Considered the first slasher film to actually take off and gain a following, the 1978 horror flick Halloween is best known for its horror icon, Michael Myers. A killer who never talks, rarely reveals his face and never dies, Michael has survived multiple films, reboots and increasingly creative attempts to kill him. He’s cheated death in every installment in the eleven film franchise minus Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which is the only Halloween movie that didn’t feature him as a character.
Halloween Kills is the latest take on the bogeyman and his ability to beat death. Between the first Halloween and this latest installment, Michael has been shot, beaten and set on fire. Here’s a look at the many ways Michael’s story has been told and how he’s been “killed.”
Halloween
In the original film, Michael kills seven people before being stopped by Laurie Strode and Dr. Loomis. Trapped in a closet, Laurie manages to stab Michael in the chest with his knife, causing him to fall back and Laurie to believe him dead. As she makes her way out of the room, he rises behind her and attempts to strangle her. Dr. Loomis steps in and shoots him six times, sending him falling out of the second-story window. The camera clearly shows his body lying on the ground, unmoving. However, when Dr. Loomis checks again, Michael is gone. There’s no mention of this to Laurie or any discussion of how he escaped.
Halloween II
Following the events of Halloween, Halloween II shows the first of Michael’s many resurrections. He’s found Laurie again, terrorizing her by showing up at the hospital where she’s recovering, alive and seemingly unharmed. Dr. Loomis realizes what has happened and once again steps in to help Laurie, as she shoots Michael in the eyes and Loomis sets the room on fire, causing the hospital to explode. Although Michael seems to survive the initial blast, he walks out of the hospital before collapsing in front of Laurie.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers focuses on Laurie’s young daughter, Jamie, who’s stalked by Michael. As he goes on a killing spree through the town, the police are called in to stop him. The climax culminates in a mob-like hunt for the killer as the town tries to step in to help the police. He’s chased down and hit by a truck, followed by being shot multiple times and falling into an empty grave, seemingly sealing his fate.
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is the film that starts to set up Michael as supernatural. Jamie is traumatized after the events of the previous movie and has lost the ability to speak. She’s institutionalized and starts having what seem to be seizure episodes. Dr. Loomis realizes that Michael and Jamie have a mental connection that they use to help track down Michael and his victims. Jamie and Loomis eventually create a trap for Michael, using a steel net to catch him as he comes after Jamie. He’s shot with tranquilizer darts and beaten to death by Loomis.
Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers
Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers attempted to explain why Michael could never die, something that the previous two movies had been building up to. It’s explained that Michael is cursed by an ancient Druid Cult — a move so far left from the ominous silent killer Michael had been up to this point. The ending has Tommy — who Laurie babysat in the first film — injecting Michael with various tranquilizers, beaten with a lead pip and hanged.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
H20: 20 Years Later tried to return to the Laurie Strode story, following her 20 years after the events of the 1978 film. She had faked her death and hid under a different name as the headmistress of a private academy. Somehow, Michael has found out where she’s been hiding and comes after her again. The fight between Laurie and Michael is intense. Michael is stabbed, falls over a balcony, is thrown from a vehicle and finally beheaded with an ax.
Halloween: Resurrection
Halloween Resurrection is a direct follow-up to H20. The Myers house is used as the setting for a live Internet horror show, and the film features celebrities like Tyra Banks and Busta Rhymes. It’s revealed that Michael switched places with a school paramedic in H20. He swapped their clothes and led Laurie to believe it was him that she had killed while he had actually escaped. Michael has again returned to Haddonfield and started killing off the actors participating in the show. Only two of them manage to survive. They electrocute Michael, start a fire and leave the body to burn.
Rob Zombie’s Halloween and Halloween II
Rob Zombie’s 2007 version of Halloween attempted to reboot the entire franchise and was followed by a sequel in 2009. The film was more of an origin story, following Michael throughout his childhood and adult years in a psychiatric facility, showing the audience what led to the development of Michael as a killer. Although set in a more modern era, the film follows much of what John Carpenter’s franchise set up, including Laurie Strode and Dr. Loomis.
After Michael manages to escape the facility, he kills several people before being caught and shot multiple times. The final scene features Michael and Laurie falling over a balcony, and Laurie attempting to shoot him. Halloween II sets up some more backstory between Michael and Laurie and brings the two together again. By the end of the film, Michael is shot, impaled and then stabbed in the chest by Laurie.
Halloween (2018)
The 2018 Halloween film retconned everything after the original 1978 film. The events of 2018’s Halloween are meant to follow 40 years after the first film took place. Laurie has spent years training and making her house a virtual stronghold to defeat Michael if he ever comes after her again. Her house is full of weapons, safe rooms and booby traps that she eventually uses to trap Michael in the basement and set her house on fire. While the film doesn’t actually reveal his fate, there was a post-credits scene of him breathing, hinting that he would return.
In true franchise fashion, the trailer for Halloween Kills shows Michael surviving the fire and continuing his killing spree. Laurie even states in the trailer that “no man could have survived that fire. Every time he kills he transcends,” and calls him the “essence of evil.” While previous films have touched on whether Michael is mortal or supernatural, there has never been any true continuous explanation of what Michael is or why he can’t be killed. The final film in the trilogy, Halloween Ends, is set for a 2022 release date. With a title like that, it’s possible that the film may actually finally explore an end to Michael Myers.
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