The first Halloween was released in 1978 and tells the story of a little boy named Michael Myers from Haddonfield, Illinois, who on Halloween night 1963 stabbed his sister Judith to death. He was then committed to Smiths Grove Sanitarium under the care of Dr. Sam Lommis (played by Donald Pleasence). After his many failed attempts to reach Michael he just gives up as all he can see is evil in his eyes. Michael is also mute which made attempts to reach him very difficult.
After 15 years of being locked up in Smiths Grove, Michael escapes. Dr. Lommis goes on the trail of the crazed killer, who is returning home to Haddonfield to kill again. after that were introduced to Laurie Strode (played by Jamie Lee Curtus) who is a high school student and babysitter of Tommy Doyle, who always asks Laurie about the Bogey man and does he exist. Throughout the day she is staked by Michael and meanwhile Dr. Lommis is running around haddonfield looking for Michael. Than night the killings start and Dr. Loomis finds him just as he's about to kill Laurie and shoots him just in the nick of time, but looks out the window to see that hes gone. So yea, i kept that a bit blunt because it is a classic and i'm sure you know the story by now. Just gonna say that the suspense is amazing and the build up will have you on the edge of your seat.
Halloween 2 is a direct continuation of the first one and was released in 1981. Laurie is taken to hospital and Dr. Lommis continues on his wild goose chase. Here we learn that Laurie is actually Michael's sister and thats the reason he went after her. This instalment had more blood and gore than its predecessor but is still as amazing and suspense filled.
Halloween 3 is one that i'm yet to see. I know its the only entry in the series to not have Michael Myers and i've heard mixed reviews. i will write a review of it once i see it. One fact i will tell you is they planed on making the Halloween movies all different, like a Halloween story for every year but this was a flop at the box office so in 1988 we see Michael Myers return in Halloween 4, entitled The Return Of Michael Myers. This one shows Michael return from a 10 year coma after his 1978 killing spree of the first two movies. He learns that Laurie Strode is Dead but also that she has a daughter Jamie, so he returns to Haddonfield to kill her. Dr. Lommis also makes a return in this one to stop Michael.
Halloween 5 is perhaps the weakest entry in the series, but i actually enjoyed it as it introduced this mysterious man in black and the curse of thorn symbol, and it shows Jamie has a sort of teleaphatic bond with Michael. Still worth checking out.
The next instalment Halloween 6 or just Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is just amazing, perhaps in my opinion, the most underrated horror movie ever. It goes into the curse of thorn symbolism and how its the source of Michaels evil. Also Tommy Doyle, the boy being babysat by Laurie Strode in the Original makes a return and is played by Paul Rudd. There is two cuts of this movie and i would highly recommend the producers cut as it goes into the Thorn Symbol and reveals who the mysterious man in black is, you can find it online or get bootleg copies on ebay. I highly recommend it. This is also the last movie to star Donald Pleasence as he passed away shortly after its release. May he rest in peace.
Halloween H20 is set 20 years after the events of Halloween 2 and sees Laurie Strode return. She is living in California under a new name and has a career and a son but is still haunted by the events 20 years ago. Michael Myers has found her file and knows of her location and is now returning to finish her off. All in all, its not a bad movie, but not a masterpiece. Also the curse of thorn sub-plot is completely ignored. Weak in places but still watchable.
Halloween H20 is set 20 years after the events of Halloween 2 and sees Laurie Strode return. She is living in California under a new name and has a career and a son but is still haunted by the events 20 years ago. Michael Myers has found her file and knows of her location and is now returning to finish her off. All in all, its not a bad movie, but not a masterpiece. Also the curse of thorn sub-plot is completely ignored. Weak in places but still watchable.
Halloween Resurrection? hmm? not great. but if your looking for some cheesy fun, i'd recommend it. Starts off great as Michael finally finishes Laurie Strode, but after that it just gets silly and trys to appeal to the MTV generation. One scene really stands out, Busta Rhymes dressed as Michael Myers shouting at the real Michael Myers. Watch it for that scene alone, its hilarious.
After that i sort of lost interest in the Halloween Series. Then in 2007 a remake was made. heard about it and ignored it. then i realised who made it, Rob Zombie. I am a huge fan of his music and i heard of his exploition horror movies House of a 1000 corpses and devils rejects (which i've seen sense), so i thought i'd check it out. and yes, it was awesome. he made both a prequel and a remake, and made it in his own style. The way he painted Michael's childhood is just spectacular and disturbing. And Malcom McDowell did the character of Sam Lommis alot of justice. Alot of people complained about it but i say it was a different take on the Halloween story and deserves respect. Not alot of suspense which made the first one good but the shocking scenes are amazing.
Rob Zombie also made a sequel to the remake which was a flop and got alot of negative reviews from critics and fans alike. But me, i actually didn't think it was that bad. Its all over the place though, i will say that. Like he tried to squeeze elements of all the Halloween sequels into one, and made Dr. Lommis a money mad author rather than pursue Michael. But despite these flaws its still watchable and has a couple of cheap laughs. Not amazing but not bad either.
So in conclusion, Halloween is without a doubt one of the greatest horror franchises ever. To start as a low budget slasher flick to a series of sequels that spanned three decades is quite a success story and Michael Myers is a household name among horror fans and it set the ground work for all future slasher flicks.
Halloween 10/10
Halloween 2 9/10
Halloween 3 (haven't seen)
Halloween 4 9/10
Halloween 5 6/10
Halloween 6 10/10
Halloween H20 6/10
Halloween Resurrection 4/10
Rob Zombies Halloween 9/10
Rob Zombies Halloween 2 5/10
Rob Zombie also made a sequel to the remake which was a flop and got alot of negative reviews from critics and fans alike. But me, i actually didn't think it was that bad. Its all over the place though, i will say that. Like he tried to squeeze elements of all the Halloween sequels into one, and made Dr. Lommis a money mad author rather than pursue Michael. But despite these flaws its still watchable and has a couple of cheap laughs. Not amazing but not bad either.
So in conclusion, Halloween is without a doubt one of the greatest horror franchises ever. To start as a low budget slasher flick to a series of sequels that spanned three decades is quite a success story and Michael Myers is a household name among horror fans and it set the ground work for all future slasher flicks.
Halloween 10/10
Halloween 2 9/10
Halloween 3 (haven't seen)
Halloween 4 9/10
Halloween 5 6/10
Halloween 6 10/10
Halloween H20 6/10
Halloween Resurrection 4/10
Rob Zombies Halloween 9/10
Rob Zombies Halloween 2 5/10
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