Halloween series review

This will be a lengthy blog entry please take as many breaks as possible. Yes I am also reviewing both Rob Zombie Halloween movies. I won't be including the newest entry since I rather cover that in it's own blog. Halloween in many ways was huge inspiration for me. I am also throwing in a surprise at the end that most of you won't expect.

Hi everyone I'm Jack Red, it was during my child hood one of the slasher names I heard all the time was Michael Myers. One year my brother dressed up as Michael for Halloween. I figured since Halloween is next month I should review most of the Halloween movies. I already done a full detail review on Halloween 6 so I won't be saying much on it.

I should mention video game wise Michael Myers has appeared in Call of Duty: Ghosts & Dead by Daylight. Before those he appeared in a rare Atari 2600 game loosely based on the original Halloween movie. It so happens the people behind it were the publishers of the first two Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies & Atari 2600 game.

Before we even dive right in we really need to go over the big problem I have with Halloween series. The original movie series is surprisingly split up in several time lines. Rob Zombie's Halloween remake series is very straight forward. OMG this topic can be confusing as well as frustrating to talk about.

Also Halloween 3 took place outside all these events. Thus after the sudden change back to Michael Myers became a stand alone movie. But a lot of people ended up criticizing it like no tomorrow. Just like in my big review of Halloween 6, I am going to say I like Halloween 3. Sure it is very different from the rest of the Halloween movies.

At the same time, Halloween 3 sorta needed to stand out in it's own right. There's a lot of unrelated Halloween movies that are just as good or in some ways better than the best Halloween movies. I felt it did a great job showing off the actual holiday. This movie for all sense & purposes really doesn't deserve all the hate it gotten.

Timeline #1: Halloween 1, 2, H20 and Resurrection


Timeline #2: Halloween 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6


Timeline #3: Halloween 1978 & 2018


Some franchises like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are all over the place in canon. It isn't exactly clear why this happened in the first place. This also hurts trying to marathon the canon events but you really aren't sure which movies would those be. Regardless I am a fan of this franchise hard to believe this year it has been forty years.

To help give you an idea how confusing this can get. Special Thanks to James Rolfe for making a great video on the topic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpc7eYkVmXk

1. Halloween (1978)

Believe it or not, a good while after it's release Halloween was considered a bad movie. Keep in mine slasher movies wasn't that big even after movies like Psycho. After one review people started liking the movie. Halloween as the title suggest takes place on Halloween stalking a baby sister. There's plenty of holiday theme horror movies today.

Back then there wasn't that many with mostly Christmas horror movies. Halloween could be also seen for jump starting holiday theme horror movies. Michael Myers has always been one of my favorite slasher villains of all time. There isn't a lot of deaths in the movie but it still scared a lot of people.

This was Jamie Lee Curtis' first role as Laurie Strode to sorta mirror her mother's role in Psycho. She plays the baby sister in question that Michael been stalking. They don't reveal much of Michael's past although it works very well. This movie is a solid beginning to a now legendary franchise. I really wish all of them held up amazingly well but nope.

Halloween stands out in many ways from other slasher movies. Michael is rarely seen without his mask. The original actor almost got to play Michael in the upcoming 2018 movie. I should mention besides Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser until Revelations, Candyman, Phantasm, Re-Animator & Maniac Cop has one particular actor playing a famous slasher villain.

Like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre & Friday the 13th, they kept changing actors that plays Michael. This movie gives off the actual feeling of being stalked by someone. You never know Michael could be stalking you too jk. Michael's mask is actually an altered William Shatner face mask. There just something scary about a white face.

I'm not talking racism I meant literately white. Halloween has one of my absolute favorite horror movie theme songs. This movie really holds up amazing well in many ways. Dr. Loomis is a great hero character that wants to stop Michael. A long standing rivalry that since then became legendary. Halloween is a must watch especially for slasher fans.

2. Halloween 2 (1981)

I started not liking this movie growing up for many reasons. More recently I came to respect it after all these years. Halloween 2 is sorta in the middle of 2's in horror movies for me. It simply isn't great or terrible by any means. There are some weird stuff about this movie that I will be covering later on. Continuing after the final scene of the previous movie.

Laurie is rushed to the hospital while Michael searches for her. You find out Laurie is one of his sisters. To me it felt like they didn't give themselves enough time to make this movie. It is clearly better than many rushed out movies. I always liked the cover shown above. There is several different covers just like the original Halloween.

There's some brutal kills but I always felt they could've been done better. Even changing one of the later kills would've changed my opinion on this movie. Maybe to me this felt heavily restricted not in terms of violence like some Friday the 13th movies. But they really tried to tell a story that felt loosely connected.

It's difficult to explain exactly why I felt that way. Halloween 2 is for all purposes one of the best Halloween sequels. Honestly I do need to talk about a part of this here since it happened at the end of this movie. Originally that explosion at the end killed Dr. Loomis & Michael. Thus the timeline debate starts getting confusing here.

Halloween 2 isn't as great as the previous movie. It does have a better beginning credits scene. We don't learn that much about Michael that works both ways. It is difficult for me to recommend this unless you really want to watch all the Halloween movies. It is by no means a master piece but it still good enough for a few watches for the most part.

3. Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)

Originally they planned in making each new entry a different story centering around Halloween. After they decided to kill off Michael Myers. Unfortunately this led to a huge upset from fans demanding to bring back Michael. Obviously they gave in very quickly. Halloween 3 is a rather unusual movie.

Dr. Challis gets involve with the mystery Lucky Shamrock company. A lot of weird things occurring all tied to them. Most killers in this movie is actually androids that could act to some ways like humans. Their leader is Cochran has a history with witchcraft. He wants things to go back to the old ways by doing something pretty horrible.

This is technically more of a thriller in some ways. These androids do remind me a little of Michael Myers. End of the day I rather have Michael hands down. Honestly this movie is better than some Halloween movies. I actually like the actual holiday plays more of a role this time around. Halloween 3 does have a different theme that I still like.

Speaking of that theme song, Stephen King in a trailer for Maximum Overdrive reused that song. This movie felt more like a conspiracy kind of movie. I do feel sorry for all those families possibly loss during the ending. Their plan is each mask has a small piece of Stonehenge hidden with a microchip in the company logo.

When a particular broadcast starts most kids wearing the masks dies from severely brain damage. At the same time some creatures like insects & snakes comes from those kids to possibly kill their families. OMG this is so cruel on so many levels. This surprisingly one of the darkest entries of Halloween franchise.

Bonus facts
One interesting fact the voice of the intercom is Jamie Lee Curtis. Not a lot of Halloween fans knows she was involved with this movie. It wasn't until Halloween H20 she becomes involved with the franchise once again. More recently reprising Laurie in the upcoming 2018 Halloween movie. She has a history with Halloween franchise.

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

This is where the second timeline started to go into another direction from other Halloween movies. Halloween 4 takes place ten years after Halloween 2. Honestly this is one of my favorite Halloween movies for many reasons. For this time line it was the true Halloween 3 a lot of people wanted including myself. Jamie Lee Curtis declined to return that led to them killing her character off screen.

Wait they easily could've made a excuse about her being inside a hospital or in jail or over seas. Anything would've worked better than this. All you guys done is piss off Laurie fans. This entry focuses on Michael's niece Jamie Lloyd. A little girl now being stalked by her uncle. Some of my favorite kills are in this movie.

Halloween 4 for the most part felt like a true sequel since a lot of things you expected from the original is present here. Including Dr. Loomis is still trying to stop Michael once again. This movie has plenty of great stuff going for it. Sadly beyond this it quickly goes right down the toilet I'm not kidding.

I felt they did a great job keeping Michael fresh in this movie. The little girl does a great job playing her character. This tells a great story that's sorta gets covered by the massive amount of bad horror movie sequels. Let's be honest the pile is constantly getting bigger. Anyway Halloween 4 has one of the best looking Michael Myers I have ever seen.

Clearly one of the best late 80s horror movies to date. This comes with a high recommendation from yours truly. Halloween 4 jump started what seem like a dying horse. I am still impressive with this movie. It truly stands out even against other Halloween theme horror movies. They gave us a great entry that's worthy of the name Halloween.

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

Unfortunately just like some horror movie sequels. The team quickly rushed into making Halloween 5. I felt this easily could've been a lot better simply by taking their time. Instead we got sorta a poor man's Halloween 4 movie. Jamie for the most part after touching her uncle's hand in the previous movie can't speak.

Every now & then she experiences visions of what Michael sees. Can I be honest I felt this wasn't the franchise for that concept. It really took away from Michael being a serial killer with no real powers. Although he does do some ridiculous stuff to a degree. Yes there were some good kills in this movie but there's not enough reason to come back to it.

Dr. Loomis returns again with some good attempts to Michael this time around. Halloween 5 aka Halloween 4 of this particular timeline felt lackluster in most categories. It was clearly them cashing in on Michael Myers. "Oh we can make mad money simply making a Halloween movie guys." I'm sure it was something like that.

Halloween 5 is one of the weakest entries in the franchise. I could even say Halloween 2 was better in a few ways than this. I always had a dislike towards this movie even right now as a grown adult. This movie doesn't even make Michael fans happy. They attempted to do Halloween 2 angle again & it failed.

This movie doesn't even scream Halloween at all. We do get to see a Halloween party for teens but nothing special. Oh wait that ending always bugged me for years. I will talk more about the actual character in question very soon. Why in god's earth would anyone help Michael Myers is beyond me lol.

It doesn't help this particular scene just like those Jamie scenes felt out of place. This movie can be boring very quickly to a lot of people. Most "good parts" aren't that great either like Michael gets trapped. There was also Michael taking out the same group that almost killed him in the previous movie.

Which was one of my favorite endings to any Halloween movie. The way they continued off of it even felt off to me. Two different people helped Michael that doesn't help in the other movies. Usually he is stalking alone killing people. This is where the popularity started to fall in such a huge way.

6. Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

The end of the second timeline that did curse this movie. There is two different versions of this movie. Neither are worth watching once I'm not kidding they're terrible. Guess what the baby's dad was suppose to be Michael Myers. To make things more awkward the woman that got raped with his niece.

Yes the same niece he killed killing in two movies now. There is also a cult that's secretly helping Myers. Their leader was the mysterious figure that helped Michael escaped from jail. This so happens to be the original actor for Dr. Loomis's final time playing the character prior to his death. I am not going to lie I really don't like this movie at all.

Everything about it isn't great by any means. I don't have a favorite part which for me that's rare for a horror movie. Halloween 6 doesn't usually show 6 in the title but yes it is technically the sixth Halloween movie. Honestly I really can not recommend this movie to anyone. Not even the kills saves the day folks.

7. Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (1998)

Now back in the original timeline following twenty years after Halloween 2. Let's be honest they knew Halloween 5 & 6 sucked. They had to go back to the basic to attempt fixing the problem. A sequel to Halloween 2 with Jamie Lee Curtis returning as Laurie Strode. For a late 90's horror movie it isn't bad.

I would say finally Michael getting used right after Halloween 4. LL Cool J went on to appear on one of the CSI shows to this day. Not many actors got success following this movie. Laurie is now the headmistress of Hillcrest Academy. Oh okay in the original she was a high school student. Now she is a teacher in a private school I can accept that.

I would say the kills in this movie are hit or miss. I do like some but most of the ones I like happened off screen. This has one of my favorite endings in any horror movie. Laurie knows if she doesn't kill Michael he will eventually come back to attempt finishing the job. She stole an ambulance with a man she thought of her brother.

She grabs an axe then cuts off his head. Spoiler alert it was actually one of the paramedics that Michael crushed his throat & swapped clothes. This happens in the following movie but it does apply here. Jamie Lee Curtis gives off a great performance. One of my favorite actors to play Michael is in this movie.

Halloween H20 aka the original timeline Halloween 3 is mixed receive by people. Some people like it while others hate it. I would say it does stand out among horror movies of it's time. I do need to say Laurie has a son in this movie. Which means Michael is actually there to kill two of his family members.

I would say I can recommend it to some people. End of the day judge the movie how you see fit. Personally I felt it deserves to be one of the best Halloween movies for different reasons. Sure there is parts of this movie that could take a little away from the plot. At the same time we have a gem that does continue the long standing legacy that is Halloween.

8. Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

OMG this frickin movie lol wow this is the end of the original timeline. Three years later, Michael succeeds in killing Laurie at a hospital. Obviously this is heavily referencing Halloween 2. A year later, an interactive horror show is going to take place in the Myers house. Of course Michael isn't happy with that.

Last movie had LL Cool J this time we got Busta Rhymes. Why suddenly casting rappers in horror movies I may never know. Let's be honest everyone has the same exact favorite scene. Busta is fighting Michael Myers material arts style. This part may really not fit the movie but in a weird way it did help getting people to watch it.

I always felt they were parodying many things material arts movies, Halloween itself and possibly Jason. If you think about it you might be able to see why I think that. Halloween: Resurrection aka Halloween 4 of this timeline is a weird monster of a movie. I do like the touch of seeing the people on web cams getting killing.

Although I felt Scream 4 did this concept way better. I bet you never thought I would say that lol. This movie isn't necessary a comedy horror movie but some moments not including the fight are sorta funny. Like when Busta dressed up as Michael to suddenly run into the real one classic. There is some great kills in this movie.

Honestly Laurie should've gotten a better kill than the deaths she had in two timelines. After all following Dr. Loomis she was the closest thing of being his nemesis. We don't see much Halloween at all in this movie. I did like the small part where Michael gave a fan of his a surprise. No not killing him, he actually gave him his mask.

This is a mixed bag movie that could be seen it's so bad it's so good thing. I don't know it just come off that way. Halloween: Resurrection almost got a sequel. Yes Michael once again survived after being burned. This marked two times nearly dying from fire in the original timeline. I don't think there's a lot of people willing to watch this.

9. Halloween (2007)

Rob Zombie gets to direct his own take on Halloween. Can I be honest there is parts I do like while others simply felt not necessary. I do like we get to see more of Michael's past but how Zombie showed it sorta ruined the experience. I do like Michael's look later in the movie. I didn't care for this series Dr. Loomis at all.

Brad Dourif aka the voice of Chucky appears as sheriff in these movies. There is some good kills in this movie. The rape scene was very not needed at all. It does make sense Michael has a thing for masks. This isn't a good remake by any means. Halloween does have more sex scenes than most Halloween movies.

I really didn't like Laurie of this timeline either. She comes off to normal for my taste. Rob does have an interesting concept but man how did he screw it up like this? It is better than some Halloween movies. For horror movie remakes it's in the middle of the pack for many reasons. I am not saying this movie being terrible.

I think a better way of saying it is some stuff Zombie added took a little too much away from the series. Dr. Loomis doesn't seem to care if Michael killing people or not. He sorta comes off like a particular Scream character that appears in all four movies. If you know which character I'm referencing you know your horror movies.

Honestly some parts with Michael ends up working surprisingly well. For the most part I felt especially after he killed some of his relatives. I was wasting my time since the story to help expand on his time in the hospital was mostly boring. Sorry but I am positive I'm not the only one saying that.

10. Halloween 2 (2009)

Halloween 2 not to be confused with 1981 classic. The company didn't like how Rob Zombie went over the top in some areas with Halloween remake. Due to them being heavily involved this time, he quickly abandoned what could've the best twist yet in Halloween series. Originally Laurie would've imagine all of this in an hospital in a nightmare.

Instead the hospital isn't present for long in this movie. We get to see Michael for a much longer period without his mask. Even in some scenes with the mask on you can tell he has a big beard hidden. You do have to look at him in some angles to see what I am talking about. This movie ended up being heavily uninspired at best.

There is absolutely nothing good about this movie at all. Hard to believe this almost got a sequel but Zombie declined to return putting the franchise onhold for several years. Halloween 2 reveals more about the curse on Myers. Except the way Zombie went about it really ruined his movies. In Michael's mind he sees his strange mother telling him to do horrible things.

Guess what Michael gets killed off by the police. Thus that curse goes to Laurie becoming the new killer. Although the original concept would've done something similar it would've worked better there. But this is a huge no why would they turn one of the heroes into another killer. Originally in Halloween 666: Producer's Cut after Michael died, Dr. Loomis takes his place making him very upset.

Bottom line you don't do that even for a remake series. Look I get it he is entitled to his vision of Halloween series. But you shouldn't transformed another character into a killer like that. I believe some would simply call it bad business. This movie is easily one of the absolute worst Halloween sequels I have ever seen.

Now it's time to rank all the Halloween movies starting from the worst to the best.
10. Halloween 2 (2009)
9. Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers
8. Halloween (2007)
7. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
6. Halloween: Resurrection
5. Halloween 2
4. Halloween 3
3. Halloween H20
2. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
1. Halloween

For the first time I am going to rank multiple movie timelines for a horror movie franchise.
3. Timeline #2
2. Timeline #1
1. Timeline #3