Every Halloween Series Timeline Ranked From Worst To Best

Which Movies? Just Halloween (1978)

The best Halloween series timeline and continuity, however, may just be the simplest: a viewing order of only one movie.

When they sat down to write their "Babysitter Murders" script, Carpenter and Hill didn't have their eyes on a franchise at all, whether of Halloween-based anthology stories or further stories of Michael Myers. They just wanted to write the best, boldest, scariest standalone babysitter murdering movie that they could.

There was no sequel-bait, no seeding of plot elements to be picked up in a future part (which is why Halloween II's sibling revelation comes out of nowhere), it was just a single exercise in ramping up the tension toward its conclusion. In that sense, it can be considered its own timeline separate from any of those established by the rival sequels.

The original Halloween, as much a stalker film as a slasher, takes its time establishing atmosphere and character. It's a masterpiece of the slow-build and then release of tension, a model of great horror filmmaking.

Since then there's been good Halloweens, bad Halloweens and utterly forgettable Halloweens, but none of the ten later movies have come close to being utterly genius Halloweens like the first. Each of the sequel sequences has their pros and cons, but to be honest after watching the original, any of the follow-ups are going to feel a little disappointing.

That's why this October 31st you should maybe consider making your Halloween movie marathon just 101 minutes long.