TheHalloweenfranchise has spanned over 40 years of entertainment across 13 films so far. With alternative timelines, a variety of directors, and many narrative elements to keep straight for a slasher film series, its no wonder fans get confused. The series begins with 1978’sHalloween,and while the numbered titles thereafter would lead you to believe everything just flows in order, it really doesn’t. Telling the story of Michael Myers murderous rampage and desire to kill Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) — who is sometimes his sister and sometimes not — the series is more than meets the eye, with a lot of narrative built intothe bloody killings.
Characters, including Strode, have actually managed to kill Michael Myers over the years — or so they thought, until he just popped back up again in the next movie. With the series supposedly concluding with 2022’sHalloween Ends, fans assume the story is also over, but perhaps it isn’t. Here are all the times Michael Myers was thought to be dead in theHalloweenmovies, but wasn’t actually killed or was somehow revived.
The Original Movies: Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981)
Beginning with the very firstHalloweenfilm, which was directed by John Carpenter, Michael is stabbed by Laurie and thought to be dead, but he pops back up only injured and attempts to strangle her. Dr. Loomis shoots Michael multiple times in the chest, and he falls out of the second-floor window. When his body is lying on the road near the end of the film, Laurie and Loomis believe he is dead, but a final shot of the film shows Loomis noticing his body is missing.
InHalloween II, Michael is once more after Laurie and tracks her down to the hospital where she is recovering from their first encounter. When he attempts to kill her again, she shoots him in the eye, and Dr. Loomis sets the hospital room on fire, causing an explosion. Laurie and Loomis think Michael is dead after getting out of the building themselves, but he appears and collapses in front of Laurie, showing he is very much still alive.
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The Continued Series: Halloween 4 (1988), Halloween 5 (1989), & Halloween 6 (1995)
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myerschanges the baseline a little bit, by being set 10 years after the first film. Instead of Michael hunting down Laurie Strode, he’s after her daughter, Jamie (Danielle Harris). When his killing spree across town causes mass panic, the townsfolk band together to hunt him down, believing he is a serial killer terrorizing their city. Michael gets chased by a truck, which hits him, is shot multiple times, and falls into an open grave, closing out the film and supposedly ending Michael’s reign of terror.
Michael wasn’t dead, of course, andHalloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myersquestions just how human a man that can go through all of this trauma and keep coming back really is. With Jamie, Laurie’s daughter, now in a mental hospital, Dr. Loomis returns to the franchise to help. They discover that Michael and Jamie have some kind of connection that allows her to tell when he is killing and who his victims are. Setting a trap using a steel net near the end of the film, Michael is shot with tranquilizers and beaten to death by Loomis — or so we are supposed to think.
Indeed, once again, Michael pops back up inHalloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers, which tries to explain whyMichael can’t seem to stay dead. This film gives the storyline that Michael has been cursed by ancient Druids and goes in a very different direction than the previous films. Tommy, the little boy from the firstHalloweenmovie, whom Laurie babysits, returns as an adult and deals what he thinks is the killing blow. Tommy injects Michael with a bunch of tranquilizers, beats him with a lead pipe, and then hangs him.
The H20 Timeline: Halloween H20 (1998) and Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Changing things up once again isHalloween H20: 20 Years Later, which features Laurie with a son instead of a daughter and is set, you guessed it, 20 years later, but directly after the first two films,HalloweenandHalloween II. In this timeline, Laurie spent years recovering in a mental hospital before changing her name and becoming the headmistress of a private school, which her son, John (played by Josh Hartnett), attends. Although Laurie believes Michael was killed in the hospital fire, he comes after her once more. In a lengthy fight scene, Laurie stabs Michael, shoves him over a balcony, throws him from a car and, lastly, beheads him with an ax.
But, Michael isn’t dead — surprise! — because in the direct sequel toHalloween H20: 20 Years Later, titledHalloween: Resurrection, he’s after Laurie once more and succeeds. Making a zany move in an even zanir franchise, this film kills the protagonist immediately. A group of live-streaming teenagers decide to use the Myers house as their base and are terrorized by Michael when he returns home after finishing off Laurie Strode. The end of the film shows Freddie Harris (played by rapper Busta Rhymes) roundhouse-kicking Michael and then electrocuting him with exposed wire in his groin.
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Rob Zombie’s Remake: Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009)
One of the greatesthorror filmmakers ever, Rob Zombie, was brought on board in 2007 to refresh the franchise. Taking a totally new approach, he recreated the first filmsHalloweenandHalloween II. Going back and telling Michael Myers origin story,Halloweentakes place mostly in a psych facility, where Michael has spent most of his life. When he escapes and goes after Laurie Strode — here, she’s his sister — she and Dr. Loomis are there to stop him. Michael is shot and tumbles off a balcony with Laurie.
The direct sequel,Halloween II, shows Michael’s now-infamous return after being thought dead. The film fleshes out more of Michael and Laurie’s backstory, and she once again tries to take him down while he remains obsessed with her. The film ends with Laurie fighting for her life (nothing new) and managing to shoot, impale, and stab Michael, killing him (also nothing new).
The Rebooted Films: Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and Halloween Ends (2022)
Director David Gordon Greentook the helm after years of fans wishing for a better ending to this franchise. Retconning all of the other movies except the firstHalloweenfrom 1978, these reboots take on thestory of Michael Myersin a more modern era. Picking up 40 years later, this version ofHalloweenshows Michael has escaped, while Laurie, who lives in their hometown of Haddonfield, is struggling to let go of the terror. Aiming to protect her grown-up daughter, Karen Nelson (Judy Greer), and granddaughter, Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak), Laurie faces off against Michael in a battle unlike any other. The film ends with Laurie, Karen, and Allyson getting away after Laurie has trapped Michael in the basement of her home and set it on fire.
Beginning right whereHalloweenended,Halloween Kills, shows the family in the hospital after their ordeal with Michael, but he has escaped the burning trap Laurie set for him and is on his way. With a town hellbent on revenge for targeting some of their own, the people rally against Michael to bring him down. Emotionally charged revelations for Laurie make this a great film in the franchise. Michael is enraged leading to an all out bloodbath, but this film ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, with Michael vanishing. While it is one of the few movies where he doesn’t appear dead at the end, its story is important to understanding the next movie.
The next entry in this part of the franchise,Halloween Ends, is set four years afterHalloween Killsand shows Laurie trying to reclaim a normal life. The film features Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson, her new friend, Corey (Rohan Campbell), and Laurie herself battling against Michael’s machinations once he returns. Cutting Michael’s neck and wrists, Laurie believes she has finally killed him, but Police Deputy Frank Hawkins (who appears in the previous films, played by Will Patton) and the rest of the town are determined to be sure. They shove Michael’s body through an industrial-sized shredder without remorse.
How to Watch the Halloween Films in Order
Whether you believe Michael is really dead or not is now up to you, but statistically the odds are not in your favor, as Michael has returned in 11 out of the 13 films after being killed. HardcoreHalloweenfans will notice thatHalloween III: Season of the Witchis missing from this list entirely. This is because it is the onlyHalloweenmovie without Michael Myers as a character at all.
Truthfully, the franchise got a bit muddled after Carpenter left and new directors/producers took over. The films essentially branch into a couple of different timelines and versions of where these filmmakers thought the story could go. For those interested, here’s how to watchHalloweenfranchise in orderby release date or chronology.
