10 More Horror Films That Tried Something Different (And Failed)

It's hard now to imagine Michael Myers not being a part of Halloween, considering he's been the central antagonist in a dozen entries, but when Michael allegedly died in Halloween II, it looked like the Shape was gone for good.

Though the knife-wielding sociopath is renowned for surviving the impossible, this trope hadn't been set up by that point. As a result, Halloween II seemed to spell the end, not just for Michael Myers, but the whole franchise.

Of course, when Halloween II earned ten times its budget, the studio churned out a follow-up, and with Michael no longer in the picture (for now), it was decided to rejig Halloween into a horror anthology series.

In Halloween III: Season of the Witch, the residents of a California town discover a cult is brainwashing children with masks imbued with the enchanted rocks of Stonehenge. Although this premise is... interesting, to say the least, few people were on board with it since it was such a heavy departure from its predecessors.

In Season of the Witch's defence, it could've worked as a standalone movie away from the Halloween name. However, having killer masks, rituals, witchcraft, and freakin' robots in a Halloween sequel is extremely jarring.

Due to fan backlash, Michael Myers was brought back in Halloween 4, and the brand reverted back to its classic slasher style.