History YMMV / Halloween

** Jamie Lloyd. Her mother died in a car accident, her uncle is a monstrous killer who is dead-set on killing her, is [[spoiler:kidnapped by the Thorn cult]] at the end of ''Revenge'' and she is killed off at the start of ''Curse'' (and Producer's Cut of the film reveals that [[spoiler:that her baby is the result of ''Michael raping her'']]).

* 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 AudienceAlienatingEra, 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 official continuations of the Thorn and ''H20'' stories through comic books set in those universes.

* JerkassWoobie: Of all people, The Shape himself albeit only in the Producer's Cut in the Thorn Trilogy. The fifth and sixth films establish that Michael has been cursed since childhood by the Cult of Thorn, and ever since childhood, he has been forcefully driven by an evil rage to murder his entire bloodline and anyone in between. Other than being forced to kill, he was also made to rape his own niece, Jamie and either kill her child or pass on his curse on to him. And he knows what he's doing. He knows that he's killing people, but can't stop himself; he even cries near the climax of the fifth film because of this, before succumbing to his rage again.

** Later down the line, the ending of the Producers Cut of the sixth film has Michael faking his death by forcibly swapping clothes with someone else. He does the same in the later sequel ''Resurrection''.
* ReplacementScrappy: Allyson from the 2018 trilogy is considered to be this in regard to her role as a GenerationXerox FinalGirl taking over from her grandmother Laurie Strode. While in her first two installments she wasn't bad and seem to build up to be a worthy successor, but then in the GrandFinale, she ultimately turns out to be a {{Sucksessor}} after having TookALevelInJerkass and TookALevelInDumbass, undergone BadassDecay and being DemotedToExtra.

** The follow ups to ''Film/Halloween2018'' have unfortunately begun to draw this reputation in particular. While ''2018'' does have its critics (especially those actually liked the twist from [[Film/HalloweenII1981 2]] that Laurie is Michael's sister), it was seen by many as one of the best since the original film for removing the supernatural elements to Michael and having a much more grounded personal story while still retaining the exciting kills the franchise is known for. In contrast both ''Film/HalloweenKills'' and ''Film/HalloweenEnds'' had a much more divisive reaction (''Kills'' for striping away the much more ground elements of ''2018'' in favor of Michael once again becoming an InvincibleVillain, a messy convoluted plot, and for [[spoiler:killing off Laurie's daughter Karen, rendering a lot of Laurie's struggles in ''2018'' AllForNothing]] and ''Ends'' (which Jamie Lee Curtis has said is her final appearance as Laurie) for spending two-thirds of its runtime [[spoiler:with Michael sitting out while focusing on a different killer only for Michael to come back [[BadassDecay way weaker than he was in ''Kills'']]]] and for having Laurie's granddaughter Allyson become [[TookALevelInJerkass much crueler to Laurie]] and [[TookALevelInDumbass not as smart as she was in her previous appearances]]).

* StarTrekMovieCurse: ''Halloween'' has a tendency to have a film that can serve as a definitive end the story of Michael Myers that is pretty good, only to follow it up with lower quality sequels that ruin the trajectory of the franchise. ''IV'' was a liked entry following the divisive ''II'' and ''III'' that seemingly killed off Michael for good while setting up Jamie to be the franchise's new killer, only for ''V'' and ''VI'' to back track on both completely and introducing the bizarre and confusing Cult of Thorn storyline. ''H20'' was beloved for the return of Laurie Strode, doing away with the nonsense plot of the previous two films, and seemingly killing off Michael for good while giving closure to Laurie's story from the first two films, only for ''Resurrection'' to undo Michael's death, [[spoiler:kill off Laurie right at the start]], and become a goofy {{Narm}} filled cringe fest. ''2018'' was parsed for striping away the more over blown elements of the franchise to tell a much more personal story and seemingly killing Michael for good (noticing a pattern), only for ''Kills'' and ''Ends'' to then bring him back and overblow his power again and then [[spoiler:take focus off of him for a different killer]] respectively. The only timeline to defy this trend was ironically Rob Zombie's reboot timeline which, while divisive for both films, very defiantly kills not only it's [[spoiler:Michael and Loomis]] but, depending on the cut, its [[spoiler:Laurie as well]] at the end of its second installment, ending that timeline for good. Asuming you like ''II'', ''IV'', ''H20'', or ''2018'', it probably best that you pretend the story ended there.

** ''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 passed, 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, establishing its own [[CultClassic cult following]]. The Director’s Cut helped as well for adding more character development and for answering PlotHoles that the Theatrical cut didn’t answer.

* StarTrekMovieCurse: ''Halloween'' has a tendency to have a film that can serve as a definitive end the story of Michael Myers that is pretty good, only to follow it up with lower quality sequels that ruin the trajectory of the franchise. ''IV'' was a liked entry following the divisive ''II'' and ''III'' that seemingly killed off Michael for good while setting up Jamie to be the franchise's new killer, only for ''V'' and ''VI'' to back track on both completely and introducing the bizarre and confusing Cult of Thorn storyline. ''H20'' was beloved for the return of Laurie Strode, doing away with the nonsense plot of the previous two films, and seemingly killing off Michael for good while giving closure to Laurie's story from the first two films, only for ''Resurrection'' to undo Michael's death, [[spoiler:kill off Laurie right at the start]], and become a goof {{Narm}} filled cringe fest. ''2018'' was parsed for striping away the more over blown elements of the franchise to tell a much more personal story and seemingly killing Michael for good (noticing a pattern), only for ''Kills'' and ''Ends'' to then bring him back and overblow his power again and then [[spoiler:take focus off of him for a different killer]] respectively. The only timeline to defy this trend was ironically Rob Zombie's reboot timeline which, while divisive for both films, very defiantly kills not only it's [[spoiler:Michael and Loomis]] but, depending on the cut, its [[spoiler:Laurie as well]] at the end of its second installment, ending that timeline for good. Asuming you like ''II'', ''IV'', ''H20'', or ''2018'', it probably best that you pretend the story ended there.

* StarTrekMovieCurse: Halloween has a tendency to have a film that can serve as a definitive end the story of Michael Myers that is pretty good, only to follow it up with lower quality sequels that ruin the trajectory of the franchise. ''IV'' was a liked entry following the divisive ''II'' and ''III'' that seemingly killed off Michael for good while setting up Jamie to be the franchise's new killer, only for ''V'' and ''VI'' to back track on both completely and introducing the bizarre and confusing Cult of Thorn storyline. ''H20'' was beloved for the return of Laurie Strode, doing away with the nonsense plot of the previous two films, and seemingly killing off Michael for good while giving closure to Laurie's story from the first two films, only for ''Resurrection'' to undo Michael's death, [[spoiler:kill off Laurie right at the start]], and become a goof {{Narm}} filled cringe fest. ''2018'' was parsed for striping away the more over blown elements of the franchise to tell a much more personal story and seemingly killing Michael for good (noticing a pattern), only for ''Kills'' and ''Ends'' to then bring him back and overblow his power again and then [[spoiler:take focus off of him for a different killer]] respectively. The only timeline to defy this trend was ironically Rob Zombie's reboot timeline which, while divisive for both films, very defiantly kills not only it's [[spoiler:Michael and Loomis]] but, depending on the cut, its [[spoiler:Laurie as well]] at the end of its second installment, ending that timeline for good. Asuming you like ''II'', ''IV'', ''H20'', or ''2018'', it probably best that you pretend the story ended there.

** ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch'' made good money at the box office, but was ravaged by film critics and fans at the time who were expecting another Michael Myers slash-a-thon, so much that the planned anthology approach to the series was canned in favor of bringing Michael back, writing it off as a disappointment. In recent years, thanks in part to more lackluster Michael filled sequels, the movie has been given a warmer reception from fans who praise the genre change, it’s amazing music and special effects, wishing the series did go in that direction.

* StarTrekMovieCurse: Halloween has a tendency to have a film that can serve as a definitive end the story of Michael Myers that is pretty good, only to follow it up with lower quality sequels that ruin the trajectory of the franchise. ''IV'' was a liked entry following the divisive ''II'' and ''III'' that seemingly killed off Michael for good while setting up Jamie to be the franchise's new killer, only for ''V'' and ''VI'' to back track on both completely and introducing the bizarre and confusing Cult of Thorn storyline. ''H20'' was beloved for the return of Laurie Strode, doing away with the nonsense plot of the previous two films, and seemingly killing off Michael for good while giving closure to Laurie's story from the first two films, only for ''Resurrection'' to undo Michael's death, [[spoiler:kill off Laurie right at the start]], and become a goof {{Narm}} filled cringe fest. ''2018'' was parsed for striping away the more over blown elements of the franchise to tell a much more personal story and seemingly killing Michael for good (noticing a pattern), only for ''Kills'' and ''Ends'' to then bring him back and overblow his power again and then [[spoiler:take focus off of him for a different killer]] respectively. The only timeline to defy this trend was ironically Rob Zombie's reboot timeline which, while divisive for both films, very defiantly kills not only it's [[spoiler:Michael and Loomis]] but, depending on the cut, its [[spoiler:Laurie as well]] at the end of its second installment, ending that timeline for good. Amusing you like ''II'', ''IV'', ''H20'', or ''2018'', it probably best that you pretend the story ended there.

** The follow ups to ''Film/Halloween2018'' have unfortunately begun to draw this reputation in particular. While ''2018'' does have its critics (especially those actually liked the twist from [[Film/HalloweenII1981 2]] that Laurie is Michael's sister), it was seen by many as one of the best since the original film for removing the supernatural elements to Michael and having a much more grounded personal story while still retaining the exciting kills the franchise is known for. In contrast both ''Film/HalloweenKills'' and ''Film/HalloweenEnds'' had a much more divisive reaction (''Kills'' for striping away the much more ground elements of ''2018'' in favor of Michael once again becoming an InvincibleVillian, a messy convoluted plot, and for [[spoiler:killing off Laurie's daughter Karen, rendering a lot of Laurie's struggles in ''2018'' AllForNothing]] and ''Ends'' (which Jamie Lee Curtis has said is her final appearance as Laurie) for spending two-thirds of its runtime [[spoiler:with Michael sitting out while focusing on a different killer only for Michael to come back [[BadassDecay way weaker than he was in ''Kills'']]]] and for having Laurie's granddaughter Allyson become [[TookALevelInJerkass much crueler to Laurie]] and [[TookALevelInDumbass not as smart as she was in her previous appearances]]).

* ReplacementScrappy: Allyson from the 2018 trilogy is considered to be this in regards to her role as a GenerationXerox FinalGirl taking over from her grandmother Laurie Strode. While in her first two installments she wasn't bad and seem to build up to be a worthy successor, but then in the GrandFinale, she ultimately turns out to be a {{Sucksessor}} after having TookALevelInJerkass and TookALevelInDumbass, undergone BadassDecay and being DemotedToExtra.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: ''IV'', ''H20'' and the 2018 film each recieved this reception. All three came after heavily polarizing sequels and showed the slasher trends of their time to box office success and improved critical reception.

* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: PlayedWith. While John Carpenter and Debra Hill wrote the original and most popular film in the series, the first two sequels made with their involvement aren’t viewed as fondly. However, both films have a ContestedSequel status owing to their involvement and are viewed in higher regard than some of the sequels (Namely the fifth, sixth and eighth installments), making this a DownplayedTrope.

** 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 mostly dashed by Film/HalloweenKills]].

** ''Halloween 2'' was also one for the franchise because it torpedoed the GenreAnthology concept from the start. The massive success of the first movie led to Carpenter making a Michael Myers sequel before his planned new story. Which meant audiences were baffled when what they now thought was a slasher franchise about Michael Myers produced ''Halloween3 '' instead.

** ''Film/Halloween2'' was also one for the franchise because it torpedoed the GenreAnthology concept from the start. The massive success of the first movie led to Carpenter making a Michael Myers sequel before his planned new story, which meant audiences were baffled when what they thought was a slasher franchise about one character produced ''Film/Halloween3'' instead.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: A huge negative on the franchise is Michael's inner machinations being explained as they end up downplaying the horror. The explanations start to creep in at around the fifth installment, but all of this actually started with the second film. Michael's reason for attacking Laurie is revealed as [[spoiler: them being siblings and Michael leaving behind graffiti reading "Samhain" suggest that he's connected to the occult.]] These were contested, but it didn't start to become a problem until the fifth and sixth films started adding more plot elements to the point they became convoluted and outlandish, straying far away from the simplicity of the horror and Michael's character in the first film. While the twist was kept for the ''H20'' and Rob Zombie films, the latter perhaps was the breaking point for Michael's inner machinations unraveling as his backstory was showcased, which was heavily criticized for being a far cry from the force of nature he was in the first film. Perhaps because of this, Michael was reduced to being a mysterious killer in ''Film/Halloween2018'' once again.

* 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 AudienceAlienatingEra, 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.

* 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, 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.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Michael is subject to quite a lot, especially given the multiple timelines of the franchise. Is he just an abnormally strong human psychopath, or something otherworldly? Why does he never speak? Does he have full agency over his heinous crimes, or is he a puppet to some unknown force, as the novelization and "Thorn trilogy" suggests?

* FoeYayShipping: Michael Myers and Laurie Strode have quite the following as a pairing, for those who don't follow the timeline where they're siblings. Even [[https://www.tumblr.com/yoonbum-in-drag/670773118587043840/he-fixated-on-a-girl-he-saw-walking-down-the Jamie Lee Curtis]] describes the first time Michael Myers sees Laurie as him ''falling in love'' with her, and that Laurie in the 2018 timeline waits for him and knows he will come back for her. She calls it a love story for the ages.

* CryForTheDevil: The remakes timeline depict Michael's childhood as depressingly broken. Whether you ''do'' feel sorry for the guy is up in the air.