Michael Myers Halloween Movies: Halloween movie order ranked from best to worst

michael myers halloween movies

There have been 11 Halloween movies featuring the evil killer Michael Myers. Some are masterpieces (at least one) and the others range from acceptable to the most forgettable horror movies you have ever seen.

So, which Michael Myers Halloween movies are a must see and which can you skip?

Here, we share our thoughts on which Michael Myers Halloween movies you should watch and which to avoid, to give you the most enjoyable experience. If you choose to watch all the Halloween series movies, beware that the story isn’t always continuous and has flaws at some points, because some sequels have been put together by different people.

There are spoilers in this article, so if you do not want to find out all the details, just scroll to the bottom of this post to see the list.

Without further ado, here is our Halloween movie order, ranked from best to worst.

But first, to get us in the mood, here is the original Halloween theme song (1978) by John Carpenter.

Source: SoundCloud

Best & Worst Michael Myers Halloween Movies


Halloween (1978)

Grade: A+

Verdict: Cult classic horror masterpiece. You have to see it, even if you think 1978 movies are relics destined for oldies.

This is the first Halloween movie made by John Carpenter and should be high on your watch list. If you can only watch one movie from the Halloween series, don’t look further and pick up this one. This first Halloween movie not only influenced a whole generation of filmmakers, but it gave a sense of reality to horror movies. It is far superior to any other movie of the Halloween series. From the moment you hear the gripping theme music, you are entering another world. What the Star Wars theme music was to science fiction fans, Halloween’s theme song is to horror fans.

Michael Myers is a real person here with evil intentions. The story is as simple as it gets and at no point do you think it isn’t realistic. The tension and horror build up slowly throughout the movie, until the end when Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) first meets Michael. You will not see crazy FX and there aren’t many action sequences. Halloween doesn’t need them – it is frightening by its own merit. Myers stalks some teenagers, lurking silently in the darkness and waiting for the right moment to make his move. From the outset you know exactly who is the bad guy and who is his victim. The only hidden piece is the good guy, who takes on the task of stopping Michael Myers. It’s Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance), who appeared in a total of five movies, his role consisting of not only stopping Myers but also hyping his image. When Dr. Loomis spoke about Myers being pure evil, he made me believe absolutely every word.

You will not see crazy FX and there aren’t many action sequences. Halloween doesn’t need them – it is frightening by its own merit.

‘Halloween’ (1978)

Halloween II (1981)

Grade: B

Verdict: It lacks the quality of the first, but provides a believable story and an ending.

After so much praise about the first Halloween movie, you would think there wasn’t any possibility the second Halloween movie could reach these heights. This achievement belongs solely to Terminator II which was a worthy successor to the first Terminator movie. John Carpenter didn’t direct this movie, but still contributed in writing and producing along with Debra Hill. The cast was also the same with Donald Pleasance and Jamie Lee Curtis, plus some other minor roles.

The story provided a continuation from the first Halloween movie, having a similar look and feel. It was intended to give the series an ending, introducing Laurie Strode as the sister of Michael Myers. Laurie was taken to the Haddonfield Memorial Hospital and Myers recovered from his shooting injuries caused by Dr. Loomis in a shelter. When Michael Myers was ready, he took action to finish his job of killing Laurie. Most of the plot and the upcoming murders happen in the Hospital, where through an explosion Dr. Loomis and Myers will be killed. The end features a shocked Laurie being transferred to another hospital.

Halloween (2018)

Grade: B-

Verdict: 40 years had to pass until a sequel of this quality was made. That’s a long time, and not only for Michael Myers sitting in an institution.

40 years have passed since the first Halloween movie, and John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis are back to it. The story is a continuation from the 1981 film (Halloween II), ignoring all the twists and holes of the last 8 Michael Myers Halloween movies. Laurie Strode still lives in Haddonfield but lives isolated in her house, which she has made into a fortress. She has prepared for 40 years for the moment when Michael Myers will return to haunt her and her family. She has a daughter Karen, who thinks her mother has serious psychological issues, and a granddaughter Allyson, who tries to keep in contact with her.

Michael Myers has been held in an institution for all these years, until he manages to escape on Halloween. The movie features many murders as Michael paves his way towards Laurie’s house, where the ultimate showdown will occur. David Gordon Green who was the director of this reboot tried and succeeded in establishing a thrilling atmosphere with some inside-jokes recalling past events. Jamie Lee Curtis shines again under the right set of conditions, giving this Halloween movie a worthy and much-needed contribution.

Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (1998)

Grade: C

Verdict: Somehow Kevin Williamson who wrote Scream, brought more from Scream into this than from the original Michael Myers Halloween movies. It was a good attempt but felt undercooked.

We are entering difficult territory. The storyline of Halloween becomes blurry, and Halloween H20 is mildly regarded as the best among the rest. This instalment of the Halloween series ignores the events of the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th instalments, and I can say it was a good decision to do so. H20 tells the story of Laurie Strode played again by Jamie Lee Curtis, 20 years after the first events. She is now living under another name, has a son (ok, yeah, no daughter and this son doesn’t exist in the 2018 film) and she is the headmistress of a private boarding school with high-security measures.

Laurie has been obsessed with Michael Myers, and her son John (Josh Hartnett) suffers as a result of his mother’s fixation. John tries to be just a regular teenager, hanging out with friends and his girlfriend (Michelle Williams). As you can imagine, Myers returns just in time for Halloween, leaving behind a bloodbath and of course Laurie was right to fear this moment. Halloween H20 relinquishes some of its realism, for example, his victims run to escape Myers but he always manages to stay close even though he walks. Jamie Lee Curtis also has a more powerful role, no longer playing the victim, but really trying to end the horror once and for all. She gets Michael Myers in the end, killing him and chopping his head off, to make sure he is and stays dead.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

Grade: C-

Verdict: It’s worth your time, even with its disturbing ending. Just don’t make the mistake of believing that you should watch Halloween 5 too.

Halloween 4 came after the 3rd movie (of course) and tried to make the audience forget how disappointing it was. No witchcraft or scientific bullsh*t here, just Michael Myers as the focal point trying to kill his niece Jamie Lloyd, the daughter of Laurie. You have to thank Halloween 4 for being actually a good movie and enabling the Halloween series to become a real thing. The director Dwight Little did his best to capture the overall feeling of what makes a good slasher movie.

Jamie is introduced to us as an 11-year-old kid having a hard time at school and living with a foster family in Haddonfield. They also have a daughter Rachel, who plays a significant role later in this film to protect Jamie. Michael Myers’ role is more cheesy, showing actual feelings behind his mask. This will not prevent him getting at Jamie and anybody else in front of him, however. Dr Loomis appears once again, in an attempt to make a connection to the first two sequels. The ending is not the best, as Jamie follows in Michael’s footsteps.

Halloween: Resurrection (2012)

Grade: D

Verdict: This is a high grade, but considering what is still left, by comparison Resurrection seems like a masterpiece.

Well, I’m not sure what to say here, except that Halloween Resurrection isn’t the worst of the remaining Halloween movies. I will not try to beautify things. This movie destroys the satisfying ending of H20, killing Laurie in the prologue (I think she read the script and had enough with this, haha) and makes Myers a dude returning to his home, killing everybody who disturbs his peace.

There are some nice killing scenes and some really idiotic moments. Busta Rhymes has a role in this movie playing the producer of a horror reality show where teenagers spend a night in houses of past serial killers. If you need to watch a horror movie featuring Myers without any relation to the old ones, with no regard to the Halloween story or any story for that matter, this is a nice piece to pass time.

If you need to watch a horror movie featuring Myers, with no regard to the Halloween story or any story for that matter, this is a nice piece to pass time.

Halloween: Resurrection (2012)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Grade: D-

Verdict: This depends on your taste. Without Michael Myers this just feels wrong but it does the job.

This is the last one worth watching in this series. Halloween III moves away from the classical story, considering that at the time they made this one, Michael Myers was believed to be dead after the ending of Halloween II. In this instalment, they tried to make Halloween an anthology in which an evil corporation tries to kill families via witchcraft and science. This is an ugly film to watch, with some disturbing scenes. The mood of the film is completely serious, without any intention to be funny, containing some really brutal and frightening imagery.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Grade: E+

Verdict: This isn’t even the worse one yet…

OMG, you shouldn’t read any further than this point. Really, just stop. Maybe you somehow liked Halloween 4 and thought Halloween 5 should be watched, expecting Jamie’s story to be further explored. This was my motivation and I regret that decision until today.

I will give you some tidbits and hope you understand. Jamie has been admitted to a children’s hospital. She is mute since the events of Halloween 4 and has some disturbing dreams, which in reality is a telepathic connection to her uncle Michael. Rachel her sister survived too and is there, plus Loomis and her best friend Tina.

The cops in this film somewhat resemble the cops in the comedy Police Academy, and the only good thing is that they get killed. Lots of them. After Jamie finds her voice and screams ‘Tiiinaaa!’ over and over again, you will wish she remained mute. You won’t be scared at any moment in this movie, and all you can hope for is that everybody gets killed fast by Michael.

You won’t be scared at any moment in this movie, and all you can hope for is that everybody gets killed fast by Michael.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007)

Grade: E-

Verdict: Watchable, if you can ignore the fact that someone named John Carpenter made a Halloween movie in 1978 which was far superior to this one.

Directed, produced and written by Rob Zombie. Sheri Moon Zombie (a hot blonde actress and wife of Rob Zombie) plays the mother of Michael Myers in this movie. We see Michael Myers as a kid and how he grew into the killer we all know. Zombie ignores the original and inserts Michael into a family in which his father abuses him. Michael kills most of his family members and ends up in a psychiatric institution where his mother visits him. We witness Michael’s transformation and see him become the evil killer we know, despite the efforts of his mother and Dr. Loomis.

There is also some Laurie Strode in this movie, but Zombie concentrates his energy too much on Michael’s abusive childhood, so much that the whole story which made the original Michael Myers Halloween movies famous is lost. Not to mention that this Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton) was nowhere near the quality of Jamie Lee Curtis, and the story didn’t help her out either.

Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Grade: F+

Verdict: A waste of time, but you can find a few good scenes and some aim in this one. Well, that’s what I say to myself to justify watching it at some point in my life, anyway.

This was a strange cinematic experience. A total mess with plot holes if I may say so. Halloween 6 tried to take the Halloween series in a new direction, giving a leading role to the little boy who Laurie Strode babysat in the original Halloween movie. When that boy grew up he has been obsessed with the events of that night. If it wasn’t for all the druid magic and pagan rituals, it would have been more believable. This movie was really confusing to me, and I found that I spent more time bashing it rather than enjoying the cool killing scenes.

Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2009)

Grade: F-

Verdict: Fully deserved grade. I have watched many horror movies and rarely seen so much bullsh*t concentrated in one movie alone.

I guess we have a winner. My gosh, the only good thing about this one is its future potential to become a cult among fans. At some points it was so bad I had to laugh. Rob Zombie directed, produced and wrote this film once again and his wife also had a role in it, even though she died. She plays the main role, as a ghost who appears to Michael Myers and pushes him to kill his family members. She also appears to Laurie as an angel with a white horse which symbolizes… who the f*ck knows.

Poor Michael has to deal with his life issues and walks randomly along corn fields. At some point, he gets stopped by a group of people in a car, who want to harass him. That was a big mistake and for me, this is the best sequence of this movie.

There is also a scene in a hospital which takes some storyline from the original Halloween II. Zombie focuses more on Myers’ backstory which takes away the suspense, and he tries to build a relationship based on Michael’s and Laurie’s psychic condition. The ending sees Michael killed and Laurie following in his footsteps. She is moved to a psychiatric institution, envisioning Deborah (Sheri Moon Zombie), and seems to have an inherited condition which will only heal when she murders all her family members.

Halloween movie order ranked from best to worst


  1. Halloween (1978)
  2. Halloween II (1981)
  3. Halloween (2018)
  4. Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (1998)
  5. Halloween 4: The return of Michael Myers (1988)
  6. Halloween: Resurrection (2012)
  7. Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
  8. Halloween 5: The revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
  9. Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007)
  10. Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
  11. Rob Zombie’s Halloween II (2009)

The best Michael Myers Halloween movies


If you only want to watch the very best, then pick the first two of the series. These two movies could be viewed on Halloween together for an awesome double-feature experience, with a proper start and ending:

  • Halloween (1978)
  • Halloween II (1981)

We hope this list will help you to decide which movies of the Halloween franchise to watch. If you have already watched the series, let me know of your own rank list. I’m sure some of you would likely shift a movie up or down a few ranks, but I’m also 100% confident that the original Halloween of 1978 will be on top of your rankings.

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