The Halloween franchise is one of the most iconic and enduring series in the horror genre. Created by John Carpenter, the original Halloween film was released in 1978, introducing audiences to the masked and relentless killer, Michael Myers, who has now been haunting every October 31 for over four decades.
Halloween kicked off the Golden Age of Slasher Films, which lasted from 1978 to 1984. In the years following its release, over a hundred films borrowed Carpenter's frightful, yet effective, formula: a menacing and mysterious figure — usually masked and silent — hunts down an attractive group of young adults, picking them off one by one with increasingly gruesome methods. Integral to his recipe for horror is the concept of the "final girl" — the last woman standing who somehow manages to fight another day. And another day. And another day (slasher films tend to have lots of sequels). So many sequels, in fact, that keeping them straight can be a downright laborious task (there are three separate films simply called Halloween — all entirely different. What a mess! How confusing!) But not to worry, horror fans, we're here to help.
Here's how to watch every single film in the expansive and iconic Halloween franchise in chronological order.
Halloween (1978)
Set in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois, a chilling prologue shows a six-year-old Michael murder his teenage sister before being hauled off to a mental hospital. Fast forward 15 years, and Michael breaks out of the institution, steals a bunch of murder supplies and his iconic mask, and gets to stabbing. He becomes obsessed with a young woman named Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and stalks her relentlessly, cutting down anyone who comes between her and his knife.
Filmed on a shoestring budget of $325,000, the independent film earned a whopping $47 million and established Michael as an icon.
Halloween: TV Version (1981)
(1978 Compass International Pictures)
While technically the same film, the TV version developed for NBC introduces elements that radically alter the canon. Carpenter needed to add eight minutes of runtime to fill the network television slot, but says "there was nothing to add." So, he came up with the controversial plot line of Laurie being Michael's other sister, a decision despised by many fans. Carpenter himself thought it was far scarier when there was no rhyme or reason to Michael's killings. "It was awful, just awful," he said of the decision. "But I did it."
Halloween II (1981)
(Universal)
The sequel picks up with Laurie in the hospital, recovering from the injuries she sustained fending off Michael in the original. Michael continues his murderous rampage, slaughtering nurses in the dimly-lit corridors of the hospital as he hunts Laurie. It also mentions that Laurie is indeed Michael's sister — a plot thread that would follow the franchise until the 2018 reboot.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
(Galaxy)
To watch the Halloween franchise in chronological order, we have to skip the third installment as it heads in a wildly different direction — it doesn't even have Michael in it — hence the title of the fourth film proudly announcing his return. The Return of Michael Myers takes place 10 years after Halloween II, with Michael waking from a coma. Laurie has died in a car accident, so instead he hunts down her daughter, Jamie Lloyd. As the night progresses, Jamie becomes entangled in Michael's murderous path, and she struggles against his evil as it threatens to influence her as well.
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
(Magnum)
Michael awakens on Halloween from yet another coma (he ate several bullets and took a tumble down a mineshaft in Halloween 4) and sets out once again to kill Jamie, who has developed a psychic connection with him and is living in a children's clinic after their traumatizing first encounter. As the body count rises, Dr. Loomis, Michael's former psychiatrist, teams up with a troubled police officer to try and stop the relentless killer and protect Jamie from his vengeful wrath.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
(Dimension)
This one features an appearance from a young Paul Rudd. Six years after the previous film, Michael Myers and Jamie Lloyd are abducted by a cult led by the mysterious Man in Black. Jamie escapes and gives birth to a baby on Halloween Eve. She is pursued by Michael, who eventually kills her, but the baby is taken by a man named Tommy Doyle (Rudd). Tommy teams up with Dr. Loomis and Kara Strode — a relative of Laurie — to protect the baby from Michael and the cult's nefarious plans.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
(Getty Images)
H20 marked the 20-year anniversary of the original — and Laurie is back from the dead. Turns out she faked her death in the car accident to escape Michael and now works as the headmistress of a private boarding school, Hillcrest Academy. But she lives in constant fear of Michael's return — a fear realized when Michael tracks her to Hillcrest and students start dropping left and right. With the help of her boyfriend, Will, Laurie fights back, seeking to rid the masked menace from her life for good.
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
(Dimension)
At long last, Michael finally succeeds in killing Laurie. Somebody gets the bright idea to hold an internet reality show at Michael's childhood house — so very 2002! — and as the participants search for clues, Michael returns on Halloween night and begins thinning the competition one by one. This one also sees Tyra Banks and Busta Rhymes joining the bloody action.
Halloween (2018)
(Ryan Green - Universal Pictures
After H20 and Resurrection failed to recapture the gory thrills of the original, a 30-year anniversary reboot was attempted with Director David Gordon Green at the helm. The film scraps the plot points laid down by every sequel that came before it, including Laurie's death and the sister-brother relationship between her and Michael, and starts fresh with Laurie having lived a quiet suburban life since the events of the original. Characters even dismiss her being related to Michael as "something people made up." Perhaps this is because Carpenter, who hates that sibling plot point he conjured up to appease NBC, came on board as an executive producer and composer — his first return to the series since Halloween III. "This was as good as I've seen since we did the first movie," he said of the reboot.
Halloween Kills (2021)
(Ryan Green - Universal Pictures)
Immediately after the events of 2018's reboot, Laurie recovers in the hospital as her home burns with Michael in the basement. But Michael rises from the inferno, his silhouetted form murdering firemen against the backdrop of flames, and continues his rampage yet again. This film is more about how the town responds to the chaos of a murderer on the loose (with all the tact and grace of headless chickens) and sets up a final showdown between Michael and Laurie.
Halloween Ends (2022)
(Universal)
This is the conclusion of the David Gordon Green trilogy and Laurie's last stand against her no-longer-brother, Michael. Sometime in the future, the Halloween franchise and Michael will probably find a way to stir from their comas and terrorize a small town or a hospital, or a boarding school once again. But it's safe to assume this is the swan song for cultural icon and OG final girl, Jamie Lee Curtis.
Halloween (2007)
(Dimension)
This Rob Zombie-directed reboot takes place in an entirely different universe than the others. It shares a similar plotline to the original (as well as its name) but focuses more on the demented psyche that makes Michael Myers Michael Myers: his growing obsession with masks, his increasingly withdrawn and tormented personality. The film has a more gruesome edge to it, which is typical of Rob Zombie's work.
Halloween II (2009)
(Dimension)
This Rob Zombie sequel takes place immediately after the first and picks up with Laurie being taken to the hospital after her confrontation with Michael, who has survived his gunshot wounds and is plagued by visions of his mother's ghost. He sets out to "reunite" the family with Laurie, who has been having similar hallucinations. Things take an unexpected turn as the bloody family reunion comes to a head.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
(Universal)
This film began an entirely new story separate from the others. No Michael Myers. No Jamie Lee Curtis. Instead, there's an evil scheme involving a deadly TV commercial, Halloween masks that contain microchips built with pieces of Stonehenge, and other weird sci-fi and fantasy elements. Upon release, the film was panned by fans and critics alike but has since gained a loyal cult following.
