Halloween is one of the most successful horror franchises. From the beginning of the story in 1978 to the most recent Halloween Ends, there have been 13 Halloween films. That's a lot to catch up on if you’re new to the franchise or if you’re introducing someone to the Halloween experience.
Halloween focuses on killer Michael Myers, who is in a mental institution because he killed his teenage sister on Halloween night when she was babysitting. He was only 6 years old at that time. Michael escapes the institution after being imprisoned there for 15 years and returns to his hometown.
There he stalks another teenage babysitter, Laurie Strode, and others in the town while he is pursued by his psychiatrist. Jamie Lee Curtis played Laurie Strode in the original film and has returned to the franchise to reprise the role of Laurie Strode in several sequels including, Halloween Ends. Though the story has splintered off in different lanes a few times.
With 13 films to watch, what is the best order to watch the Halloween movies?
How to watch Halloween chronologically
If you want a similar experience to what other horror fans have had with the Halloween movies, you can watch them chronologically in order of their release:
- Halloween (1978) — stream on Shudder & AMC Plus in US; stream on Netflix in UK
- Halloween II (1981) — stream on Peacock & AMC Plus in US; stream on Sky Go in UK
- Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) — stream on Peacock & AMC Plus in US; stream on Lionsgate Plus in UK
- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Meyers (1988) — stream on AMC Plus in US; stream on Lionsgate Plus in UK
- Halloween: The Revenge of Michael Meyers (1989) — stream on AMC Plus in US; stream on Lionsgate Plus in UK
- Halloween: The Curse of Michael Meyers (1995) — stream on AMC Plus in US; stream on Paramount Plus in UK
- Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) — stream on AMC Plus in US; stream on Sky Go in UK
- Halloween: Resurrection (2002) — stream on AMC Plus in US; stream on Sky Go in UK
- Halloween (2007) — stream on Peacock in US; stream on Netflix & Prime Video in UK
- Halloween II (2009) — stream on Peacock in US; rent via digital on-demand in UK
- Halloween (2018) — stream on Peacock in US; free on BBC iPlayer in UK
- Halloween Kills (2021) — rent on digital on-demand in US; stream on Netflix in UK
- Halloween Ends (2023) — stream on Prime Video in US; stream on Sky Go in UK
You can also purchase or rent all of the movies to stream as a set from Prime Video.
If you don't have the time to watch all of them chronologically or you want to skip a few of them like Halloween III, which is outside of the canon and doesn't follow the storyline in the other movies or even mention Michael Meyers, you can watch them in a couple of other ways.
Halloween movies based on the original story
Halloween III is an outlier in the Halloween franchise. It doesn't continue the story told in Halloween II and Michael Meyers isn't even in it. This film is a stand alone in the Halloween universe and most fans don't include it in the Halloween canon. Halloween movies that tell the story of Michael Myers in order are:
- Halloween (1978)
- Halloween II (1981)
- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
- Halloween: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
- Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
Halloween H20 Movies
This set of Halloween movies picks up after Halloween and Halloween II. Halloween H20, begins 20 years after the events in the original and rewrites the canon as if the movies after the original Halloween II never existed. If you want to watch this set of movie you should watch:
- Halloween (1978)
- Halloween II (1981)
- Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
- Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
The Blumhouse Halloween trilogy
In 2018, horror production company Blumhouse rebooted the Halloween franchise, piggybacking off of the events in the original movie. Using only the original Halloween as canon, the 2018 Halloween and the subsequent movies features an older Laurie Strode out for revenge against Michael.
The latest Halloween movie, Halloween Ends, is the final installment of the Blumhouse Halloween trilogy.
- Halloween (2018)
- Halloween Kills (2021)
- Halloween Ends (2022)
The Rob Zombie Halloween movies
Musician turned horror director Rob Zombie loved the 80s slasher series Halloween so much he wanted to make a film using the original characters but telling what he thought was a better story. In 2007 he released his reimagining of Halloween followed in 2009 by the continuation of his Michael Myers origin story in his Halloween II. Rob Zombie's Halloween movies are:
- Halloween (2007)
- Halloween II (2009)
Rob Zombie’s Halloween movies were box office successes but many fans felt that the director didn't bring enough originality to a story that had already been remade and reimagined in various ways since it started in 1978.
Is Halloween Ends really the end for the Halloween franchise? As long as there are fans of 80s-style slasher films there will probably always be room in the horror pantheon for another Halloween movie. But if Halloween Ends really is the end, fans of Michael Myers will have plenty of films to watch to keep their passion for his Halloween night hijinks alive.
