Halloween: From Best To Worst
Posted August 24, 2009 1:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
With the release of Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (trailer below) on August 28, there are now a total of ten movies in the Halloween franchise. I’ve sat through all the good, bad, and ugly moments of the previous nine films and this is how I see them ranking against each other.
Halloween (1978)
The original Halloween not only launched the careers of Jamie Lee Curtis and John Carpenter, it started the slasher-horror genre. From the first introduction of the uber-creepy Michael Myers mask (William Shatner-inspired I might add), to the tension-building soundtrack – the original Halloween has some of the creepiest, most memorable scenes in horror movie history.
Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007)
After getting through the lengthy, yet disturbing, childhood of Michael Myers (which opens the film), Rob Zombie’s vision is spot-on. Michael Myers is big, mean, and evil! The movie does borrow some scenes directly from its predecessor (such as the bed sheet ghost scene), but adds a lot of freshness that was lacking. It will never beat the original helps us forget most of the sequels.
Halloween II (1981)
The first sequel is right up there with the original Halloween when it comes to creepiness. Starting right where Halloween ended, it has an even weirder vibe to it as most of the movie is set in a hospital. Just thinking about Michael Myers looking through the hospital room window at Jamie Lee Curtis gives me a shiver. Hopefully Zombie’s take will be just as good if not better.
Halloween H20 (1998)
It took the studio 20 years to figure out how to make another successful sequel to the Halloween franchise: take the movie seriously and bring back Jamie Lee Curtis. Halloween H20 is a solid film with a decent script and cast (it helped turn Josh Hartnett into a star too). Watch this along with the original Halloween and Halloween 2 and you have a great trilogy.
Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
This is not a good movie. This is not even a good sequel. Why do I rank it so high? Because this is an over-the-top hack and slash film that I enjoy watching. There is an insane amount of violence, Paul Rudd stars (way before Judd Apatow found him), and the storyline features a cult that worships Michael Myers.
Halloween 4 (1988) & Halloween 5 (1989)
Since I can never tell these two sequels apart they might as well be grouped together. The only real difference – part 4 is titled Return of Michael Myers, and part 5 is Revenge of Michael Myers. They both suck and ruin the Halloween name.
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Here’s a horrible idea – let’s make a reality show on the Internet with Michael Myers! I guess they were going for a Blair Witch style with the web cams, but this movie just stinks! Also, Busta Rhymes should never be allowed near a horror movie franchise again.
Halloween 3: Season of the Witch
Having nothing to do with Michael Myers (or anything else in the first two films), Season of the Witch instead takes on a possessed Halloween mask story. It is a cheap horror film that slapped the Halloween title on to it to sell tickets.
What do you think the best and worst films in the Halloween franchise are? Chime in below or email brian.mckechnie@citynews.ca.
Top image: Tyler Mane as Michael Myers in Rob Zombie’s Halloween II. Courtesy Alliance Films.
