For Halloween this year, we wanted to come up with the ultimate and definitive ranking of the entire Halloween franchise, but we quickly realized that it simply wouldn’t be possible by just polling members of the Bloody Disgusting team. That would be OUR ranking rather than YOUR ranking, and it could hardly be considered definitive with a handful of people taking part.
So instead we opened it up to you, the readers of Bloody Disgusting. For the past week, we’ve been asking you to submit your own personal ranking of all thirteen Halloween movies using a simple drag-and-drop form we created, and we’re thrilled to report that 4,419 of you took part. We now feel comfortable saying that the data we have our hands allows us to create a truly definitive ranking of the Halloween saga, from John Carpenter’s original slasher classic straight through to David Gordon Green’s highly polarizing legacy sequel, Halloween Ends.
Every individual ranking we received from October 23 – October 30 has been collected together to form ONE list that combines them all together, and we now present that to you.
Get in the mood by watching an ultimate franchise trailer cut from our friend Wilson Cleveland, and read on for Bloody Disgusting’s Ultimate Halloween Franchise Ranking!
Bloody Disgusting’s Ultimate Halloween Franchise Ranking is presented by G FUEL’s Halloween II Michael Myers Collector’s Box. It’s a limited edition drop, so act fast.
13) Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the lowest ranked film on the list is Halloween: Resurrection, the much-maligned installment that famously undid the perfect ending to Halloween H2O, brought a reality television aspect to the saga, and imagined a world where Busta Rhymes could kick Michael Myers’ ass. Do you still watch it every time it’s playing on television around this time of the year? I do too. But it’s undoubtedly a franchise low point.
Sorry, Busta!
12) Halloween II (2009)
This one probably isn’t much of a surprise either, and while I don’t agree with the movie’s placement on this list, there’s no denying that Rob Zombie’s Halloween II is right up there with Halloween III and Halloween Ends as one of the most downright polarizing installments in the franchise. Zombie’s ambitious sequel has its defenders, including yours truly, but for many fans of the franchise, his bold take on the material just didn’t sit well. Even more than his Halloween remake, Halloween II is a Rob Zombie movie through and through, with Zombie taking the tale of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode down an entirely different path. Whether you love it or hate it, you at least have to appreciate the personal stamp he put on it.
Well, I suppose you don’t have to…
11) Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
We didn’t specify which version of Halloween 6 you were ranking – the theatrical cut or the “Producer’s Cut” that many fans feel is far superior – but we’re also not sure that this movie would’ve had much of a different placement on the list either way. The Curse of Michael Myers marked the final appearance in the franchise for Donald Pleasence and the first and only appearance in the franchise for Paul Rudd, the movie killing Jamie Lloyd at the start and diving deep into Thorn Cult mythology. It’s never been much of a fan favorite, so we’re not surprised to see it ranking this low on the list. But check out the Producer’s Cut if you never have!
And hey, any Halloween movie with a creepy Paul Rudd can’t be THAT bad… right?!
10) Halloween Ends (2022)
David Gordon Green finished his trilogy with Halloween Ends, an ambitious movie that attempted to finally – for real, this time! – bring the battle between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode to a satisfying conclusion while also creating a new “Shape” with Rohan Campbell’s Corey Cunningham. Whether or not it effectively did either of those things in a satisfying fashion is up to the individual viewer, but it’s clear based on the votes from over 4,000 of you that Halloween Ends is likely going to remain a polarizing installment in the decades to come.
Where does the franchise go from here? We’ll find out soon.
9) Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
Danielle Harris returned to the screen as Laurie Strode’s niece Jamie Lloyd in Halloween 5, a film that erased the final moments of the previous installment and instead conjured up a telepathic link between Jamie and Michael Myers. It also introduced the Thorn Cult mythology that Halloween 6 later played with, and it ended up being the lowest grossing movie in the entire franchise. Critics didn’t love it back then, and many fans clearly still feel the same.
But we still love Jamie Lloyd, no matter how we feel about this installment.
8) Halloween (2007)
Rob Zombie may have been opposed to remakes before entering Haddonfield, but he found a story worth telling with his take on Michael Myers and his twisted childhood. Zombie’s Halloween successfully brought the franchise back to life at the box office and finally made Michael look scary again, but many fans have never gotten over his approach to the early years of the iconic slasher villain. He turned “The Shape” into a human serial killer as opposed to an almost supernatural force of nature, demystifying the boogeyman in the process.
Sometimes, it’s better to know less about our cinematic monsters.
7) Halloween Kills (2021)
David Gordon Green sidelined Laurie Strode in a hospital in his first sequel to his own Halloween movie, weaving a tale of Haddonfield at large and the evil festering away within its core. Halloween Kills brought back legacy characters including Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace to get their revenge on Michael Myers all these decades later, and it also made it clear that Gordon Green had more on his mind than simply telling Laurie Strode’s story. The film received middling reviews when it came out, so I suppose it makes sense that it’s found itself just about smack dab in the middle of this particular list a handful of years post-release.
It’s at least better than Halloween Ends, most would agree!
6) Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Back in 1998, the draw of Halloween H20 was that it was finally a legacy sequel to the original two Halloween movies, with Jamie Lee Curtis returning to the role of Laurie Strode for the first time since 1981. The idea was to bring the final battle between Laurie and Michael to the screen, which of course ended up being undone by the following movie and then later rebooted completely with Gordon Green’s Halloween. But Halloween H20 was a special movie at the time, armed with a definitive ending that saw Laurie behead and kill Michael once and for all. It’s only become more of a fan favorite in recent years, with many arguing that Halloween H20‘s handling of Laurie was superior to the subsequent trilogy’s take on the character.
Should this have been the one true end to Laurie’s story?
5) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
While Halloween III is now beloved (more on that in a second!), there’s no denying that the fanbase wasn’t pleased with the movie at the time. The idea was to move beyond Michael Myers and use the franchise to tell other stories centered around the holiday, but when that didn’t go over well, it wasn’t long before Michael came back. Six years later we got Halloween 4, which introduced Danielle Harris as Jamie Lloyd, the niece of Laurie Strode. It’s become one of the most beloved installments in the series, with the ending suggesting that Michael’s evil has transferred to Jamie. Spoiler Alert: the sequel tossed that out the window.
Halloween 4 may be a good sequel, but boy does Michael look bad in it!
4) Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
How crazy is this?! I remember a time when Halloween III was hated by fans, with many unable to get over its bold departure from the Michael Myers of it all. But here we are in 2025, and thousands of you have voted Halloween III: Season of the Witch one of the top four Halloween movies of all time! I truly never thought I’d live to see this day, but I’m glad that I have. When viewed as a standalone movie that’s completely separate from the Halloween franchise, it’s a damn good holiday horror movie. And it’s the sequel I find myself revisiting most.
I’ve seen Tom Atkins’ naked butt more times than I care to admit.
3) Halloween (2018)
While Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends may not be beloved installments, most fans at least seem to agree that David Gordon Green started his trilogy on a strong note. He brought back Jamie Lee Curtis for what was advertised (once again) as the final battle between Laurie and Michael at the time, and if you choose to ignore both Kills and Ends, Halloween 2018 actually is a pretty perfect end to the franchise on its own. It’s a legacy sequel through and through, infusing new characters into old storylines, and it’s one of the franchise’s best.
Should Gordon Green have stopped here? Chime in below with your thoughts.
2) Halloween II (1981)
The story is that John Carpenter begrudgingly wrote Halloween II with a little help from a lot of Budweiser, and we may have the beer to thank for the concept of Laurie being Michael’s sister. That little addition forever altered the course of the franchise, and whether or not you think it was a good decision, there’s no doubt that most fans feels the original Halloween II isn’t far behind the ’78 classic. It’s a perfect continuation of the original Halloween, quite literally, and that probably has a little something to do with the dude who wrote it.
… even if he never actually wanted to write it!
1) Halloween (1978)
The two least surprising things on this list? Halloween: Resurrection in dead last and the original Halloween in first place! 92% of all ballots ranked Carpenter’s Halloween as the best movie in the 13-movie franchise, proving without a shadow of a doubt that nobody to come in Carpenter’s wake – not even Carpenter himself! – has improved upon the perfection Carpenter, Debra Hill, and the rest of the Haddonfield gang brought to the screen all those years ago.
47 years… 13 movies… you just can’t top the original.
Bloody Disgusting’s Ultimate Halloween Franchise Ranking is presented by G FUEL’s Halloween II Michael Myers Collector’s Box. Get your all-access pass to that smooth, relentless energy of the Boogeyman himself. This limited-edition drop has got the gear you need, whether you’re doing a late-night horror movie marathon, playing your favorite horror games, or you’re suffering from the horror of the real world.
The post Bloody Disgusting’s Definitive Ranking of All 13 Movies in the ‘Halloween’ Franchise! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
