(NEXSTAR) – It’s been 44 years since the horror classic ‘Halloween’ was first released in 1978 – when the world first got its glimpse of one of cinema’s scariest bogeys, the immortal Michael Myers. As the franchise prepares for the release of its 13th installment, Halloween Ends, you may want to catch up on the story so far.
With the “Halloween” franchise, however, that’s not as straightforward as you might expect.
Total there three separate timelines taken from the original film, a Rebuild timeline, and a standalone anthology film. Confused?
Movies by Release Date
- Halloween (1978)
- Halloween II (1981)
- “Halloween III: Season of the Witch” (1982)
- “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers” (1988)
- “Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers” (1989)
- “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers” (1995)
- “Halloween H20: 20 Years Later” (1998)
- “Halloween: Resurrection” (2002)
- Halloween (2007)
- “Halloween II” (2009)
- Halloween (2018)
- “Halloween Kills” (2021)
- “Halloween End” (2022)
While that’s the order the films were released in, it’s not the order you should see them in — especially if you want the story to make sense.
Table of Contents
Original timeline
Movies in order: Halloween (1978); Halloween II (1981); “Halloween 4”; “Halloween 5”; and “The Curse of Michael Myers”
Main Differences: Continuations in this timeline end with “Curse”. Movies 4-6 do not feature franchise star Jamie Lee Curtis or her character Laurie Strode. Instead, they focus on Laurie’s baby daughter, Jamie Lloyd, among other new characters.
Spoiler-free overview: Michael Myers terrorizes the town of Haddonfield, Illinois over a period of approximately 20 years, beginning with the events of the first film.
Useful information: While “Curse” remains widely popular to this day, it later received a second release in the form of a much-mythologized “Producer’s Cut”. This version – which has some key plot differences – existed in bootlegs traded among fans for decades before being officially released in 2014. The film also stars future Ant Man superstar Paul Rudd.
‘H20’ timeline
Movies in order: Halloween (1978); Halloween II (1981); “Halloween H20”; and “resurrection”
Main Differences: All sequels included in this timeline are only sequels of the first two “Halloween” movies. Jamie Lee Curtis appears in all four of these films.
Spoiler-free overview: Over the course of one Halloween night, Laurie Strode (Curtis) narrowly escapes death. Still traumatized by events, Laurie faked her own death and moved to California, where she comes face to face with Michael 20 years later.
Useful information: A clause in the contract led to both the creation of “Resurrection” and Curtis’ appearance in it. Curtis had returned to the series with the impression that “H20” would mean the end of everything. However, franchise owner/producer Moustapha Akkad had other plans. If you happen to watch the unloved “Resurrection,” you’ll see just how much Curtis Not want to be in the movie.
‘H40’ timeline
Movies in order: Halloween (1978); “Halloween” (2018); “Halloween Kills”; and “Halloween Ends”
Main Differences: All sequels in this timeline are only Sequels to the very First Movie. The events of “Halloween II” (1981) never took place.
Spoiler-free overview: After a murderous rampage on Halloween night in 1978, Michael Myers is captured and imprisoned. Forty years later, still alive and in Haddonfield, Laurie Strode (Curtis) must face her fears after Michael escapes and returns on Halloween. The recently released Halloween Ends trailer reveals that its events will take place four years after the events of the 2018 film and Kills.
Useful information: In addition to Curtis, many original cast members returned for the three new films, including Nick Castle, the first Michael Myers, and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards, who was a child in the first film. Original director Carpenter returned for all three new films – this time as co-producer of the scores.
Rob Zombie remake timeline
Movies in order: Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009)
Main Differences: The 2007 film is both a remake of the 1978 film and a semi-prequel. While much of the film follows the same story as the original, it also expands on Michael’s childhood and psyche. Jamie Lee Curtis does not appear in any of these films, but Laurie Strode (played by Scout Taylor-Compton) does. Another key difference: much, much more blood.
Spoiler-free overview: The events of the first film are pretty much the same as the original. His follow-up focuses on the connections between Laurie and Michael. Both the survivor and the killer try to reconcile their past while experiencing mysterious hallucinations.
Useful information: Danielle Harris, who played Laurie Strode’s child in the original timeline, stars in both zombie films, but as different Character.
‘Halloween III’
Movie only: “Halloween III: Season of the Witch.” This isn’t even a sequel to the first film.
Main Differences: No Michael Myers. The masterminds behind the first Halloween, director/writer John Carpenter and writer/producer Debra Hill, weren’t too keen on continuing the Strode-Myers story beyond Halloween II. But as Inverse explains, Universal wanted a third film. Since the series was originally planned as an anthology (with each film featuring a different story centered around the Halloween season), Carpenter and Hill set out to create a new sci-fi/supernatural story.
Spoiler-free overview: Novelty company Silver Shamrock is releasing three new Halloween masks for children to enjoy during a televised raffle. Given the fact that this is a horror movie, you can probably guess that there is more to the story.
Useful information: Despite being both a critical and commercial flop upon its release, Halloween III has become something of a cult classic – and has even been re-evaluated and viewed as one Well movie by some. The fondness for this outlier even found its way into the most recent movies, with Silver Shamrock masks appearing briefly in the 2018 film and prominently in Kills.
All told, the “Halloween” franchise has earned over $700 million since 1978. The series has spawned not only movies, but also several related and standalone books, graphic novels, and even a very pixelated Atari video game.
Halloween Ends hits theaters October 14 in both Peacock. If you’re still lost, it might be best to just dress up in one of the movies “Friday the 13th” or “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”