Where to watch the “Halloween” movies in order by release date
While horror fans love seeing Halloween's Michael Myers hack and slash his way through Haddonfield any time of the year, there is something special about streaming The Shape's murderous misadventures in October (especially on the franchise's namesake holiday). Sadly, though, figuring out where to stream the various films can feel as hard as getting Myers to stay dead.
Have no fear: Here's EW's complete guide for where to watch Halloween (1978) and the rest of the movies in order. (Just save us some popcorn once you kick off this outsized marathon.)
<i>Halloween</i> (1978)
Meet the arguable granddaddy of the slasher genre (though we see you, Psycho and Black Christmas). John Carpenter's original Halloween is such an iconic horror cornerstone that the first Friday the 13th movie was designed as a naked ripoff. The success of this frontrunner spawned the next 40 years (and counting) of blood-spattered goodness. But the franchise was never better than in the original entry, in which the famed Michael Myers escaped from an asylum, donned a pale expressionless mask, and evaded his alarm-sounding psychiatrist (Donald Pleasence) while killing off teen after unsuspecting teen (including proto-Final Girl Jamie Lee Curtis in her debut role.) As we said in our ranking of the Halloween movies, this is a relatively simple film, "yet it evokes such primal fear, shattering the illusion of suburban utopia for maximal tension." Better check behind every bush and tree, because this movie will convince you every sleepy suburb is a slaughterhouse in the making.
Where to watch Halloween: Plex, Shudder, and AMC+
Director: John Carpenter
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nick Castle, P. J. Soles, Nancy Loomis
Related content: Halloween cast: Where are they now?
<i>Halloween II</i> (1981)
Though some fans say that the OG Halloween never needed a sequel, this first expansion of the franchise is still surprisingly good. It adds some controversial lore about Jamie Lee Curtis' character being related to Michael Myers (now Dick Warlock, who's perfectly creepy behind the mask), but it's not like this is some half-hearted addition; the script was penned by John Carpenter himself along with Debra Hill. As we pointed out in our retrospective, Halloween II finds new ways to exploit suburbanite fears, "this time weaponizing the flaws in law enforcement and health care to terrify the audience." It's a subtle bit of storytelling, emphasizing that even if Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis ended their epic showdown, the suburbs would still be a far more dangerous place than most residents care to imagine.
Where to watch Halloween II: Plex, Peacock, Shudder, and AMC+
Director: Rick Rosenthal
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Dick Warlock, Charles Cyphers, Lance Guest
Related content: The Halloween movies, ranked
<i>Halloween III: Season of the Witch</i> (1982)
The second entry in the franchise ended with the explosive death of Michael Myers, and to the studio's credit, they intended to leave that classic killer dead. That's why Season of the Witch gives us a different hero (a doctor played by Tom Atkins) and a new villain (Dan O'Herlihy) as well as a wild plot involving costume masks that offer deadly tricks and no treats to those who wear them. As long as you go into the film with an open mind (and you're not disappointed by the lack of Michael), you'll be pleasantly surprised. As EW's writer later described, this stand-alone movie is "a strange, deeply creepy, one-off seasonal tale packed with an enthralling opening sequence, besuited, stalking androids, a chilling score complete with many synth stingers, a narrative built around Samhain, and an unforgettably bold ending."
Where to watch Halloween III: Season of the Witch: Peacock and AMC+
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Cast: Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O'Herlihy, Michael Currie, Ralph Strait
Related content: The story behind the first Halloween movie
<i>Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers</i> (1988)
Halloween 4 is a slow-burn exercise in patience that really pays off for those willing to wade through its earlier, plodding scenes. As the name implies, this is the film that welcomes Michael back to the franchise, seeing him return to Haddonfield, where he once again clashes with Dr. Loomis and stalks new would-be victims, including excellent child actor Danielle Harris as his niece. The fourth film lays the groundwork for future entries by showing us a town willing to band together and fight The Shape (which we witness again decades later in Halloween Kills). And according to EW's writer, the ending is killer: "The final half-hour of this movie is one of the best stretches in the entire series, full of wild kills and a tense atmosphere," culminating in a chilling conclusion nearly as good as the original's final scene.
Where to watch Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers: Shudder and AMC+
Director: Dwight H. Little
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Ellie Cornell, Danielle Harris, Michael Pataki
Related content: James Winburn, Michael Myers stuntman from original Halloween film, dies at 85
<i>Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers</i> (1989)
While we'd hesitate to call it the second part of a duology, it's fair to say that Halloween 5 is the perfect companion piece to Halloween 4. It continues the misadventures of its key players: Michael Myers is still here to stalk and slash, but he now has to deal with a weird psychic connection to his young niece. Unfortunately, the movie never does anything interesting with the premise, choosing instead to give us a streamlined "slice of knife" adventure. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though, with EW's writer describing the work as "a short, brisk story that understands the fundamental appeal of Halloween: watching Michael Myers silently murder a bunch of teenagers without pretense or prejudice." It's not exactly Shakespeare, but it's fun regardless.
Where to watch Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers: Shudder and AMC+
Director: Dominique Othenin-Girard
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, Beau Starr, Wendy Kaplan, Tamara Glynn
Related content: Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis reveals her biggest regret about the horror franchise
<i>Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers</i> (1995)
Here's a fact spookier than a mask from Silver Shamrock: Whether you loved or hated the previous two entries in the franchise, The Curse of Michael Myers makes them look like genuine works of art. We get returning (and very tired) actor Donald Pleasence and some new blood, including a young Paul Rudd. The movie tries to pick up the threads of previous films, but in attempting to make Myers more mystical, this film robs him of his knife-edge menace. To quote EW's critic: "With talk of stars aligning and an infant that must be sacrificed, Myers becomes an illogical plot device that seems to have wandered in from some studio's licensing office." Don't worry: No babies were harmed in the making of this film… unless you count Halloween as John Carpenter's baby. That's one child experiencing death by a thousand cuts with these inferior sequels.
Where to watch Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers: AMC+
EW grade: D (read the review)
Director: Joe Chappelle
Cast: Donald Pleasence, Paul Rudd, Marianne Hagan, Mitch Ryan
Related content: John Carpenter says new Halloween film is best since his original movie
<i>Halloween H20: 20 Years Later</i> (1998)
While Halloween became a franchise mired by its own murderous multiverse, H20 deserves credit for being the first movie to ask audiences to ignore the last four entries. This film is situated as a direct sequel to Halloween II, giving us a chance to check in with Jamie Lee Curtis 20 years after Michael Myers' first rampage. This soft franchise reset has some great actors in it, including Michelle Williams, Janet Leigh, Josh Hartnett, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. EW's review also noted that the work was deeply affected by the popularity of Scream (for better or for worse): "In this landscape, horror is never so blackly frightening that it's not a little, like, amusingly ironic, too." Still, if you don't mind a bit of irony as a chaser to blood splatter, you may find this late '90s genre flick to be a bright spot in some otherwise murky waters.
Where to watch Halloween H20: 20 Years Later: AMC+
EW grade: B (read the review)
Director: Steve Miner
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Adam Arkin, Michelle Williams, Adam Hann-Byrd, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Janet Leigh, Josh Hartnett, LL Cool J, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Related content: Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis thought John Carpenter was going to fire her from horror classic
<i>Halloween: Resurrection</i> (2002)
If H20 gave us hope that this venerable franchise had found new life, Halloween: Resurrection cut through that optimism like Myers slashing through flesh. It's a film where Jamie Lee Curtis puts in a forgettably brief performance before the story focuses on a different cast. Some of the newcomers are admittedly entertaining, including Tyra Banks and Busta Rhymes, but the premise of teens recording themselves in the original Halloween house was far too thin to succeed. As EW's critic lamented in their review, this is "a horror sequel that's maladroit enough to be a self-conscious ripoff of Blair Witch 2." Myers doesn't work when taken out of his element, and the found footage format doesn't work when the sequences are as dreadfully boring as they are here.
Where to watch Halloween: Resurrection: AMC+
EW grade: F (read the review)
Director: Rick Rosenthal
Cast: Busta Rhymes, Bianca Kajlich, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Ryan Merriman, Sean Patrick Thomas, Tyra Banks, Jamie Lee Curtis
Related content: Halloween: The inside story of a sequel 40 years in the making
<i>Halloween</i> (2007)
This film represents an ambitious attempt to reboot Halloween altogether, and it comes to us courtesy of horror evocator Rob Zombie. The musician turned director isn't everyone's cup of tea, but to his credit, he has a definitive vision and style while retelling the events of the first movie with a few twists. The new cast is also surprisingly captivating: Malcolm McDowell shines as the new Dr. Loomis, and while she's no Jamie Lee, Scout Taylor-Compton does a fine job as Laurie Strode. Then there's Tyler Mane, who makes Michael Myers look novelly gritty, proving that "Zombie's identification with the killers in his films is the creepiest thing about them," says EW's critic in their review. It may not hold a candle to the original, but this work is the closest we've felt to the killer in decades.
Where to watch Halloween: AMC+
EW grade: B- (read the review)
Director: Rob Zombie
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Sheri Moon Zombie, Tyler Mane, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif, Danielle Harris, William Forsythe
Related content: Jamie Lee Curtis recalls her most famous roles, from Halloween to Everything Everywhere All at Once
<i>Halloween II</i> (2009)
While Rob Zombie's first Halloween was a remake of the John Carpenter classic, the sequel allowed the director to get more creative. But according to EW's critic, he squandered that opportunity, as "There isn't really a story in Halloween II… Most of its 101 minutes are filled with routine slasher scenes and flecks of pop-Freudian hokum about why the infamous Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) is such a murderously unhappy guy." The cast of the previous film returns, but everyone has been flattened to a single dimension: Malcolm McDowell is a sneering charlatan, Scout Taylor-Compton is a one-note screaming victim, and Tyler Mane offers nothing new. If you're just in it for the kills, there's some bleak brutality on display here. Ultimately, though, Zombie delivers something that is less like a movie and more like a bloated music video.
Where to watch Halloween II: AMC+ and the Roku Channel
EW grade: C+ (read the review)
Director: Rob Zombie
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Sheri Moon Zombie, Brad Dourif, Danielle Harris, Scout Taylor-Compton
Related content: Jamie Lee Curtis reunites with original Halloween costar at sequel's premiere
<i>Halloween</i> (2018)
Ready to do the time warp again? No, we aren't visiting Dr. Frank-N-Furter, but director David Gordon Green's Halloween prequel follows in the footsteps of H20. Instead of being a follow-up to Halloween II, though, this movie asks us to ignore everything that came after the original and treat this work as the one true successor. It's a bold gambit that largely pays off in a story of Jamie Lee Curtis as a traumatized survivor who just wants to keep her family (including a daughter played by Judy Greer) safe. Inevitably, Michael Myers returns to this world, and that homecoming is surprisingly effective. As EW's critic declared in their review, the result of Green's efforts is "a big, funny, scary, squishy, super-meta sequel that brings it all back to John Carpenter's iconic 1978 original." A franchise — and its killer — reborn at last.
Where to watch Halloween: Peacock
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner
Related content: Halloween Kills star Jamie Lee Curtis reveals her greatest fears
<i>Halloween Kills</i> (2021)
Halloween Kills feels like the weird middle sibling out of David Gordon Green's trilogy. It takes place only minutes after his first film, but they couldn't be tonally more different. We begin with Jamie Lee Curtis recovering in the hospital, leaving us to follow the strange adventures of Anthony Michael Hall leading a mob against Michael Myers while the killer exerts nearly superhuman levels of strength and stamina. This culminates in a movie that "can't marry its thematic ambitions to its crowd-pleasing slasher sensibilities, resulting in a frustrating, inconsistent film that tries to have its cake and eat it, too," says EW's franchise ranking.
Where to watch Halloween Kills: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Thomas Mann, Anthony Michael Hall, Kyle Richards
Related content: Halloween director considered alternative titles for horror sequel
<i>Halloween Ends</i> (2022)
It's neither the best nor worst entry in the franchise, but we feel safe in saying that Halloween Ends is the most divisive of them all. As EW's critic bluntly put it in their review, it's a movie that "feels almost incidental to a final chapter in name only." That's because Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie is mostly sidelined — as is Michael himself. Now, the narrative is led by a troubled young man (Rohan Campbell) who might be the town's next great evil. He leads a tumultuous relationship with Curtis' granddaughter (Andi Matichak) and we get a kind of Romeo and Juliet story shot through a decidedly gonzo lens. The much-advertised showdown between Laurie and Michael ultimately feels like a studio mandated ending to what was otherwise an ambitious departure from what we were expecting.
Where to watch Halloween Ends: Amazon Prime Video
EW grade: C (read the review)
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton, Kyle Richards, James Jude Courtney
Related content: Halloween Ends director breaks down that wild ending
The Halloween movies in order by release date:
Halloween (1978)
Halloween II (1981)
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Halloween (2007)
Halloween II (2009)
Halloween (2018)
Halloween Kills (2021)
Halloween Ends (2022)
