Summary
- The Halloween saga has multiple timelines and retcons, making it confusing to watch. Follow this guide for the best order to watch all 13 movies.
- The original Halloween movie introduces Michael Myers and Laurie Strode as the iconic slasher killer and final girl. The story starts with Michael's murderous rampage on Halloween night.
- The Halloween franchise has different timelines, including the H20/Resurrection timeline and the Cult of Thorn timeline. Each timeline offers a unique continuation of the Michael Myers and Laurie Strode story.
The Halloween saga has gone through different retcons that have created branches in the timeline, making it quite confusing – but here’s how to watch all 13 Halloween movies in the best order. Back in 1978, John Carpenter brought the slasher horror movie Halloween, which marked the beginning of one of the most popular franchises in the horror genre. Halloween introduced Michael Myers, who would go on to become one of the most popular slasher killers in the genre, and it marked the film debut of Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, the franchise’s main Final Girl.
After killing his older sister on Halloween night in 1963, at the age of six, Michael Myers was sent to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium and never said a word again. Fifteen years later, Michael escaped and returned to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he targeted Laurie Strode and her friends. Since then, the Halloween saga has continued the stories of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode in different ways due to its retcons, making way for different ways in which the saga can be watched – and here’s the best order to watch all 13 Halloween movies.
13 Halloween
Of course, the first movie to watch from the Halloween saga is the one that started it all. John Carpenter’s Halloween gives a brief look at Michael Myers’ past by following him on that Halloween night in 1963 when he killed his sister, Judith. The movie then jumps to its present-day in 1978, when Michael escapes and returns to Haddonfield while his psychiatrist, Doctor Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), goes after him. Michael targets Laurie Strode and her friends, with Laurie being the only survivor and establishing herself as the saga’s main Final Girl. Halloween ends with Michael Myers falling off a balcony but disappearing moments later.
12 Halloween II
Halloween II arrived three years after the first movie but picks up directly after the previous movie’s cliffhanger ending. Halloween II follows Laurie as she’s taken to the local hospital after her encounter with Michael, while Loomis continues his pursuit of him. Halloween II was the first one to hint at Michael Myers being supernatural, as he survived an explosion at the hospital. Halloween II is where the franchise branches out to two timelines: one with Laurie Strode and one without her.
11 Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
The timeline that continues Laurie’s story in the Halloween saga is the one known as the H20/Resurrection timeline. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later reveals that, at some point after the events of Halloween II, Laurie faked her death in order to be able to move on and not be found again by Michael Myers. Laurie changed her name to Keri Tate and moved to California, where she got married, had a son named John, and got a divorce. By the time of the events of Halloween H20, Laurie was the headmistress of a private prep school called Hillcrest Academy, where her son was studying.
Meanwhile, Michael Myers turned out to be alive and found out where Loomis used to live. Michael arrived at Marion Chambers’ home, who took care of Loomis until his death and found the file on Laure that revealed her new name and location. Michael killed Marion and her teenage neighbors, stole their car, and traveled to California to kill Laurie. In this timeline, as it directly follows Halloween II, Laurie and Michael were siblings.
10 Halloween: Resurrection
Halloween: Resurrection is the sequel to Halloween H20, and as such, it changes the ending of Halloween H20, where Michael was decapitated by Laurie. Halloween: Resurrection reveals that the person Laurie decapitated was a paramedic that Michael switched clothes with and rendered mute, and so Laurie was institutionalized in Grace Andersen Sanitarium. Halloween: Resurrection sees the death of Laurie Strode in its first minutes, after which Michael finds new targets. Michael hides in his childhood home, which is now used for a live internet horror show, and so he goes on a new murder spree, killing the show’s participants. Halloween: Resurrection is the end of the H20/Resurrection timeline.
9 Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a special entry in the Halloween saga as it’s not part of the Michael Myers and Laurie Strode storyline. Instead, Halloween III is set in a different universe and follows different characters, and Michael Myers makes a cameo on a TV as Halloween is treated like a movie in this timeline. Halloween III, then, follows Dr. Dan Challis (Tom Atkins) as he tries to solve the mysterious murder of a patient in his hospital, and he counts on the help of the patient’s daughter, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin). Together, Challis and Ellie discover a conspiracy by Silver Shamrock Novelties involving Halloween masks, a special Halloween commercial, and witchcraft.
8 Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is the beginning of the timeline that follows Laurie’s daughter, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), and thus goes right after Halloween II. Halloween 4 reveals that Laurie died in a car accident, and so her daughter had been living with a foster family. Michael Myers, after being in a coma for a decade, awakens and returns to Haddonfield, with Jamie being his new target – and, of course, Loomis continues his pursuit of Michael.
7 Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is the direct sequel to Halloween 4, and as such, it continues Jamie Lloyd’s story. At the end of Halloween 4, Jamie Lloyd had established a telepathic connection with her uncle, and so in Halloween 5, Jamie was living at the Haddonfield Children’s Clinic, as she had been rendered mute due to trauma. Of course, Michael survived his supposed death at the end of Halloween 4, and he continued his mission to kill Jamie Lloyd.
6 Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
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Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is the sequel to Halloween 5, and it’s also one of the most controversial entries in the saga due to the inclusion of the Cult of Thorn. Halloween 6 takes place six years after Halloween 5, and it not only gives a disturbing update on Jamie Lloyd’s life but also sees her end at the hands of Michael. Due to the Cult of Thorn, which is the reason for Michael’s supposed immortality and his thirst to kill, Michael then goes after Jamie’s infant son, who is found and taken care of by a now-teenage Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd). Halloween 6 is the final appearance of Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis, and it’s the end of the Cult of Thorn timeline.
5 Halloween (2007)
In 2007, the Halloween saga got the remake treatment, thus creating a new timeline. Directed by Rob Zombie, Halloween took the same premise as Carpenter’s original movie but made major changes that didn’t benefit the characters. Halloween spends a lot of time exploring Michael’s backstory (which is very different from what Carpenter’s movie established) and his time at Smith’s Grove. Michael also went after Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton) in this version, and she also became the movie’s Final Girl.
4 Halloween II (2009)
Despite mixed reviews, Rob Zombie’s Halloween was granted a sequel, simply titled Halloween II. Zombie’s Halloween II catches up with Laurie, who is now living with the Bracketts, while Michael continues his murder spree. In this timeline, Laurie and Michael are also siblings, and Michael has visions of their deceased mother, a white horse, and his young self. Halloween II was a critical and commercial failure and marked the end of the remake timeline.
3 Halloween (2018)
In 2018, the Halloween saga was brought back to life with a legacy sequel. Directed by David Gordon Green, Halloween is a direct sequel to Carpenter’s original movie, ignoring all sequels and remakes that came after it. Because of this, in this timeline Laurie and Michael aren’t siblings, John Tate and Jamie Lloyd don’t exist, and Laurie never faked her death. Instead, Laurie stayed in Haddonfield and spent the following decades preparing for Michael’s return, and she had a daughter, Karen (Judy Greer), and a granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak).
After spending four decades at Smith’s Grove Psychiatric Hospital, Michael escapes and returns to Haddonfield, where he goes on a new murder spree. He eventually finds Laurie, who even though had been preparing for that moment for years, still wasn’t fully ready to face the Boogeyman again. Halloween 2018 is the beginning of the reboot trilogy.
2 Halloween Kills
Halloween Kills is the sequel to Halloween, and it picks up at the end of the previous movie. Halloween Kills sees Allyson teaming up with legacy characters Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall), Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards), and Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens) to go catch and kill Michael Myers, while Laurie is taken to the hospital. Halloween Kills was controversial for many reasons, mostly for making Michael Myers supernatural (again), and for killing a main character right at the end of the movie.
1 Halloween Ends
Halloween Ends is the sequel to Halloween Kills, and as the title says, it’s the end of the reboot timeline and the Michael Myers/Laurie Strode storyline. Halloween Ends takes place three years after the events of Halloween 2018 and Halloween Kills, and sees the rise of a Michael Myers copycat named Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), while the real Michael hides in the sewers of Haddonfield. Meanwhile, as Laurie and Allyson deal with their trauma and grief, they are forced to face not only the new Michael Myers but also the original one, bringing his murder sprees to a definitive end.