All 13 Halloween Movies Ranked

John Carpenter's Halloween is the reason the slasher genre exploded. Simple but perfectly executed horror, an unforgettable score and Jamie Lee Curtis as the ultimate final girl make it a masterpiece. Michael Myers is pure horror: no motive, no emotions, just an unstoppable force of evil.

This film ignores all the sequels and is a direct follow-up to the original. Jamie Lee Curtis returns as a traumatized, armed Laurie Strode, and the film combines brutal kills with nostalgia and strong character development. The horror feels raw and intense, and the ending with the burning trap for Michael is iconic.

This film picks up right after the original but adds more gore and brutality. It reveals the twist that Laurie is Michael's sister, which would later divide fans. The hospital setting is claustrophobic, and while it lacks Carpenter's directorial vision, it's a strong slasher.

Jamie Lee Curtis returns for the first time since Halloween II and finally gets the confrontation fans had been waiting for. It feels more like Scream than Halloween, but the ending where Laurie beheads Michael is one of the franchise's best moments.

Michael Myers is at his most brutal here, with merciless, sadistic kills. The problem? The script is messy and 'Evil dies tonight' may be the dumbest slogan ever. Still, the opening flashbacks to 1978 and the bloody finale are rock solid.

This film does something completely different by focusing on a new killer, Corey Cunningham, instead of Michael. It wasn't what fans expected, but it's an interesting look at how evil spreads. The final showdown between Laurie and Michael could have been bigger, but taken on its own terms it's one of the most unique sequels.

After the flop of Halloween III, Michael came back. This film introduces Jamie Lloyd (Laurie's daughter) and feels like a solid slasher with one of the best endings in the franchise. Michael is less scary here, but the atmosphere works.

This film has no Michael Myers but has gained cult status. The story revolves around a dark conspiracy involving deadly Halloween masks, and although it flopped at the time, it's an original and underrated horror film.

This sequel squanders the strong setup of part 4. Jamie Lloyd is weaker here, Michael feels less threatening, and the goofy comic-relief cops are a disaster. Still, it contains a few brutal kills.

This film tries to explain Michael's origins with a ridiculous cult storyline. It makes Michael less scary and the editing is a mess. The 'Producer's Cut' is better but doesn't solve all the problems.

Rob Zombie tries to give Michael a tragic backstory, but that makes him less frightening. The first half feels like a cheap biopic, while the second half is a brutal retelling of the original. Some love this grimy, foul-mouthed take on Michael; others hate it.

Zombie takes a completely different direction with trippy dream sequences, a grunting, talking Michael Myers and a bizarre take on Laurie. Some scenes are fascinating, but overall it feels like a failed experimental horror film.

Michael kills during a reality show, Busta Rhymes fights him with kung fu, and Laurie is killed off in the first 15 minutes. The dumbest, most misguided Halloween film ever.