‘Halloween’ franchise: 12 films released over 43 years which took the box office by storm

As Jamie Lee Curtis returns as the gun-toting grandma, hell bent on killing the seemingly immortal Michael Myers, we take a trip down memory lane to revisit the money-spinning film franchise that has made a killing at the box office across 40 years.

Halloween (1978): Director John Carpenter, relatively unknown name in the movie business at the time, received a proposal from executive producer Irwin Yablans to make a low-budget movie about baby sitters being murdered. “It was a horrible idea,” Carpenter told the New York Times in 2018. “But I wanted to make more movies, so I said, ‘Great!” What resulted was a plot about a boy called Michael Myers who escapes from a mental hospital 15 years later to return to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill babysitters on Halloween night. Jamie Lee Curtis plays high school student Laurie Strode who takes on the might of Myers. Fun fact: the film was original called ‘The Babysitter Murders’, but Yablans suggested changing the film’s title.

Halloween II (1981): Rick Rosenthal made his directorial debut with this film, with Carpenter opting to write and produce the project. The plot picks up directly from where the first film ended, with Michael Myers following survivor Laurie Strode to the local hospital, while his psychiatrist Dr Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) continues his pursuit of him. The film was a box office success, grossing over $25 million in the US alone, despite receiving mixed reviews.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982): The movie, which was written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, did away with Michael Myers to focus on small-town mask maker Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy) who is plotting to murder millions of children by using an ancient Celtic ritual to empower Silver Shamrock masks that will trigger a device contained in a television commercial and cause death, Yes, the film was as bizarre as it sounds. Carpenter and his girlfriend Debra Hill served as producers on the project, which bombed at the box office.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988): After the third film was panned by fans and critics, the makers brought back Michael Myers, resurrecting him from a coma 10 years after the first massacre. Upon hearing that he has a niece tucked away in Haddonfield, Myers launches his murdering spree to chase after his niece Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), the daughter of Laurie Strode, who is out trick or treating, with Dr Sam Loomis and Sheriff Ben Meeker (Beau Starr) hot on his trail. Jamie Lee Curtis didn’t return for this project, but Donald Pleasence reprised his role as Dr Loomis. Even though the film cashed in on Myers, it was panned by everyone for its loose plot.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989): Releasing the following year, and co-written and directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard, Danielle Harris and Donald Pleasence returned to the town of Haddonfield once again to reprise their roles as Jamie Lloyd and Dr Sam Loomis. Jamie, who is traumatised from Myers’ previous attack on her, has been institutionalised following her attempt to murder her foster mother. As the knife-wielding slasher chases her down without success, a mysterious man in black appears who helps Michael Myers escape, right into the next film in the franchise.

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995): After the previous film disappointed, the franchise remained dead for six years before being resurrected in 1995 with Donald Pleasence returning for his final try at capturing Myers. If you re-watch the film, a young Paul Rudd takes up the fight with Marianne Hagan. Our mask wearing slashers returns to stalk the Strode family, cousins of Laurie Strode, in order to kill his last surviving relatives. The Man in Black from the previous film is revealed to be the leader of a Druid-like cult that is driving Myers’ thirst to kill. Rudd plays Tommy Doyle, one of the kids Laurie Strode babysat in 1978 who is determined to get to the bottom of what drives Myers into an immortal killing machine. Things come to head when the Man in Black comes to kidnap Jamie Lloyd’s newborn baby and the merry gang returns to stop this from happening.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998): Directed by Steve Miner, Jamie Lee Curtis returned to the franchise, with Adam Arkin, Michelle Williams, and Josh Hartnett. We return to the original story here with ‘H20’ serving as a direct sequel to the first two films. Curtis’ Laurie Strode has faked her own death in order to go into hiding from her brother, Michael Myers, who has tracked her down to a private boarding school in California. What follows, you guessed it, is another killing spree with Laurie seemingly decapitating Myers in the end. Or so we think. The movie earned $75 million at the box office.

Halloween: Resurrection (2002): Rick Rosenthal returned to direct the sequel to ‘Halloween H20’ with Busta Rhymes, Sean Patrick Thomas, Tyra Banks and Jamie Lee Curtis starring in the project. Myers is back in Haddonfield where his childhood home is being used for a live internet horror show. What could go wrong? Aside from the movie being panned, not much else.

Halloween (2007): Written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie, the 2007 film was a remake of the original 1978 one directed by John Carpenter. Scout Taylor-Compton played Laurie Strode while Malcolm McDowell took on Dr Sam Loomis. Zombie’s reimagined Carpenter’s plot where Michael Myers is stalking Laurie Strode and her friends on Halloween night. The movie, made on a budget of $15 million, went on to make $80.3 million worldwide.

Halloween II (2009): Rob Zombie returned to the franchise, looking to focus on the connection between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, and the idea that they share similar psychological problems. Picking up where the 2007 film ended and then jumping ahead two years, we see Laurie Strode deal with horrors of that night, while Dr Loomis is keen on cashing in the fame with a book deal. Michael Myers returns so he can reunite with his sister. Malcolm McDowell, Scout Taylor-Compton and Tyler Mane return to star.

Halloween (2018): David Gordon Green takes on the direction with his movie serving as a sequel to the 1978 film. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle who reprise their respective roles as Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. Its plot follows a post-traumatic Laurie Strode who prepares to face Michael Myers in a final showdown on Halloween night, forty years after she survived his killing spree.

Halloween Kills (2021): David Gordon Green, who had always maintained his first film was part of a trilogy that will end the franchise, returns with the second part which begins exactly where the previous film ended. Laurie Strode and her family continuing to fend off Myers, this time, with the help of the Haddonfield community. Don’t expect Myers to die here because who then will star in ‘Halloween Ends’, scheduled to release on October 14, 2022?