The Halloween Film Franchise: Yakima Viewing Order
With the latest installment of the Halloween franchise (Halloween Ends) finally being released (and able to stream now), I wanted to watch them from the beginning. Then I find out how there are 13 films! Wow! Someone stab me while wearing a William Shatner mask! Then I started doing some research on how, like the third, fourth and fifth film doesn’t matter, but then what about the two films made by Rob Zombie? I’m confused. The only thing I do know, is not wear the Silver Shamrock masks! But as far as the films go… quick to the local experts in horror movies.
Now I’m sure there are many, MANY horror movie buffs in Yakima, but I don’t know them all. I do know Kevin Porter and Brandon Allen. I did some public access work with them back in the day, those two are some of the most knowledgeable guys when it comes to film and especially horror movies that I have ever met. So to the experts I asked, “How should I watch the Halloween franchise?”
“Hmmm great question! I would watch them chronologically if I was gonna watch them all for the first time. Storyline driven though, there definitely are a couple different ways.” – Kevin Porter.
After a breakdown of the franchise, Brandon answered the same question, pretty close to what Kevin had said:
“To ultimately answer your question, in which order to watch ‘em in? I would watch ‘em all in order!” – Brandon Allen
So how is the breakdown of the films? From what my experts told me, there are four different storylines, and one stand-alone film. I’ll be including the film years to help follow along (since the title “Halloween” is used a couple times). Let’s just start off, from shortest storylines to longest.
Shortest Storyline: Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)
According to Brandon, “Halloween 3 is all on its own technically, because (John) Carpenter (co-producer) wanted to do an anthology franchise, and it has nothing to do with Michael Myers.” Kevin added “The idea then was that they would release a new Halloween film each year that would have a loose story just around Halloween the holiday. Unfortunately, it bombed and that idea went away. Which is really sad, because that one is one of my favorite films. Tom Atkins Baby!”
Next: Rob Zombie Franchise
Next in the line of shortest to longest comes to the two films from Rob Zombie, Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009). This is a reboot of the franchise and its own story that does not have any direct ties to original 1978 film.
Next: Laurie Is Alive
Fans of Jamie Lee Curtis who played Laurie in the franchise might enjoy this timeline a little better, at least until the 8th installment (4th film in this timeline). This one Starts with the original film Halloween 1978 as well as Halloween II (1981) and then ignores all the rest of the films until the 7th installment of Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) and Halloween: Resurrection (2002). According to Kevin, the only good thing in Resurrection is “Busta Rhymes fighting Michael Myers!”
The 2nd Longest Timeline: The Current Films
If you want just the latest of the blockbusters and plan to just watch Halloween Ends, but want to know the best way to watch “Halloween Starts”, here is the order for that. The original Halloween (1978) then skip all the rest until Halloween (2018) followed by Halloween Kills (2021) and finally the latest film to be released Halloween Ends (2022).
The Longest: Laurie’s orphaned daughter & The Cult of Thorn
This is where the story line starts getting a little like “Choose your own adventure”. The first two Halloween films (1978 & 1981) then Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) & finally Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995). “Part 6 bombed in ’95, but did introduce the world to a young Paul Rudd, so that’s a win.” – Kevin Porter
End Result:
So when it comes to which order to watch the Halloween franchise, pick your timeline and enjoy, or watch them all in the order they were released, why not, tis the reason for the season. A big thank you to Kevin Porter & Brandon Allen for helping me navigate the horror confusion. If you’d like to check out their work into film and podcasting (NSFW), check out Kevin’s Video Rental Chaos on YouTube and Brandon’s YouTube channel, Channel 23 Productions.
What Do You Think?
Do you think the last film is truly Halloween ENDS? Do you think Rob Zombie will get a crack at a 3rd film one day? Do you think they'll pick up with storyline from Part 6 and have Paul Rudd return to dawn the Shatner mask? Send us a message using our Station App and let us know your take.