HALLOWEEN
How to watch all Michael Myer’s Halloween movies in order and where you can find them
The Halloween franchise now includes 12 movies, but you don’t need to watch them all one after the other since they don’t follow a chronological order.
Halloween is a spooky time of time of year and what better way to get in the mood than with a horror movie and slasher movies always bring out the screams. Halloween is the mother of all slasher movies and the latest in the franchise, Halloween Kills, is now available to stream on Peacock.
But with eleven previous Halloween movies and another on the way deciding which to watch if not already acquainted with Michael Myer can be a difficult choice. Fortunately, not all the movies follow the same timeline so your binge watching before fright night will be somewhat easier.
Halloween viewing: start at the beginning
Of the twelve movies in the franchise, three of them can be seen apart from the rest. Two of them share the same titles as the originals from almost thirty years prior, Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009) but are a separate reboot of the franchise by Rob Zombie. The other, made shortly after the original two in 1982, is called Halloween III: Season of the Witch but Michael Myer is nowhere to be found in the movie and can be watched at your leisure.
But to truly enjoy the latest movie there is only one timeline that you want to follow and that starts at the very beginning with the 1978 Halloween created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. The original will introduce you to the main characters, Michael Myer stalking his victims throughout the franchise, his sister and primary target to kill Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, and Dr Sam Loomis, played by Donald Pleasence, who was Michael’s psychiatrist while he was committed and seeks to get him back in the insane asylum, barring that keep him from killing anymore people.
Halloween (1978)
Although you may be accustomed to more spectacular special effects, there was no CGI back in the 70s, this movie will still make you jump off your couch screaming and haunt your dreams.
Following the original you could follow a number of timelines, but to cut straight to the chase, skip forward to Halloween (2018) that is a direct sequel to the original Halloween. It by-passes all of the other Halloween movie storylines and takes you on a direct path to the latest.
Halloween (2018)
After the traumatic events of the first movie Laurie has been awaiting the return of her murderous brother. It doesn’t go well for either of them but at least they are both alive for another sequel.
Halloween Kills (2021)
Not much of a spoiler thanks to the movie trailer, Michael gets burned but survives and manages to go out looking for his sister again. Laurie will once again try to end the recurring nightmare of her homicidal brother coming after her. The sequel Halloween Ends comes out in 2022.
Halloween: other possible viewing choices
These are two alternate timelines that break off from the original Halloween (1978). Grab your popcorn and enjoy!
Option 1
Option 2
In related news, you may want to set a couple of hours aside this week for the horror movie Barbarian, which was one of the big surprises of 2022, and landed in Netflix’s catalog the following year. The movie is still available as we approach Halloween 2024, but its days on the platform are numbered, as it will be removed on November 1.