Rank All 9 Halloween Films Here!

Let me preface by saying that I don't find any of these movies unwatchable, I just like some entries more than others. Here are my picks and a few observations on each. Of course, there will be SPOILERS below:

10. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)- First of all, you give Danielle Harris the modest $5000 she asked for to appear in the film. No matter how small of a part she has, she did so well in 4 & 5. Secondly, I think they took the "Cult of Thorn" thing a little too far. And lastly, the story was just all over the place. (2/10)

9. Halloween: H2O (1998)- Jami Lee wanted to do this film with Carpenter, but he declined. Completely ignoring the canon of 4-6 was a let-down for me, despite the fact that I didn't care much for the "Thorn" supernatural aspects of 5 and 6. But, seeing Vivian and Jamie-Lee on screen together again was cool. And Vivian had the Psycho car and background music. Very nice. (3/10)

8. Halloween: Resurrection (2002)- Not a bad idea, just really poor execution. At least they attempted to have a story even they didn't pull it off. I don't hate Busta Rhymes' performance, that fight with Michael made me laugh. I just don't think this installment was necessary. But, it was definitely entertaining. (3/10)

7. Halloween II (2009)- Very weird and surreal with striking visuals. I think I can see what Zombie was trying to do here, but, it just didn't translate well to film. I think maybe he should either hone his storytelling skills a bit more, or stick to music. I really like his music. I do have to give him props for the brutality of the film, Annie's death was hard to take, even though most of it was off-screen. (Great job by Ms. Harris again.) (4/10)

6. Halloween (2007)- Hated the backstory: A white-trash, dysfunctional, foul-mouthed "family" raises a serial killer. Pretty damn cliche'. I liked it better when we didn't know why Michael went bat-sh!t crazy, he just was. And, while I like Tyler Mane, I don't think Sabretooth was the correct casting choice for this role. A graphic, brutal film once the killing got started. I am glad Zombie is not associated with the upcoming Halloween movie, and I hope the new filmmakers treat the source material with more respect. (4/10)

5. Halloween III: The Season of the Witch (1982)- I hated, hated, HATED this movie when it came out in theaters. I was really young, but I was already a die hard Halloween fan.(Actually just a horror movie fan in general.) I wanted to see Michael Myers dammit!! I gave this movie another chance in the early '90s, and it has grown on me since. Forget the Halloween name, and this is a creepy, atmospheric, down-right scary film. Couldn't believe they had the balls to kill that poor, ugly little kid! Unfortunately, I still can't hear the tune to "London Bridge Is Falling Down" without hearing that damn jingle in my head! (5/10)

4. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)- Went a little to far into the supernatural for a Michael Myers film in my opinion, but, Hollywood doesn't give me millions of dollars to make films. Again, I loved Danielle Harris' acting in this. For her age, she had quite a range. Tina's boyfriend Mikey was a straight up, late '80s, wannabe badboy dickhead. I actually cheered in the theater when he died. Tina was annoying, but she redeemed herself in the end. It was pretty fun, fairly fast paced, and the kills were entertaining. A little too "slapstick" for me personally. (5/10)

3. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)- I was really anticipating this film after I first heard about it being in production during the summer of 1988. My friends and I piled into our cars and headed to the theater on opening day. I even drug my poor, terrified girlfriend along. (She hated Horror Movies). We cheered when Michael first appeared onscreen. We all loved the movie: Plot moved along nicely, Michael was very menacing, most of the characters were fairly well fleshed out for a horror flick and likable. The rednecks were done pretty well as tragic comic relief. (You shoulda came out from behind that bush little Teddy Hollister!) The kills were inventive and pretty awesome for the time except for Sundae, stop killing dogs Michael, you bastard. As I have stated above, Jamie was portrayed very well by Danielle Harris, especially for her age. All in all, a very good movie, and one that I have enjoyed watching many times. (7/10)

2. Halloween II (1981)- A great continuation of the original film. I loved the claustrophobic feel of the hospital and Michael just seemed a little more pissed off in this one. And, the gore factor went up exponentially from the first. There was some clunky dialogue and times that I thought Michael may have been onscreen for too long in certain shots. I always liked Michael when he's in the shadows, or pops up when you don't expect him to. But, as far as the entire franchise, this is my second favorite, and the first one I was able to see in theaters upon it's theatrical release. Great kills, Michael is menacing, and I, for one enjoyed the "Laurie being his sister" sub-plot from the first time I viewed this installment. (8/10)

1. Halloween (1978)- Ah yes! The original classic. I know most of the younger generation find it to be slow-paced and boring. But, for it's time, this movie was pushing the envelope. I first saw it on TV as I was too young to see it in theaters. Of course, my dad took me to see Jaws in the theater when I was 5, and it scared the piss out of me! But, I digress. I found the initially happy opening that slowly began to build into a tension-filled thriller very exciting. Michael's blank face in the opening sequence after he had killed Judith gave me goosebumps, as did the scene of Michael's escape from Smith's Grove Sanitorium when all of the mental patients were just milling around like zombies. This is one of my favorite horror movies of all time. It has a fairly low death count compared to the rest of the series, but, I believe it was paced well with some very tense moments and a very creepy atmosphere. (9/10, because no movie is perfect)

These are just my personal rankings, of course. And, I am sure that many will disagree with my opinions. Please give yours if you have the time, and feel free to criticize mine. Let's just try to keep it civil.

🎃 Happy Halloween! 🎃

Rex

 When movie hell is full, re-makes shall walk the earth. 