The Halloween movies aren’t known for having a consistent storyline, but they consistently deliver what fans expect from a slasher film: plenty of kills. While some movies build suspense well, most viewers are really there for the bloodshed, and the rivalry between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers is just a bonus. Here’s a look at the most memorable deaths from the entire series – though not all of them are caused by Michael himself, most of them are.
We considered every film in the Halloween series for this. That includes the often-overlooked Halloween III: Season of the Witch. However, if you’re hoping for a lot of focus on the violent kills from Rob Zombie’s films, you might be let down. While those movies are definitely brutal, the kills aren’t very imaginative. They happen so frequently and relentlessly that they don’t really stick with you – you quickly forget one before the next one appears.
10) Ice Skating Can Be Dangerous Even Without the Ice in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, early in his career, had a particularly memorable death scene in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. However, Sarah Wainthrope’s drawn-out death, where Michael Myers uses her body as a Halloween decoration, is equally disturbing.
Generally, deaths that happen off-screen aren’t very memorable in movies. But in Ballerina, the way Ana de Armas’ character, Eve Macarro, uses an ice skate as a weapon is unique and effective, making the scene stand out.
Stream Halloween H20: 20 Years Later on HBO Max.
9) Very Hot Tub in Halloween II
Often overlooked, Halloween II is a strong sequel that brilliantly uses its hospital setting to create a truly unsettling and claustrophobic atmosphere. While it features several memorable kills – including a couple with syringes – the death of Nurse Karen Bailey stands out. After she kills her boyfriend, Vincent Scarlotti, Michael Myers brutally drowns her in a scalding hot tub, repeatedly submerging her face to maximize the horror.
This moment really emphasizes Michael’s lack of feeling. Even with his hand in boiling water, he doesn’t react at all – not even a flinch, or a wince that we could see beneath his mask.
Stream Halloween II on Peacock.
8) Impaled With a Shotgun in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Kelly Meeker, the daughter of Haddonfield’s sheriff, becomes interested in Rachel Carruthers’ boyfriend, Brady, and eventually starts a relationship with him. Their time together is cut short when Sheriff Meeker, Rachel (who is a deputy), and Jamie Lloyd arrive. Shortly after, Michael Myers appears. After Michael kills the deputy, Kelly finds the body and, strangely, grabs the deputy’s shotgun. He then brutally impales Kelly against a wall with it.
The most memorable kill in the movie is definitely the strangest. It doesn’t quite make sense – the script asks us to believe the character is strong enough to use a blunt object like a sharp one, which is a pretty unusual idea. The ending is also particularly shocking, especially because a child is wielding the weapon – in this case, scissors.
Stream Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers on Shudder.
7) A Jerk & a Fusebox in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
John Strode is one of the most unpleasant characters in the entire Halloween series. Even compared to characters in the Rob Zombie films, Strode—brother of Laurie’s father, Morgan—is remarkably awful.
It wasn’t surprising that he had the most dramatic death in the movie – at least, in the original theatrical release. In that version, John, who insults a child with a harsh word, is cornered by a fuse box and killed by electric shock. While it doesn’t really make logical sense, it felt like a suitable end for his character, John Strode.
Stream Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers on HBO Max.
6) Don’t Touch the Car in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
The Halloween series doesn’t often use a character’s defining characteristic to explain their death, but Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers does just that with the character Mike.
Honestly, Revenge is probably the weakest film in the series – it felt like they were just going through the motions. But I’ve got to admit, I really enjoyed watching Mike get his comeuppance! Seeing his beloved car get completely wrecked was incredibly satisfying. And the fact that they used the same garden fork to trash his car and give him a scratch on the forehead? That was a perfect, darkly funny touch!
Stream Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers on AMC+.
5) Firefighters vs. Michael in Halloween Kills
Halloween Kills delivers exactly what fans expect, perhaps to a fault. While it’s a departure from the Rob Zombie films, it doesn’t quite reach the same level of harshness.
The scene is just as violent, and it really showcases Michael Myers’ strength – especially at the beginning of Kills. When firefighters arrive at Laurie’s house, they encounter something far more terrifying than a fire. The gruesome deaths – involving a Halligan bar to the eye and a circular saw, among other things – add up to eleven kills (five of which happen off-screen), and it’s best to view them as one continuous, brutal attack.
4) Flesh-o’-Lantern in Halloween (2018)
The terrifying Jack-o’-lantern carving featured in David Gordon Green’s Halloween is incredibly gruesome – we’ve decided not to even include a picture of it here because it’s that disturbing.
Okay, so Michael kills Officer Francis, and it happens off-screen, which is already pretty intense. But then… he takes parts from inside Francis’s head and somehow manages to stuff them into a flashlight. It wasn’t just a simple skinning, though the eyes were gone. He went way beyond that, trying to make it as disturbingly realistic as possible. Honestly, out of all the brutal kills in the whole series, this one is the most shocking and graphic, hands down.
Stream Halloween (2018) on Hulu.
3) A “Misfire” in Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Although Halloween III: Season of the Witch doesn’t include the character Michael Myers—except for a brief appearance in a TV ad for the first Halloween movie—it still delivers clever and inventive ways for characters to meet their end. In terms of creative kills, it’s one of the strongest entries in the entire Halloween series.
Conal Cochran, the villain who is destroyed by Stonehenge, uses robotic helpers to violently silence anyone who discovers Silver Shamrock’s scheme. These robots are incredibly brutal, inflicting gruesome injuries like crushing a man’s eyes and snapping another’s nose, even ripping someone’s head off. The dispatching of these attacks is overseen by Marge Guttman, a Silver Shamrock mask salesperson, who is killed by a laser beam firing from a modified mask badge, creating a memorable practical effects death scene. Later, bugs emerge from her corpse, a horrifying sight that young Buddy Kupfer Jr. witnesses while watching the company’s commercial with his own mask on.
Stream Halloween III: Season of the Witch on Peacock.
2) Big Sister in Halloween
The original Halloween only has five kills, but four of them are truly memorable, making it difficult to choose just one. We almost included the shocking moment in Bob’s closet and when he was pinned to the wall, as well as Annie’s car suddenly unlocking.
The film’s opening immediately grabs you with a shocking and deeply sad moment: Michael’s first victim is his own sister. Seeing a child commit such an act is incredibly disturbing. This scene also cleverly uses a specific viewpoint – one that would become common in many horror movies that followed. It’s a powerful way to begin the story.
Stream Halloween on Shudder.
1) Ghost with a Phone Cord in Halloween
Lynda simply wanted to be left alone with her boyfriend, Bob, and relax with a beer. Sadly, that didn’t happen. Bob was quickly restrained, and Michael began a bizarre game, draping a sheet over himself to pretend to be a ghost, silently appearing in the bedroom doorway. Lynda became annoyed and called for her sister, Laurie. While Lynda was distracted on the phone, Michael crept up behind her and used the phone cord to strangle her.
While many slasher films copied it, Halloween is the original and still the most iconic for having its killer hide under a simple bed sheet. No other film has attempted this approach. What truly makes its first kill stand out, though, is how expertly built the tension is – it’s genuinely frightening and unsettling.
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2025-10-28 01:15