Halloween Kills Makes Part Of The 1981 Sequel Canon

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Halloween Kills!

Despite Halloween II being previously retconned, Halloween Kills makes part of the 1981 sequel canon. David Gordon Green’s Halloween Kills picks up where 2018’s Halloween left off, following Michael Myers after his escape from Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) burning house. Meanwhile, Laurie is taken to the hospital while her daughter Karen (Judy Greer), granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), and fellow Haddonfield citizens are forced to deal with Michael’s continuing massacre. The latest chapter also revisits aspects of the original story while adding insight to that dreadful night of October 31st, 1978.

With the release of Halloween in 2018, any sequel following John Carpenter’s original movie was retroactively erased from canon. Green’s movie served as a direct sequel to the film that launched the lore of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, pinning the two on another collision course 40 years after their first meeting. In doing so, the canonical timeline and events were once again changed, which wasn’t uncommon for the Halloween franchise. For example, Curtis’ Laurie was killed off ahead of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers before coming back into the spotlight for Halloween H20.

While Green played with a relatively clean slate, the filmmaker has incorporated several elements of some of the earlier Halloween movies. Halloween Kills follows the most recently established timeline, but it also includes key flashbacks from 1978. The movie depicts a young Deputy Frank Hawkins (Thomas Mann) as he and fellow Haddonfield police officers search for Michael Myers shortly after being shot by Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence). Like Halloween II, “The Shape” is chased down alleyways through town until Halloween Kills deviates from what was known from that night. However, a specific sequence brings together Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall), Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens), Lonnie Elam (Robert Longstreet), and Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards). When focusing on the latter in the bar reunion, the movie flips to archival footage from Halloween II in which sheriff Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers) first sees the body of his deceased daughter, Annie (Nancy Kyes), who was Lindsey’s babysitter. By showing the old scene, Halloween Kills seemingly makes a piece of Halloween II canon.

Like the Halloween sequel from 1981, much of Halloween Kills takes place at the local Haddonfield hospital. Cyphers’ Leigh Brackett fittingly works as a hospital security guard, allowing him to return to the conflict during Michael’s grand return. While the rest of the events in Halloween II aren’t depicted in Halloween Kills’ timeline, it was interesting for Green to use Brackett’s reaction scene from 1981 to remind viewers of the horrors he himself has faced at the hands of Michael. Green has clearly made an effort to honor early Halloween entries, like the case with the Halloween III masks making an appearance in the playground scene. The timeline of events may have changed due to retcons, but nostalgia is still at the forefront.

It’s unclear if Halloween Ends will follow with making previously erased aspects from the franchise return to canon, but it’s possible. Halloween Kills needed to revisit the past from that infamous 1978 night to add insight into Hawkins’ actions, Loomis’ failed attempt to kill his patient, and Michael’s capture. With other original characters like Laurie, Lindsey, and Leight Brackett still in the mix, flashbacks and archival footage could come into play yet again. Some are even holding out hope that Danielle Harris’ Jamie Llyod will somehow be brought into the equation, which will lead to another aspect returning to canon.