What is the best “Halloween” movie? (Except John Carpenter's Untouchable Original, Duh)

John Carpenter has made it pretty easy for future horror newbies: If you want to see a Halloween-themed movie, watch the film with the title Halloween! (In fact, there aren't that many options for truly decent Halloween movies that don't involve Michael Myers.) But what if you did your due diligence and watched the original 1978 film, loved it, and want there's something else , which you can watch on All Saints Day without committing to a series marathon? After all, even hardcore fans would probably admit that Halloween Okay, there's the first film and then the rest – a dozen more entries in all, more a task for a slasher aficionado or franchise completist than a casual spooky season celebrant. But that doesn't mean everything else Halloween in the title is also worthless! In fact, there are three different paths that the horror-curious but non-fanatic can follow if they long for more of the series and are not burdened by obsessive perfection. It really just depends on what mood you're in. Here are your best options to proceed Halloween jUnserney past the incontestable original.

1. Path 1: To hell without (without) Michael Myers

   John Carpenter and Debra Hill wrote the script for the sequel to the 1981 original Halloweenbut they had a more imaginative idea to pursue for the third installment: turning the franchise into an anthology series in which each installment would be a different and unrelated Halloween story from different filmmakers. Unfortunately, the return of Michael Myers was released only a year earlier Halloween III: Season of the Witch It failed to live up to expectations, and the film failed to resonate with fans or critics in 1982. Since then it has become a cult favorite, perhaps even to the point of being somewhat overrated in its own way; Certainly it's more of an oddity than a masterfully realized piece of elemental horror, with an amusingly clunky leading man in the form of character actor Tom Atkins instead of everyday girl Jamie Lee Curtis. But this science fiction touch, Twilight zoneThe story about a company that makes nefarious Halloween masks is pretty difficult in itself, suggesting that the anthology project could have been a great creative outlet for the series.

   Recommended for: Twilight zone fans; jingle lovers; Amateur investigator

   WHERE TO STREAM HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH

2. Way 2: A pair of two

   The original Halloween inspired me to make a direct sequel that picks up almost immediately after the events of the first film (even though it was made three years later) – and as slasher sequels go, it's pretty good. The kills are both tonal and bloodier, and there's a big plot twist involving Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode that's a little cheap but undeniably fun in a sequel kind of way. If you want something close to the experience of the original film, Halloween II is probably the right way. But to keep it from seeming too monotonous, consider doubling it with Rob Zombie's own work Halloween IIa sequel to his remake that goes even further in an auteuristic direction.

   So does it really make sense to skip the remake itself and go straight to the sequel? Maybe not, but Zombie's remake is a clumsy combination of unnecessarily extensive Myers backstory (turns out young Michael's life resembled…a Rob Zombie movie!) and unnecessarily faithful recreation of moments from the original film. Its sequel does a better job of mixing these elements; Its extended opening is essentially a long (and impressively intense!) homage to the whole thing Halloween IIThe film then jumps forward and follows Laurie as she deals with her trauma from the events of the first film. It's not particularly hard to follow without having seen Zombie's first film, as it works equally well as a disturbing alternate-world sequel to the first film and as a more thoughtful (but also more disturbing) alternative version of the more mercenary 1981 sequel.

   Recommended for: bloodhounds; Gothics; Hellbillies; distraught horse girls

   Where to stream Halloween II

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3. Path 3: Think green

   This is more of an undertaking – and potentially controversial Halloween Fans who were increasingly divided over the direction of David Gordon Green (known for comedies like Pineapple Express and indies like All real girls) took up the series with its sequel trilogy. First, he ignores any sequels, including ones that feature Laurie Strode, for example Halloween H20the series' first attempt at a sequel decades later. He was right about that, because H20 it's basically an extended chase-and-fight rematch sequence tacked on to an otherwise terrible CW-level (or WB-level back then) baby slasher. Green's first part, nonsensically also ” Halloweenis real H40: a 40-year-later revival of Laurie Strode, now a survivalist grandma on the outskirts of Haddonfield. The first film in his new trilogy is relatively straightforward in this regard: Curtis, along with two other generations of Strode women, fights against the newly empowered Boogeyman (inadvertently spurred into action by a podcaster, of course).

   It's a satisfying evolution of the original – and then the sequels go in less immediately audience-friendly directions. Halloween Kills is another version of Halloween II (meaner killing scenes, set later the same evening), only with a surprising and often endearing focus on the citizens of Haddonfield, with funny, affectionate vignettes that often seem like fragments of Green's indie works – until they return to horrific slasher violence pierced. Halloween ends draws just as much inspiration from another Carpenter classic, Christinelike something out of his Halloween movie, with a feverish tale of doomed lovers that places a greater psychological burden on Laurie's granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). It also stars Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), perhaps the franchise's most indelible creation alongside Michael and Laurie themselves. Many fans hated this departure from Myers' endless warm-ups Last Jedi That should alert you that in a world full of wacky Legacy sequels, you're dealing with something truly special. It probably helps to be on Green's wavelength, but either way his trilogy is fascinating, and Halloween ends is possibly the best and boldest entry since the very first.

   Recommended for: Misunderstood Nerds; adversary; Green fans

   Where to stream Halloween ends

That may seem like a lot, but remember: If you've read through one of these recommendations, there's a good chance there's another Halloween playing at a theater near you.