At a glance
| First film | Halloween (1978) |
| Director of the original | John Carpenter |
| Killer | Michael Myers |
| Survivor | Laurie Strode, in the films that include her |
Overview
Halloween (1978) is a babysitter, a masked man, and a theme in 5/4. John Carpenter directed and scored it. Debra Hill wrote it with him. The sequels do not agree with each other. Halloween II says Laurie is Michael’s sister. The middle films follow Jamie Lloyd. H20 ignores most of that and brings Jamie Lee Curtis back. The 2018 film ignores everything after the original. Halloween Ends (2022) closes that latest line. There is no single canon. There is a mask and a date.
The timelines
The original stands alone if you let it. Halloween II continues the same night. Halloween III has no Michael Myers at all. Parts 4 through 6 follow the niece and, in the sixth film, a cult. H20 and Resurrection are a Curtis branch. Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake and its sequel are their own pair. Halloween (2018), Kills, and Ends pretend the sequels did not happen. Carpenter produced and scored the 2018 trilogy. He did not direct it. David Gordon Green did.
Films on this site
- Halloween (1978) review — no separate film page yet
- Halloween II (1981)
- Halloween (2018)
Trivia
- The mask began as a Captain Kirk mask, sprayed white.
- Michael is credited as the Shape in the 1978 script. He does not speak.
- Halloween III is a different story. Fans who expect the mask are watching the wrong film.
- Curtis is not in parts 4, 5, or 6.
- The 2018 film throws out the sister twist from Halloween II.