his niece, Jamie.
Dr. Loomis must once again track down Michael and prevent him from killing. It is clear that Michael is out to kill every member of his family, although at this point it is unclear why. Halloween 4 is a fan favorite, mostly thanks to Danielle Harris’ performance as young Jamie. While it wasn’t as well-received as the first two, fans were just happy to once again see Michael doing what he does best. The film clearly planted the seeds for something bigger, and fans wouldn’t have to wait very long for the next entry.
Back to Top
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
Less than a year later, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers saw Michael once again on the warpath for his niece. This film really began planting the seeds of the Thorn cult, as a mysterious man in black is seen lurking around in the movie. It is also revealed that Michael has a tattoo on his wrist, a tattoo of the Thorn symbol.
The last film ended on a cliffhanger, with Jamie seemingly having murdered her foster mother, carrying on her uncle’s legacy. This film reveals right away that Jamie simply attacked her foster mother, leaving Jamie a mute and placed in an institution. Jamie seems to be locked in a psychic link with her uncle, and she warns everyone that he is coming back. Dr. Loomis seeks to discover the truth behind his former patient and looks to stop him once and for all. This film begins the process of removing Michael’s mystery and where fans began to lose interest.
Halloween 5 is criticized for unceremoniously killing off likable characters in place of bland ones. It is also much of the same, with nothing really new added save for the Thorn plot. The film ends with Michael being saved from incarceration by the Man in Black. The story goes that the writers of this film knew they would not be returning, so they added in a bunch of random stuff, such as the Man in Black, for the next writers to have to resolve. This film is clearly only trying to further the franchise without telling its own story. The novelty of having Michael back was gone, and fans were only left with a mediocre movie.
Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers (1995)
The sixth Halloween film was plagued with issues right from the beginning. The film was completely finished, but the studio demanded re-shoots and script changes. This led to the filmmakers having all the cast return to hurriedly cobble together a new cut. Donald Pleasance filmed all of his scenes for the original cut but passed away before re-shoots began; they had to film around him, and it shows.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers opens with a now-adult Jamie giving birth. Michael then kills her and sets his sights on the newest member of the Myers family. This film reveals that Michael has been a pawn the entire time, as the Thorn cult placed a curse on Michael as a young boy, turning him into a killing machine. He is tasked with killing his bloodline, which is why he has been on a rampage. Loomis must join a new group of characters, including Tommy Doyle played by an ageless Paul Rudd in his first role, to save Jamie’s baby from Michael and the cult.
Making Michael an errand boy for a cult did not sit well with fans. The film bombed and led to the original cut, known as the Producer’s Cut, leaking. The Producer’s Cut was eventually officially released on Blu-ray, but most fans agree that it isn’t much better. The Producer’s Cut ends with the implication that Loomis becomes Michael’s new caretaker. Regardless of the version, this is the end of the Thorn timeline. Fans usually dismiss these movies because the Thorn trilogy takes away the mystery of Michael Myers, and are usually ignored in other timelines.
Back to Top
After the failure of Halloween: Resurrection in 2002, Michael Myers took a hiatus from the big screen. Halloween producers were scrambling to figure out a way to revive the franchise and make Myers a force to be reckoned with once more. After the success of the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 2003, it was clear the best course of action was to start fresh and remake the original.
Rob Zombie was brought onboard, which seemed like a great idea considering how the director pays tribute to ’70s and ’80s horror, and Michael was reinvented in 2007. The remake earned a sequel and created a separate timeline consisting of two movies. These films are unrelated to anything that came before, and consist of the following movies:
Halloween (2007)
Rob Zombie movies are hit or miss with many fans, and his take on Halloween is no exception. As stated before, this film is mostly just a retelling of the original. The major difference is that for the opening 40 minutes or so, audiences take a look into Michael’s youth leading into his sister’s murder. This shows a young Michael slowly losing his mind to become the killer fans know. Many fans critique these scenes for two reasons.
For one, it once again takes away the mystery of the character by showing why he kills. Showing Michael speak and behave as an actual human drove away many fans, who prefer to know as little about him as possible. The second issue is how much of an overused horror movie cliché the story of Michael is. He grows up in a horribly dysfunctional house, and he kills young animals for no reason. This seems like the backstory to any random serial killer, not Michael Myers. These scenes also seem to try and make Michael a sympathetic character, which completely goes against the point of The Shape.
However, these scenes have many fans who praise Rob Zombie for taking a classic character and making it his own. The rest of the film follows the same plot as the original. The biggest difference is that it is made clear from the beginning that Laurie is Michael’s sister. Outside a handful of changes such as Laurie shooting Michael instead of Loomis, Rob Zombie’s Halloween is a much more brutal retelling of the original classic. However, this film did exactly what it set out to do and made Michael Myers a force to be reckoned with once more.
Halloween II (2009)
While it didn’t grab everyone, Rob Zombie’s retelling of the Myers mythos was successful enough to warrant a sequel. Like John Carpenter before him, Zombie originally only intended to do a single movie. When the studio ordered a sequel, he decided to come aboard to finish the story he started. Unlike the first movie, Zombie’s Halloween II is mostly an original story. The opening portion takes place in a hospital, showing Michael tracking down Laurie. This was revealed to be a dream, however, and the bulk of the story actually takes place several years after the first movie. Rob Zombie’s Halloween II isn’t nearly as grounded as the first and actually features Michael repeatedly seeing the ghost of his mother.
Many fans didn’t like this fantasy element which led to the film being received much less favorably. Fans also disliked how Michael was portrayed this time around. He was mostly unmasked for the vast majority of the film, and his face was clearly seen. He had been unmasked in previous films, but his face was either obscured or seen in quick glimpses. Laurie is suffering from trauma this time around, although many fans feel she was handled poorly. This film has more of a cult fanbase than the last entry, and they will defend it tooth and nail. One thing that even those who dislike the movie must admit, is that Zombie truly made an original film, and actually gave it a definitive ending.
Back to Top
The original timeline was the supposed end of the story of Laurie and Michael. For years, fans hated how it all ended. They felt that Laurie deserved a better ending, and the series should have a definitive ending, not a cliffhanger. In 2018, it was announced that the two would finally have a fitting final showdown. This new series of movies from director David Gordon Green would ignore everything after the original film, including Halloween II. This means that, for the first time since 1978, Laurie and Michael were not siblings. This complete retcon was exactly what the franchise needed. The finale of this series will debut later this year, but for now, the reboot timeline includes Halloween (1978) and the following movies:
Halloween (2018)
The 2018 Halloween takes place 40 years after the original and sees Michael once again escape. In this movie, Laurie stayed in Haddonfield. She has become a shell of her former self. She has an estranged daughter and granddaughter and lives as a hermit. Laurie lives in a house armed with various weapons and traps, praying for the day Michael comes back for her. After what seems like an accidental bus crash, she gets her wish.
Donning his original mask, Michael once again takes to the streets of Haddonfield to kill anyone who gets in his way. Laurie must protect her family, while also taking Michael out once and for all. As stated before, Laurie and Michael are not related in this timeline, meaning the events of Halloween night 1978 was truly random. The film ends with a thrilling battle in Laurie’s home, with the Strode women coming out victorious.
This movie was much better received than most of the sequels, with many fans claiming it is the best since the original. Fans believe this movie does a better job at portraying Laurie with PTSD than Halloween: H20 did, even Jamie Lee Curtis herself. Audiences are happy that Laurie will get a better ending than she did in 2002. This movie was the first in a planned trilogy, with the second one picking up directly after.
Halloween Kills (2021)
Halloween Kills shows that Michael escapes his burning trap, and he emerges angrier than ever. Similar to Halloween II, Halloween Kills takes place the same night as its predecessor. Laurie and her family are taken to the hospital where they learn that Michael survived their attack. All of Haddonfield joins together in a giant angry mob, looking to tear The Shape apart. This movie has fans split, although the majority of viewers feel it was a worthy follow-up. This movie doubles down on the fact that Laurie means nothing to Michael, and their encounters truly were random. Seeing Laurie realize her obsession was one-sided is heartbreaking, and makes fans wonder what she will do next.
This film is a bloodbath, with an enraged Michael being more brutal than ever before. The film ends abruptly, leaving fans curious as to how the third film will play out. Halloween Ends will be the last movie in this timeline (and will begin with a four-year time jump) and is set to hit theaters this October. With the final film still to come, fans will find catching up with this timeline simple, and many fans agree this is the true and canon series of events.
Back to TopThis concludes all the movies featuring Michael Myers as of now. The continuity of these films can be quite messy, and newcomers may find it difficult to keep up. If they choose to just watch the movies in order of release date, most viewers will likely be able to tell when a sequel was retconned. If this is truly the first time the series is watched, it is probably best to watch them all in order of release to get the full effect. While this article went over the chronology of the various timelines, there is still one movie that was left out. That is because the third Halloween movie completely stands on its own; in fact, it doesn’t even have Michael Myers.
Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (1982)
John Carpenter never intended for Halloween to be a series. The supposed cliffhanger of the original was just supposed to scare viewers into thinking Michael Myers could be anywhere. When he was hired to do a sequel, Carpenter intended to kill Michael permanently, so he can move on. His idea was to create an anthology of films, each one containing a stand-alone story. Halloween III: Season of the Witch was to be the first of these films.
While known as a cult classic today, originally fans hated this movie simply because Myers wasn’t present. The movie follows a doctor who uncovers a plot run by the head of a toy company. Conal Cochran of the Silver Shamrock company intends to take the Halloween season back to its Celtic roots. His plans involve masks that will kill children via a trigger in a television commercial.
While fans panned the film initially, today this is a beloved ’80s cult classic that finds more and more viewers with each year. While John Carpenter’s original plan was commendable, his fatal flaw was marketing the film as the third Halloween movie when it had nothing to do with the previous two. In fact, a trailer for the first movie is seen on television, further driving the point home that this movie stands alone. While not part of any other continuity, this film should not be skipped on a watch-through. It is spooky, chilling, and has just the right amount of camp.
- Halloween – October 25, 1978
- Halloween II – October 30, 1981
- Halloween III: Season of the Witch – October 22, 1982
- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers – October 21, 1988
- Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers – October 13, 1989
- Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers – September 29, 1995
- Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later – August 5, 1998
- Halloween: Resurrection – July 12, 2002
- Halloween – August 31, 2007
- Halloween II – August 28, 2009
- Halloween – October 19, 2018
- Halloween Kills – October 15, 2021
Back to the Original Timeline of Halloween Movies in Order
Read Next
About The Author
.jpg?fit=crop&w=100&h=100){kind=avatar}
If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on Google News too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.
For forums sites go to Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com
If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our Social Media category.
