Halloween is an American slasher media franchise that consists of thirteen films, as well as novels, comic books, video games and other merchandise. All but one of the films focus on serial killer Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his sister, Judith Myers, in 1963. Fifteen years later, he escapes to stalk and kill the people of the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. Michael's killings occur on the holiday of Halloween, on which all of the films primarily take place. Throughout the series various protagonists try to stop Myers including Laurie Strode (primarily portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis) and psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Loomis (primarily portrayed by Donald Pleasence). The original Halloween, released in 1978, was written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill—the film's director and producer respectively. The film, itself inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Bob Clark's Black Christmas, is known to have inspired a long line of slasher films.
Twelve films have followed since the 1978 original was released. Michael Myers is the antagonist in all of the entries with the exception of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, a story with no connection to any other film in the series. Starting with Halloween II, most of the various sequels appeared between 1981 and 2002, including a 10th anniversary film in 1988 and a 20th anniversary sequel in 1998. In 2007, writer-director Rob Zombie created a remake of the 1978 film (and a sequel released two years later). The franchise would go dormant for nine years until a sequel to the original film, which ignores all previous sequels, was released in 2018. The sequel to the 2018 film, Halloween Kills, was released in 2021 with the most recent entry, Halloween Ends, released on October 14, 2022.
The franchise contains multiple timelines, continuities, remakes and reboots, which can make it confusing for new viewers. Forbes Scott Mendelson called it the "Choose Your Own Adventure" of horror movie franchises. The films have collectively grossed over $884 million at the box office worldwide. The film series is ranked first at the United States box office—in adjusted 2018 dollars—when compared to other American horror film franchises. The original film received critical acclaim, while the 2018 film received mostly positive reviews. The other films have received either mixed or negative reviews from critics.
Films FilmU.S. release dateDirectorScreenwriter(s) Producer(s)HalloweenOctober 25, 1978John CarpenterJohn Carpenter and Debra HillDebra HillHalloween IIOctober 30, 1981Rick RosenthalDebra Hill and John CarpenterHalloween III: Season of the WitchOctober 22, 1982Tommy Lee WallaceHalloween 4: The Return of Michael MyersOctober 21, 1988Dwight H. LittleDanny Lipsius, Larry Rattner & Benjamin Ruffner and Alan B. McElroyPaul FreemanHalloween 5: The Revenge of Michael MyersOctober 13, 1989Dominique Othenin-GirardMichael Jacobs & Dominique Othenin-Girard and Shem BittermanRamsey ThomasHalloween: The Curse of Michael MyersSeptember 29, 1995Joe ChappelleDaniel Farrands Paul FreemanHalloween H20: 20 Years LaterAugust 5, 1998Steve MinerRobert Zappia and Matt GreenbergHalloween: ResurrectionJuly 12, 2002Rick RosenthalLarry Brand and Sean HoodHalloweenAugust 31, 2007Rob ZombieMalek Akkad, Andy Gould and Rob ZombieHalloween IIAugust 28, 2009HalloweenOctober 19, 2018David Gordon GreenJeff Fradley, Danny McBride & David Gordon GreenMalek Akkad, Jason Blum & Bill BlockHalloween KillsOctober 15, 2021Scott Teems, Danny McBride & David Gordon GreenHalloween EndsOctober 14, 2022Paul Brad Logan, Chris Bernier, Danny McBride & David Gordon Green
Overview Halloween story chronology Original continuity Anthology continuity Dimension Films continuity Remake continuity Blumhouse continuity
Described by Scott Mendelson of Forbes as the "Choose Your Own Adventure" of horror movie franchises, the franchise is notable for its multiple timelines, continuities, remakes and reboots, which can make it confusing for new viewers, often leading to articles explaining the previous films before each new release.
The original Halloween (1978), co-written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill and directed by Carpenter, tells the story of Michael Myers as he stalks and kills teenage babysitters on Halloween night. The film begins with six-year-old Michael (Will Sandin) killing his older sister Judith (Sandy Johnson) on Halloween night 1963 in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. He is subsequently hospitalized at Warren County's Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Fifteen years later, Michael (Nick Castle) escapes from Smith's Grove and returns to his hometown while being pursued by his psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence). Michael stalks high school student Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends as they babysit. Murdering Laurie's friends, Michael finally attacks Laurie herself, but she manages to fend him off long enough for Loomis to save her. Loomis shoots Michael off a balcony, but when Loomis goes to check Michael's body, he has vanished.
Halloween II (1981) picks up from where Halloween left off. Michael (Dick Warlock) goes to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital after learning via a radio news broadcast that Laurie has been taken there, killing everyone who comes between them. The story reveals that Laurie is actually Michael's other sister, who was given up for adoption as an infant. After Michael chases Laurie throughout the hospital, he corners Loomis and Laurie in an operating room, where Loomis causes an explosion as Laurie escapes. Michael, engulfed in flames, stumbles out of the room before finally losing consciousness and falling to the ground, seemingly dead.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch was an attempt to redirect the Halloween film series into being an anthology film series. This installment follows the story of Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) as he tries to solve the mysterious murder of a patient in his hospital. Joined by the patient's daughter Ellie (Stacey Nelkin), he travels to the small town of Santa Mira, California. The pair discover that Silver Shamrock Novelties, a company run by Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy), is attempting to use the mystic powers of the Stonehenge rocks to resurrect the ancient witchcraft of the Celtic festival, Samhain. Cochran is using his Silver Shamrock Halloween masks to achieve his goal, which will kill all the children wearing his masks as they watch a special Silver Shamrock commercial airing Halloween night. After destroying Cochran and his henchmen, Challis desperately tries to convince the television station managers not to air the commercial. The film ends with Challis screaming for a final station to stop the commercial.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, as the title suggests, features the return of Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur) to the film series. This film reveals that Michael has been in a comatose state for ten years following the explosion in Halloween II. While being transferred back to Smith's Grove, Michael awakens upon hearing that Laurie Strode died in a car accident and left behind a daughter, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris). Michael escapes and makes his way to Haddonfield in search of his niece, while Dr. Loomis pursues him once again. Eventually, the police track Michael down and shoot him several times before he falls down a mine shaft. Loomis also discovers that Michael's niece has inherited his evil.
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers picks up from where the previous film ends and has Michael (Don Shanks) surviving the gunshots and the fall down the mine; he stumbles upon a hermit who bandages him up. One year later, Michael awakens and kills the hermit and showing signs of a psychic connection to Jamie, Michael tracks her to a local child mental health clinic. Using Jamie as bait, Loomis manages to capture Michael. The film ends with Michael being taken into police custody, only to be broken out of jail by a mysterious stranger, all dressed in black (whose black boots were shown throughout the entire film).
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers picks up the story six years after the events of Halloween 5. The mysterious stranger who broke Michael out of jail also kidnapped Jamie Lloyd (J. C. Brandy). Jamie, having been held captive by the Man In Black, gives birth to a baby boy with whom she escapes, while Michael (George P. Wilbur) pursues them. Michael kills Jamie and continues searching for her baby, who she managed to hide before Michael found & killed her. The infant is found and brought to safety by Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd), the young boy who was babysat by Laurie Strode in the first film. It is revealed that Michael is driven by the Curse of Thorn, which forces a person to kill their entire family in order to save all of civilization. The Man In Black is revealed to be Dr. Loomis's colleague, Dr. Terrence Wynn (Mitchell Ryan), who is part of a cult called the Cult of Thorn, who, if necessary, watch over the person who has the Curse of Thorn so that said person may complete their task. With the help of Kara Strode (Marianne Hagan), Laurie's adoptive cousin, Tommy keeps the infant safe from Michael, who slaughters Wynn and other members of the Cult of Thorn. Michael is finally subdued by Tommy, who injects him with large quantities of tranquilizers inside the Smith's Grove Sanitarium before he and Kara escape with Jamie's son. Loomis stays behind, presumably to ensure that Michael dies. The film then ends with it being shown that Michael has once again escaped, this time leaving behind his mask, and with Loomis being heard screaming, presumably due to discovering that Michael has once again escaped.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later opens twenty years after the events of the first two films and establishes that Michael Myers (Chris Durand) has been believed to be dead by the general public since the explosion at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital in 1978. There is fan debate as to whether the film ignores the 4th-6th films. It is revealed that Laurie Strode (Curtis) faked her own death so that she could go into hiding from her brother. Now working as the headmistress of a private school under the name "Keri Tate", Laurie continues to live in fear of Michael's return. Her son John (Josh Hartnett) attends the same school. Laurie's fears become reality when Michael shows up at the school and begins killing John's friends. Laurie manages to get John and his girlfriend (Michelle Williams) to safety, but decides to face Michael. After a back and forth fight, Laurie decapitates Michael with a fire axe.
Halloween: Resurrection picks up three years after H20 and reveals that Michael escaped after swapping clothes with a paramedic, crushing the man's larynx so that he could not talk, and that that was whom Laurie killed. Laurie was committed to a mental institution following her having a mental breakdown due to learning that she had killed the wrong person. Michael (Brad Loree) shows up at the mental institution and kills Laurie, then travels back to his family home in Haddonfield, but finds a group of college students filming an Internet reality show. Michael murders the cast and crew until he is electrocuted by the only surviving student, Sara Moyer (Bianca Kajlich), and the show's creator, Freddie Harris (Busta Rhymes). Michael's body and the bodies of his victims are then taken to the morgue. As the medical examiner begins to inspect Michael's body, he suddenly awakens.