The Best and Worst ‘Halloween’ Movies Ranked

The Halloween franchise has been going since the late ’70s, with some entries garnering more praise than others.

Beginning in 1978 with John Carpenter‘s original Halloween, the series has since gone on to spawn 10 more films. The most recent Halloween film opens in theatres this week, and — rather than falling in line behind the numerous sequels — it does away with everything that came after the first film and tells a sequel story.

In honor of the new movie’s release, we have put together a ranking of the best and worst of the Halloween films as based on their Rotten Tomatoes scores.

Check out our list below — which runs from worst to best — and let us know in the comments which Halloween film is your favorite!

Halloween – The Curse of Michael Myers (Halloween 6)

Release Date: 1995

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 6 percent

Halloween – The Curse of Michael Myers [also known as Halloween 6] is widely considered to be the worst of the franchise.

“Although the series has obviously run out of steam, the ending leaves the door open for Michael’s return,” NY Times film critic Stephen Holden wrote of the film. “Really, it’s about time the masks were removed once and for and all.”

Notably, the movie featured Paul Rudd in one of his very first lead film roles.

Halloween: Resurrection

Release Date: 2002

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 12 percent

Critics Consensus: “The only thing this tired slasher flick may resurrect is nostalgia for when the genre was still fresh and scary.”

Before she signed on for the most recent Halloween, this was the last film in the franchise to star Jamie Lee Curtis.

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

Release Date: 1989

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 14 percent

While Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers wasn’t completely devoid of positive reviews, they were very few and far between.

“A bit more refined in its details than the conventional horror movie,” Stephen Holden said of the film, while Washington Post film critic Richard Harrington called it, “A prime example of the principle of diminishing reruns.”

H2: Halloween II (2009)

Release Date: 2009

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 19 percent

Critics Consensus: “[Writer/Director Rob] Zombie shows flashes of vision in the follow-up to his Halloween reboot, but they’re smothered by mountains of gore and hackneyed, brutal violence.”

Halloween (2007)

Release Date: 2007

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 25 percent

Critics Consensus: “Rob Zombie doesn’t bring many new ideas to the table in Halloween, making it another bloody disappointment for fans of the franchise.”

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

Release Date: 1988

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 29 percent

Marking the 10 year anniversary of the franchise, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers saw the iconic masked murderer become the star of the series once again, after Halloween III deviated from the original story.

Variety has called the film “a no-frills, workmanlike picture,” while Felix Vasquez Jr. of Cinema Crazed has credited it for being “an entertaining slasher film.”

Halloween II

Release Date: 1981

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 31 percent

Picking up immediately where the original Halloween left off, the original Halloween II is still considered to be on the “better” end of the films in the franchise.

Janet Maslin of the New York Times said that it is “good enough to deserve a sequel of its own,” and Time Out‘s Derek Adams said that “Jamie Lee Curtis is as good as ever” reprising her role as Laurie Strode.

Halloween III – Season of the Witch

Release Date: 1982

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 45 percent

Easily then most controversial of the Halloween films, Halloween III – Season of the Witch skipped the Michael Meyers storyline and instead told a creepy tale about cursed Halloween masks.

It was originally panned when it was released, but has since gone on to achieved cult status, with many fans of the series citing it as one of the best Halloween movies.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later

Release Date: 1998

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 52 percent

Critics Consensus: “Halloween: H2O is the best of the many sequels, yet still pales in comparison to the original Halloween.”

Halloween (2018)

Release Date: 2018

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83 percent

Critics Consensus: “Halloween largely wipes the slate clean after decades of disappointing sequels, ignoring increasingly elaborate mythology in favor of basic – yet still effective – ingredients.”

While it is only just beginning to screen for wide audiences, the new Halloween is already garnering a lot of praise, with many fans a critics saying that it is the most worth sequel to the original yet.

Halloween (1978)

Release Date: 1978

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93 percent

Critics Consensus: “Scary, suspenseful, and viscerally thrilling, Halloween set the standard for modern horror films.”

Not only did the first Halloween launch its own franchise, it also catapulted the slasher-film genre into the mainstream. No matter how many sequels or imitators there have been, though, there is just no substitute for the original.