Michael Myers Speed Art and Film Ranking
In this speed art and ranking video, I’m going to transform my animated version of the original Michael Myers (from my original animation The Evolution of Michael Myers), into the newest 2018 Michael Myers, and the same thing for Laurie Strode.
So, from worst to first, here’s how I rank the Halloween series.
warning: spoilers ahead!
11. Halloween Resurrection (2002)
Coming in at number 11 is Halloween: Resurrection. So this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, Resurrection, unlike what the title suggests, actually nearly killed the franchise, and did kill this timeline. The main thing that makes this one horrible is just how it does wrong by H20. H20 was a pretty epic final for the series and if they were going to do another they should not have killed off Laurie in such an odd way so early on, they should have given us a better plot than Halloween webcam show It’s just an odd excuse of a movie, and I won’t even go into the kung-fu that Busta Rhymes performs, which basically summarizes this film in a nut-shell . So moving on.
10. H2: Halloween 2 (2009)
At number 10, and quite a bit better than Resurrection but still pretty bad in my opinion is Rob Zombie's Halloween 2. So this may be the most divisive movie in the Franchise, I’ve talked to people who love it and I’ve talked to people who hate it, and if you can’t tell by my placement on here, I kind of hate it. It really just doesn’t feel like a proper Halloween film, sure it has Michael-but he’s a hobo, and it has Laurie-but she’s so unlikable, but don’t worry we still have Loomis-except now he’s a complete sell-out celebrity who’s trying to squeeze every bit of money out of the Myers name on his book-tour. I read online that Rob Zombie wanted to make the Halloween movie that he wanted to make, but between the weird dream-sequences, the odd recasting of young Michael Myers and the iconic mask barley being in this film, it just doesn’t sit even feel like a Halloween film at all.
9. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (2015)
And moving on to number 9 we have Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Okay so for me Part 5 is where things kind of fell off the tracks in this franchise. Don’t get me wrong, I still get a little bit of enjoyment out of this film, but everything it does is just worse than the previous films. The mask is worse, Jamie is misused, the music choices are odd and they turned Loomis into a raging lunatic. It was definitely also the most rushed film, from the opening scene where Michael is cared for by a hermit to them skirting by the end of Part 4 where Jamie could have taken over as the killers role, this film just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I get just a little bit of enjoyment out of it so it's higher than the last two.
8. Halloween (2007)
Okay so taking the number 8 spot is Rob Zombie's original Halloween remake. It’s not all bad, it nails the look of Michael, his mask may be one of the best in the franchise and Tyler Mane does a great job in the role. Unfortunately Rob Zombie went full-hellbilly on his origin story and completely sucked away any mystery from our killer, and what follows is just a pale grungy imitation of the original film. Now if I saw this film before I saw the original I may have a slightly different opinion of it, but minus the troubled first half this adds little to the Halloween series.
7. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
And sliding in at number 7 is Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Yeah I put this one above Part 5, mainly because it’s actually competently made and feels in tone with the first few entries in the series, it’s truly a shame that this film was so blogged down by the lore started in the 5th part, but I respect that instead of ignoring the problematic plot points it takes them head on, and you can tell the writers for this film had a lot of respect for the franchise, the good parts and the nitty and gritty parts. So this film may be a mess, but I look at it more as an interesting conclusion to a troubled trilogy. And also we get Paul Rudd and Donald Pleasence's last film as Dr. L:oomis – this time not acting like a raging psycho, for that alone it ranks higher than the previous movies.
6. Halloween: H2O (1998)
So from this point on I’d say the quality of the next films on here a far and above what came before on this list, and I coming in at number 6 is Halloween H20. I feel like it was a step in the right direction-despite it being short-lived. We have Jamie Lee Curtis returning to the role that made her career and she truly gives this part her all. What may hold this film down a little bit is the residue left over by the Scream franchise, where basically every horror film in the late 90s and early 2000s had to have this tongue and cheek Dawson’s Creek esque wit that doesn’t quite fit in with the earlier films in the franchise, but while looked at on as it’s own it’s a rather effective film. I’d say the opening sequence back in Haddonfield and the closing 15 minutes of this movie elevate it quite a bit, and while the middle is a little disjointed, it has 2 great pieces of bread that make this well worth the watch. And yeah there's the whole mask debacle, where Michael's mask looks different sometimes within scenes, and the annoyance of seeing his eyes clearly-which really bothers me- so that’s why this film is smack dab in the centre here, intersting plot and good acting mixed with odd production choices that hinder it's legacy.
5. Halloween (2018)
And coming in just above H20 at number 5 is the other long awaited sequel where Laurie faces off against Michael, Halloween from 2018. Alright so some of you are going to be surprised to see the second best reviewed Halloween film at number 5 on my list, and I was also a little surprised by my own ranking as well when I say down to do this, but I think this film was ruined by my own enormous anticipation for it. There was no way it could live up to the hype, but all the marketing kept telling us how this film was going to right the wrongs of the other sequels and give us a more concise time-line, but what we got was a lot of references to those earlier films and sometimes scenes taken straight from those now not canon sequels. It ended up feeling more like a best of movie than a cohesive story. And not too mention the doctor subplot where he plays evil taxi driver to get Michael to the kill spot, only to be taken out immediately after- is certainly the sweatiest bit of the film. But I think the opening and Michael's escape are great scenes, and Laurie dealing with PTSD is probably the most real that the franchise has gotten, but I do think the ending climax of the movie was a little disappointing and not as epic as even H20’s final showdown, but they had to make sure they left the door open for sequels to come, I just wish that it could have been a bit more finite.
4. Halloween 2 (1981)
So at number 4 on my list is Halloween 2 from 1981. Before this years Halloween we had another sequel that pitted Laurie Strode against her masked killer, mostly set in a hospital, which gives the film a bottle-episode type feel, while allowing Michael to get some of his most creative kills of the franchise. The gore is dialled up to 11 to match with other horror franchises that popped up in the 3 years since the original film came out, and sure, it’s not as subdued and eery as the original, but it still packs a punch and gives us more story from that fateful night. In this one Michael escapes from the Strode house and continues to hunt her down, again with Loomis in hot pursuit. While Halloween 2018 feels like its own film that could stand alone, this one feels more like another chapter to the original, so when watching the original then this one right after it feels like one long story. Also the music is again on point - I may even enjoy this films soundtrack more than the original, adding haunting synths to the soundtrack so there’s barely ever a moment to rest. All in all this is one of my favourites in the franchise.
3. Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)
And sliding in at number 7 is Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Yeah I put this one above Part 5, mainly because it’s actually competently made and feels in tone with the first few entries in the series, it’s truly a shame that this film was so blogged down by the lore started in the 5th part, but I respect that instead of ignoring the problematic plot points it takes them head on, and you can tell the writers for this film had a lot of respect for the franchise, the good parts and the nitty and gritty parts. So this film may be a mess, but I look at it more as an interesting conclusion to a troubled trilogy. And also we get Paul Rudd and Donald Pleasence's last film as Dr. L:oomis – this time not acting like a raging psycho, for that alone it ranks higher than the previous movies.
2. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (2012)
And sliding in at number 7 is Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Yeah I put this one above Part 5, mainly because it’s actually competently made and feels in tone with the first few entries in the series, it’s truly a shame that this film was so blogged down by the lore started in the 5th part, but I respect that instead of ignoring the problematic plot points it takes them head on, and you can tell the writers for this film had a lot of respect for the franchise, the good parts and the nitty and gritty parts. So this film may be a mess, but I look at it more as an interesting conclusion to a troubled trilogy. And also we get Paul Rudd and Donald Pleasence's last film as Dr. L:oomis – this time not acting like a raging psycho, for that alone it ranks higher than the previous movies.
1. Halloween (1978)
And sliding in at number 7 is Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Yeah I put this one above Part 5, mainly because it’s actually competently made and feels in tone with the first few entries in the series, it’s truly a shame that this film was so blogged down by the lore started in the 5th part, but I respect that instead of ignoring the problematic plot points it takes them head on, and you can tell the writers for this film had a lot of respect for the franchise, the good parts and the nitty and gritty parts. So this film may be a mess, but I look at it more as an interesting conclusion to a troubled trilogy. And also we get Paul Rudd and Donald Pleasence's last film as Dr. L:oomis – this time not acting like a raging psycho, for that alone it ranks higher than the previous movies.
And that’s my list of every Halloween movie, from worst to best. Let me know if you agree with my rankings over on Instagram @tellitanimated!
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