So, you're planning a horror marathon and want to know exactly how many Halloween movies you need to track down. It sounds like a simple question. You’d think you could just count them up and call it a day. But if you’ve ever tried to follow Michael Myers through his decades-long killing spree, you know it’s anything but straightforward.
The short answer is 13.
As of right now, there are 13 theatrical films in the Halloween franchise. However, if you try to watch them all in a single row, you are going to get very, very confused. This isn't like Marvel or Harry Potter where one story leads into the next. It’s more like a "choose your own adventure" book where the authors kept changing their minds about what actually happened. Basically, the series has been rebooted so many times that there are actually five different timelines to deal with.
How Many Halloween Movies: The Full List
To understand the chaos, you have to look at the release dates first. This is the only way to see the "real" order before the producers started chopping up the continuity.
- Halloween (1978): The John Carpenter classic that started it all.
- Halloween II (1981): Picks up right where the first one left off in the hospital.
- Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982): No Michael Myers. No Laurie Strode. Just evil masks and a catchy jingle.
- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988): Michael comes back, but Laurie is "dead" in a car accident.
- Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989): Michael stalks his niece, Jamie Lloyd.
- Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995): The one with the weird cult and a young Paul Rudd.
- Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998): Jamie Lee Curtis returns! It ignores movies 4, 5, and 6.
- Halloween: Resurrection (2002): The one where Busta Rhymes does kung fu. Honestly, most fans try to forget this one.
- Halloween (2007): Rob Zombie’s gritty remake.
- Halloween II (2009): Rob Zombie’s sequel to his own remake.
- Halloween (2018): A direct sequel to the 1978 original, ignoring every other sequel.
- Halloween Kills (2021): The middle chapter of the modern trilogy.
- Halloween Ends (2022): The supposed final showdown between Laurie and Michael.
It’s a lot. 13 movies. But they don't all "count" at the same time.
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The Problem With Season of the Witch
Most people asking how many Halloween movies there are get tripped up on the third film. Halloween III: Season of the Witch is the black sheep. After the second movie, John Carpenter wanted to turn the series into an anthology. The idea was to release a new, different horror movie every year under the "Halloween" brand.
It bombed.
People went to the theater expecting the guy in the white mask and got a story about high-tech druids and killer bugs. Because of that failure, the studio brought Michael Myers back for the fourth film and abandoned the anthology idea forever. So, while it's technically the third movie, it has zero connection to the rest of the story.
The Five Different Timelines
Since the franchise has been reset so many times, you have to pick a path.
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The "Thorn" Timeline consists of the first six movies (minus the third). It’s the one where Michael is actually part of an ancient Druid curse. Then you have the "H20" Timeline, which consists of Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), H20, and Resurrection. This was the first time they decided to just pretend the previous sequels didn't happen.
Then Rob Zombie did his own thing. His two movies are their own separate universe. They don't connect to the original 1978 film at all; they are a complete ground-up reimagining.
Finally, we have the Blumhouse Timeline, which is the most recent. This path is simple: you watch the 1978 original, then jump straight to the 2018 Halloween, followed by Kills and Ends. In this version of reality, Laurie Strode and Michael Myers aren't even siblings. They’re just a survivor and a killer who have been obsessed with each other for 40 years.
Honestly, it’s the cleanest way to watch the series if you want a coherent story.
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Why Does It Keep Changing?
Money, mostly. But also because the "brother and sister" twist in Halloween II (1981) kind of painted the writers into a corner. By making them related, they turned Michael from a random "Shape" of evil into a guy with a specific family grudge.
The 2018 reboot was an attempt to fix that. By ignoring everything after the first movie, they made Michael scary again. He wasn't a guy looking for his sister anymore; he was just a force of nature.
Actionable Next Steps for Your Marathon
If you're ready to dive in, don't just watch them in order of release. You'll get whiplash. Instead, try these three specific paths:
- The "Purist" Path: Watch the 1978 original and then the David Gordon Green trilogy (2018, Kills, Ends). This is the current "official" canon and features the best acting from Jamie Lee Curtis.
- The "Nostalgia" Path: Watch 1978, Halloween II (1981), and Halloween H20. Stop there. It’s a solid trilogy with a satisfying ending that avoids the messier sequels.
- The "Completionist" Chaos: If you really want to see all 13, watch them in release order but keep a notebook handy. You’re going to see characters die and then suddenly be alive again two movies later.
Whichever way you choose, you're in for a wild ride. Just remember that in the world of Haddonfield, "The End" almost never actually means the end. Over 40 years and 13 films later, the Boogeyman always finds a way to come back.