History YMMV / HALLOWEEN

* UncannyValley: The original Michael Myers Halloween mask was a Creator/WilliamShatner mask, spray painted white and with the hair frizzed out and eyeholes altered. The effect is downright creepy.

* FanficFuel: The story of the sixth film was left hanging after its poor box office and critical reception led the [[ContinuityReboot franchise to be partically rebooted]], making the last four films non-canon with the release ''Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later''; but, ''then'', after the sequel to the previously mentioned installment, ''Halloween: Resurrection'', [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed the box office]], was panned by fans and critics, [[FromBadToWorse ''and'', to add even more salt to the wound]], Moustapha Akkad, the producer for all the films up to that point and the man responsible for carrying the franchise through its DorkAge, [[AuthorExistenceFailure was killed in a terrorist attack three years later]]. The story to the last two films were left hanging and the franchise overall laid dormant until the franchise was rebooted with Rob Zombie's duology. Still, despite the reboot and the fans hatred for the last films of the Thorn and ''H20'' timeline, there are many fanfics and fan-films that continue the stories of these separate continuities. Aside from fan material, there have also been offical continuations of the Thorn and ''H20'' stories through comicbooks set in those universes.

* FirstInstallmentWins: The first film is a universally praised horror classic. The sequels...[[ContestedSequel vary]] [[BrokenBase in]] [[{{Sequelitis}} quality]]. How well they hold up varies from fan to fan to say the least.

** Laurie, especially in Zombie's ''2''. Not only does she lose her friends but, going by canon, [[spoiler:she loses her daughter to Michael (''Thorn'' canon), loses her family (''H20''/''HR'' canon), and either ends up becoming crazy or getting shot dead by the police (Zombieverse)]]. In the 2018 film, she spent decades as a nervous wreck scarred by the events of the first film, which ruined her relationships with her family, [[spoiler:though this timeline at least offers her a potential happy ending]].

** The sixth film isn't well liked for introducing the idea that Michael was placed under a curse due to dark outside forces beyond his control, yet the novelization of the original film showcases Michael as a victim of DemonicPossession and he kills in hopes her can get the voices to stop tormenting him.

** In the second film, Michael Myers has a similar moment by lifting a nurse she stabbed in the back just by '''the handle of a scalpel'''. Same head tilt, same curious disposition. The scene is even redone in ''H20''.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: No matter what series timeline you follow, Michael ''always'' lives to kill another day, and anyone who survives one film will just die horribly come the next sequel, including Laurie, Dr. Loomis, and Jamie. And unlike ''[[Franchise/FridayThe13th Friday the 13th]]'' or ''[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet A Nightmare On Elm Street]]'', the series hardly tries to have fun with its superhuman villain and plays his rampages as [[BloodierAndGorier more brutal, dark, and cruel]] with each successive installment.

* {{Sequelitis}}: Most of the sequels are considered to be unable to measure up to the original, with ''Resurrection'' being regarded as the series' nadir and the Rob Zombie-directed reboots being a divisive affair. The only films in the series that are considered to come anywhere close are the second, third and eleventh films, and that is a point of contention.

* FanonDiscontinuity: In a franchise that spans multiple timelines and alternate continuities, this was bound to happen:
** There were no films after the first 2. Helping that case is Creator/JohnCarpenter wrote it with the intent to kill Michael off completely.
*** There were no films after the original, ''period''. It was only one movie. Probably helps that John Carpenter considers the original a stand alone, and the sequels to be an obligation if anything. II & 2018 may be exceptions as many fans agree they came close to replicating the atmosphere and tone of the original.
** ''[[Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch Season of the Witch]]'' was the only ''true'' sequel for many fans given [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the franchise was supposed to transition from slasher movies to an anthology series afterwords]].
*** It also ''didn’t'' happen for many other fans because it’s [[OddballInTheSeries the only one to not have Michael Myers]].
** Only the [[Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers Cult]] [[Film/Halloween5TheRevengeOfMichaelMyers of]] [[Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers Thorn]] timeline happened after the first 2 (or 3) films and ignore everything afterwords, with many claiming these films captured the atmosphere of the actual holiday of Halloween much better and for being the only timeline to feature fan favorite character Dr. Loomis.
*** ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'' happened, but the other two Cult of Thorn movies didn't. This allows for the fourth movie to serve as the final installment of a trilogy with the first two movies. The fact that it doesn't feature The Man in Black or any of the other cultists, and that it is hard to swallow how Michael survived his death at the end of the film makes this easier to accept.
*** Regarding [[Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers Halloween 6]]’s existence, many claim the Producer’s Cut didn’t happened due to the explanation of Michael’s murderous origins and its infamous plot twist [[spoiler:of Jamie’s baby being her and Michael’s]].
*** Subsequently the Theatrical Cut doesn’t exist for its removal of the cult elements in favor of a more sci-fi oriented one, jarring editing choices that leads to countless PlotHoles and FridgeLogic and for its mishandling of Dr. Loomis’ scenes (especially since the reshoots for this cut was after Donald Pleasance [[AuthorExistenceFailure passed away]]).
** ''[[Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater H20]]'' was the only true follow up after ''Halloween II''. There was nothing else in between and it ended right there [[spoiler:with Laurie decapitating Michael for good.]]
*** An Inversion for some. There's other fans who prefer merging the Thorn and H20 timelines together. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen There were plans to do so that didn't make it into the final cut]].
*** The Chaos Comics miniseries tried to officially tie them together, but were omitted from canon ironically by the later release ''Resurrection''. A new line of comics were written taking ''Resurrection'' into account but no ties with the Thorn trilogy.
** There were no films ''before'' Music/RobZombie’s [[Film/Halloween2007 duo]][[Film/HalloweenII2009 logy]]. Some fans prefer Michael have a realistic origin behind his madness rather than being simply pure evil, or controlled by a mysterious cult.
*** Rob Zombie's 2007 film happened but the events of its sequel didn't. This is helped by how there are two cuts of the first movie, a theatrical one and an unrated one, as well as an alternate ending, and the sequel could diverge from any of those versions.
** For many, ''Film/Halloween2018'' is the first "true" sequel to the original, not only capturing the tone and going back to the roots, but also because it discarded the idea of Michael and Laurie being siblings which some fans never really liked that much.
*** Then again, H2018 "didn't happen" simply because they felt it was unnecessary since, once again, ''H20'' provided a better arc and ending for Laurie.
** Only the films with John Carpenter’s involvement exist, whether it’s directing, writing, or even composing ([[Film/Halloween1978 1978,]] [[Film/HalloweenII1981 II,]] [[Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch Season of the Witch,]] and [[Film/Halloween2018 2018]]).
** Basically, the ''only'' thing fans of all the timelines have agreed on is that ''[[Film/HalloweenResurrection Resurrection]]'' never existed and should’ve never been made because of its [[AssPull terrible excuse of a retcon]] to arguably a perfect end with ''H20'' and for doing the most damaging things to the character’s legacy. [[note]] Michael at one point gets blinded by a handful of spices and even backs down, almost cowers even from Busta Rhymes after the former yells at him for imitating his costume and trying to ruin the show, and later he defeats Michael by shocking him in the balls. [[/note]] [[DisownedAdaptation Even Jamie Lee Curtis disowned it]] and went on to state she considers ''H20'' the ending.

** There were no films after the first 2. Helping that case is John Carpenter wrote it with the intent to kill Michael off completely.

** Season of the Witch was the only ''true'' sequel for many fans given [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the franchise was supposed to transition from slasher movies to an anthology series afterwords]].

** Only the films with Creator/JohnCarpenter’s involvement exist, whether it’s directing, writing, or even composing ([[Film/Halloween1978 1978,]] [[Film/HalloweenII1981 II,]] [[Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch Season of the Witch,]] and [[Film/Halloween2018 2018]]).

** The familial aspect: Some may frown upon the aspect of Michael and Laurie being siblings. Even John Carpenter himself says he regrets the twist and that it was the result of an AssPull. However the novelization of the orginal film, predating the second, shows that Michael was fixated on Laurie for reminding him of his sister.
** The sixth film isn't well liked for introducing the idea that Michael was placed under a curse due to dark outside forces beyond his control, yet the novelization of the orginal film showcases Michael as a victim of DemonicPossession and he kills in hopes her can get the voices to stop tormenting him.

** [[Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater H20]] was the only true follow up after Halloween II. There was nothing else in between and it ended right there [[spoiler:with Laurie decapitating Michael for good.]]
** Only the films with John Carpenter’s involvement exist, whether it’s directing, writing, or even composing ([[Film/Halloween1978 1978,]] [[Film/HalloweenII1981 II,]] [[Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch Season of the Witch,]] and [[Film/Halloween2018 2018]]).
** Season of the Witch was the only ''true'' sequel for many fans given [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the franchise was supposed to transition from slasher movies to an anthology series afterwords]].
*** It also didn’t happen for many other fans because it’s [[OddballInTheSeries the only one to not have Michael Myers]].
** There were no films after the first 2. Helping that case is John Carpenter wrote it with the intent to kill Michael off completely.
*** There were no films ''before'' Rob Zombie’s [[Film/Halloween2007 duo]][[Film/HalloweenII2009 logy]]. Some fans prefer Michael have a realistic origin behind his madness rather than being simply pure evil, or controlled by a mysterious cult.
** ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'' happened, but the other two Cult of Thorn movies didn't. This allows for the fourth movie to serve as the final installment of a trilogy with the first two movies. The fact that it doesn't feature The Man in Black or any of the other cultists, and that it is hard to swallow how Michael survived his death at the end of the film makes this easier to accept.
** Rob Zombie's 2007 film happened but the events of its sequel didn't. This is helped by how there are two cuts of the first movie, a theatrical one and an unrated one, as well as an alternate ending, and the sequel could diverge from any of those versions.
** Regarding [[Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers Halloween 6]]’s existence, many claim the Producer’s Cut didn’t happened due to the explanation of Michael’s murderous origins and its infamous plot twist [[spoiler:of Jamie’s baby being her and Michael’s]].

** There were no films after the original, ''period''. It was only one movie. Probably helps that John Carpenter considers the original a stand alone, and the sequels to be an obligation if anything. II & 2018 may be exceptions as many fans agree they came close to replicating the atmosphere and tone of the original.
** Basically, the ''only'' thing fans of all the timelines have agreed on is that [[Film/HalloweenResurrection Resurrection]] never existed and should’ve never been made because of its [[AssPull terrible excuse of a retcon]] to arguably a perfect end with H20 and for doing the most damaging things to the character’s legacy. [[note]] Michael at one point gets blinded by a handful of spices and even backs down, almost cowers even from Busta Rhymes after the former yells at him for imitating his costume and trying to ruin the show, and later he defeats Michael by shocking him in the balls. [[/note]] [[DisownedAdaptation Even Jamie Lee Curtis disowned it]] and went on to state she considers H20 the ending.
** An Inversion for some. There's other fans who prefer merging the Thorn and H20 timelines together. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen There were plans to do so that didn't make it into the final cut]].
*** The Chaos Comics miniseries tried to officially tie them together, but were ommited from canon ironically by the later release ''Resurrection''. A new line of comics were written taking ''Resurrection'' into account but no ties with the Thorn trilogy.

** Unsurprisingly, Michael is also commonly depicted as best friends(or even lovers) with [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees.]]

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: No matter what series timeline you follow, Michael ''always'' lives to kill another day, and anyone who survives one film will just die horribly come the next sequel, including Laurie, Dr. Loomis, and Jamie. And unlike ''[[Franchise/FridayThe13th Friday the 13th]]'' or ''[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet A Nightmare On Elm Street]]'', the series hardly tries to have fun with it's superhuman villain and plays his rampages as [[BloodierAndGorier more brutal, dark, and cruel]] with each successive installment.

* FanficFuel: The story of the sixth film was left hanging after its poor box office and critical reception led the [[ContinuityReboot franchise to be partically rebooted]], making the last four films non-canon with the release ''Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later''; but, ''then'', after the sequel to the previously mentioned installment, ''Halloween: Resurrection'', [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed the box office]], was panned by fans and critics, [[FromBadToWorse ''and'', to add even more salt to the wound]], Moustapha Akkad, the producer for all the films up to that point and the man responsible for carrying the franchise through its DorkAge, [[AuthorExistenceFailure was killed in a terrorist attack three years later]]. The story to the last two filma were left hanging and the franchise overall laid dormant until the franchise was rebooted with Rob Zombie's duology. Still, despite the reboot and the fans hatred for the last films of the Thorn and ''H20'' timeline, there are many fanfics and fan-films that continue the stories of these separate continuities. Aside from fan material, there have also been offical continuations of the Thorn and ''H20'' stories through comicbooks set in those universes.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Incidently some of the more unfavorsble aspects of some of the sequels were implemented prior to said sequels.

*** There were no films ''before'' Rob Zombie’s [[Film/Halloween2007 duo]][[Film/HalloweenII2009 logy]]. Some fans [[BetterThanCanon prefer Michael have a realistic origin behind his madness rather than being simply pure evil, or controlled by a mysterious cult]].

* CrossoverShip: A non-romantic example. A lot of fan art portrays Michael as close friends with [[Film/TrickRTreat Sam]].

** ''Film/HalloweenII2009'' was panned all across the board from critics and fans alike for being a incoherent mess that had no sense of direction and tone. As time passes, more fans have come to appreciate the movie for taking a risk and being a more artsy slasher film, as well as having great, gory kills and for having more character depth to it compared to other entries. The Director’s Cut helped as well for adding more character development and for answering PlotHoles that the Theatrical cut didn’t answer.

** There were no films after the original, ''period''. It was only one movie. Probably helps that John Carpenter considers the original a stand alone, and the sequels to be an obligation if anything. II & 2018 may be exceptions as many fans agree they came close to replicating the atmosphere and tone of the original.

** Season of the Witch was the only ''true'' sequel given [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the franchise was supposed to transition from slasher movies to an anthology series afterwords]].

** ''Film/HalloweenII2009'' was panned all across the board from critics and fans alike for being a incoherent mess that had no sense of direction and tone. As time passes, more fans have come to appreciate the movie for taking a risk and being a more artsy slasher film, as well as having great, gory kills and for having more character depth to it compared to other entries. The Director’s Cut helped as well for adding more character development and for answering PlotHoles that the Theatrical version cut out.

** ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'' happened, but the other two Cult of the Thorn movies didn't. This allows for the fourth movie to serve as the final installment of a trilogy with the first two movies. The fact that it doesn't feature The Man in Black or any of the other cultists, and that it is hard to swallow how Michael survived his death at the end of the film makes this easier to accept.

** Rob Zombie's 2007 film happened but its sequel didn't. This is helped by how there are two cuts of the first movie, a theatrical one and an unrated one, as well as an alternate ending, and the sequel could diverge from any of those versions.

*** Subsequently the Theatrical Cut doesn’t exist for its removal of the cult elements in favor of a more sci-fi oriented one, jarring editing choices and for its mishandling of Dr. Loomis’ scenes (especially since the reshoots for this cut was after Donald Pleasance [[AuthorExistenceFailure passed away]]).

*** Subsequently the Theatrical Cut doesn’t exist for its removal of the cult elements in favor of a more sci-fi oriented one, jarring editing choices and for its mishandling of Dr. Loomis’ scenes (especially since the reshoots for this cut was after Creator/DonaldPleasance [[AuthorExistenceFailure passed away]]).

* HilariousInHindsight: The success of comedian Mike Myers makes it a bit hard to take a villain with that name seriously. Indeed, there are a couple of videos on the internet that have Mike Myers voicing Michael Myers.

** [[Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers] happened, but the other two Cult of the Thorn movies didn't. This allows for the fourth movie to serve as the final installment of a trilogy with the first two movies. The fact that it doesn't feature The Man in Black or any of the other cultists, and that it is hard to swallow how Michael survived his death at the end of the film makes this easier to accept.

** [[Film/Halloween4] happened, but the other two Cult of the Thorn movies didn't. This allows for [[Film/Halloween4]] to serve as the final installment of a trilogy with the first two movies. The fact that it doesn't feature The Man in Black or any of the other cultists, and that it is hard to swallow how Michael survived his death at the end of the film makes this easier to accept.