Ranking The HALLOWEEN Franchise

Holy friggin' crap.  We're here! Day 31 of 31 Days Of Halloween.  I can't believe it.  This has probably been the most involved and biggest retrospective yet (and maybe ever).  James Bond may have had more movies, but I also had a lot more time (3.5 months).  This has been an awesome undertaking and one of the franchises I always wanted to do when it came to retrospectives.  I want to thank all my guest writers who submitted pieces to enhance and class up this joint.  You guys were all great and didn't even half ass anything when you could have.  It truly means a lot and I am full of gratitude.

I don't really have much more to say, being as I've been talking about this stuff for 31 days now.  At the bottom and at the top of this will be no surprise, but I'm sure there will be a shocker or two here as I don't see eye to eye with a lot of the "safe" rankings of this series by a majority of the fanbase.  I discovered this film and series on my own and I'll do my rankings as...my own.  Happy Halloween, and don't forget to scroll to the end for a tease of November's MUCH smaller retrospective.

John Carpenter & Debra Hill Depart The Halloween Franchise

Surprisingly, John Carpenter was not against doing Halloween 4.  Following their release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (a very underrated horror-comedy), Canon Films wanted to resurrect another figure of horror's past, Michael Myers.  Jason Voorhees was big business and Freddy Krueger was on the rise.  The slasher genre was experiencing its second wind.  Canon approached John Carpenter to write and direct the film.  Carpenter and production partner Debra Hill still were involved in II & III, just from producer standpoints (and in Carpenter's case serving as composer).  They also shared rights (and much less of them) with the financier of the original, Moustapha Akkad.

Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (1982)

 

Halloween III: Season Of The Witch

1982

Director: Tommy Lee Wallace

Starring: Tom Atkins, Stacy Nelkin, Dan O'Herlihy, Nancy Kyes, Wendy Wessburg

Rated: R

Where do you want to sleep, Dr. Challis?

That's a dumb question, Miss Grimbridge.

Halloween II (1981)

 

Halloween II

1978

Director: Rick Rosenthal

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Lance Guest, Pamela Susan Shoop, Leo Rossi

He was my patient for fifteen years. He became an obsession with me until I realized there neither reason nor conscious or anything about him that was... even remotely human. An hour ago I stood up and fired six shots into him and he just got up and walked away. I am talking about the real possibility that he is STILL OUT THERE! 

                ~Dr. Loomis

John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) - Part II

I met him, fifteen years ago; I was told there was nothing left; no reason, no conscience, no understanding; and even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, of good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face, and the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized that what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil. 
                              ~Dr. Loomis

For Part I - Click Here

John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN (1978) - Part I

Halloween
1978
Director: John Carpenter
Starring: Donald Pleasance, Jamie Lee Curtis, PJ Soles, Nancy Loomis, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Stephens
Rated: R

Black cats and goblins and broomsticks and ghosts, covens of witches with all of their hosts. You may think they scare me, You're probably right.  Black cats and goblins on Halloween night.  Trick or treat!