WARNING: Spoilers for Halloween 2018.
Halloween is a sequel to John Carpenter's original 1978 movie, but it contains Easter eggs for practically every other Halloween installment. The 2018 Halloween movie is busy lighting up the box office almost two full weeks after its release, and has now become the highest grossing slasher film of all-time, eliminating Scream from the top spot. The movie from director David Gordon Green and co-writer Danny McBride has erased all intervening Halloween films from its continuity, playing as a direct sequel to the 1978 classic of the same name.
While the events of the nine other Halloween movies (all of varying quality) are now consigned to parallel universes, the new sequel spends a lot of its run-time paying homage to almost everything that came before, even down to character names and some of Michael Myers' kills being copied verbatim. There are cameos and references built so subtly that it would take even eagle-eyed horror aficionados a moment to recognize them all.
Related: Halloween 2018's Ending Explained
Even die-hard Halloween fans will surely miss some of the Easter eggs that are hidden in the latest movie, so here's a rundown of the very best.
27. The Opening Credits Reverse The Original Halloween
Starting with an easy one, the opening credits to 2018's Halloween sequel perfectly recapture the creepiness of the original's, and its 1981 follow-up, Halloween II. The freaky pumpkin with candle burning inside, the bright orange text, it's all there. Here, though, the effect is reversed, with the pumpkin rebuilding - indicating the return of the series.
Even newcomer Andi Matchak, who plays Laurie Strode's granddaughter in this picture, gets an "and introducing" credit before her name - just like Jamie Lee Curtis received in the original. The familiar score also returns John Carpenter to the franchise he made famous, this time working on the soundtrack for the entire movie with Cody Carpenter (his son) and Daniel Davies - starting with the classic theme.
26. “The Babysitter Murders”
The original title of the first film, The Babysitter Murders - devised by original producer Irwin Yablans, before being changed to the far-more-marketable Halloween - is spoken aloud by Will Patton's Officer Hawkins as he recounts the familiar of Prisoner 82201: "Michael Myers. Babysitter murders, 1978?" Considering there was only one babysitter murdered in the original film, it's most likely a more overt reference to the film's original title, and a nice touch at that.
Related: How Much Did Halloween 2018 Cost To Make?
25. Myers Dollhouse
Found in Laurie's present-day rustic lodge-cum-fortress, a dollhouse that looks exactly like the Myers' family home can be found in Karen Strode's childhood bedroom. Whether Laurie understood the resemblance or not remains to be seen, but either way, it's quite creepy and represents her inability to let go.
24. Michael Myers' Resurrections
As podcaster Aaron and his colleague/partner, Dana, pull into the gas station where they will meet their untimely demise, Aaron makes eye contact with an old lady in a Resurrection Church van. This can be construed as either a hint at Michael’s comeback (happening in the background of that very scene, where he once again conveniently finds a maintenance onesie) or the character's many on-screen resurrections following his perceived death in previous chapters.
It could even be a nod to the much-maligned Halloween: Resurrection, which featured a karate-kicking Busta Rhymes, although that feels more unintentional. The less said about that chapter of the franchise, the better.
23. Beware the Filthy, Public Restroom
As with Rob Zombie's 2007 Halloween effort, dirty public truck stop bathrooms are no place to go about one's business if Michael Myers is nearby. Echoing the murder of Big Joe Grizzly, Aaron and Dana themselves meet a grizzly end while stopping for gas. Michael Myers ominously stands outside Dana's stall trying to get in, much like he knocks on Grizzly's stall door.
When it comes time for the physical violence, Myers repeatedly bashes Aaron's head against the stall, and did a similar move with Grizzly - except it was his arm, as he was attempting to disarm the trucker of his knife. The result is the same - Myers walks away with new victims to notch on his belt.
Related: Where You Recognize The Cast Of Halloween 2018 From
Halloween: H20 features a similar scene, as a young woman escorts her young son into a deserted public restroom on the highway. Myers encounters them, but after a few tense moments leaves with the lady's car keys and no new victims.
22. Michael Myers' Jumpsuit Has The Same Origin
Michael Myers uses gas stations and truck stops as a one-stop shop for all his serial killers needs, it seems, as he usually collects a mechanic's uniform and one or more fresh kills at each one. In Rob Zombie's Halloween, he claims Joe Grizzly's coveralls as his own, and in Halloween 2018, an unnamed mechanic has the pleasure of giving up his garments for The Shape. This is also the same way he ditches his hospital gown for a jumpsuit in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.
Page 2 of 5: Michael Myers' Siblings & More Halloween References
21. Our Beloved Daughter Judith Myers
Michael Myers' first victim, his poor older sister Judith, has had her peaceful eternal rest disturbed before - as her tombstone was ripped out of the ground and used as a backdrop for Annie Brackett's death in the original movie. Thankfully, no such desecration occurs in this year's Halloween, but Michael does stop by for a visit to big sis' grave, and the tombstone is exactly the same.
Here, the graveyard setting exists to show how Myers tracks down Aaron and Dana (and his old mask) after his escape - they happened to be visiting Judith Myers' grave at the same time he was.
20. Halloween's Sibling Connection (No More)
Everything from Halloween II to Halloween: Resurrection has now been excised from canon, and sadly, this includes the biological connection between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. It had been revealed in Halloween II that Laurie was Michael's long-lost little sister, hence his obsession with her, but that has now been explained away by granddaughter Allyson as vicious rumors. Regardless, it was a fun nod to the mythology.
19. Halloween's Other Song Returns
Another fun nod to the past is a song heard playing on the radio of the truck being driven by the doomed hunter and his son. That song was invented by John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis on the set of the original Halloween, something for Laurie to sing softly to herself while unknowingly stalked by Michael, as they couldn't afford the rights to any actual song with their meager budget.
Director Green had a band record the song and used it as a deep-cuts callback. The song can also be heard towards the end of Halloween's credits sequence, immediately followed by Michael's heavy breathing through his mask, suggesting an inevitable return for the character.
18. Michael Kills In The Same Way
Speaking of doomed hunters and their equally-doomed sons, the boy in this movie who fearfully awaits his father's return after investigating the bus crash meets the same end as Annie in the original film.
Michael is hidden in the backseat as the character climbs into the front, only to be choked out and have his or her neck snapped. While kids may have survived Halloween: H20, Green and McBride aren't as forgiving. At least Myers didn't murder the crying baby.
17. A Haddonfield Stroll
Three teens walk the idyllic suburban streets of Haddonfield, discussing their Halloween plans, unaware that a killer is on the loose and they're likely at the top of his murder list. If the scene sounds familiar, it's because it happens the same way in both Halloween (1978) and Halloween (2018). This film is not only a sequel but a homage in every way as well.
Page 3 of 5: Cues To Old Halloween Sequels (Including Halloween 3)
16. Michael Myers - Never Late for the Bus
This is the third time Michael has escaped while in transit, and one can only hope that when presented with the task of moving a mass murderer around the country in future, the authorities might take more care. The fellow patients found wandering in the road also echoes the first film, when Dr. Loomis and Nurse Marion came across the same scene of patients wandering in the road, and a missing Michael Myers.
Read More: Halloween 2018 Theory: Dr. Sartain Released Michael Myers
15. Michael Myers Recreates Halloween II
Michael’s silent, swift, and brutal rampage through the Haddonfield neighborhood very specifically echoes kills in Halloween II. The lady in a red robe making a sandwich, and the woman on the phone being warned about a killer on the loose right before she herself is killed, both feature in the original 1981 sequel.
In that film, Myers then moves onto Haddonfield Hospital, where he slays numerous doctors and nurses. Here, he merely watches a couple dressed as a doctor and a nurse, as they prepare to head out to a Halloween party, but the nod is there.
14. The Season of the Witch
A turn away from the Michael Myers mythology, Halloween III: Season of the Witch has its detractors, but has been begged to be reconsidered by a vocal contingent of horror fans in recent years. Those fans argue that the Shape-less film stands on its own merit. Here, the black sheep of the Halloween franchise gets a nod, as there are kids running around trick-or-treating, sporting the cursed masks (made by the evil Silver Shamrock company) featured in that movie.
13. "Do As I Say!"
The closest thing Laurie Strode has to a catchphrase is "Do as I say!" and variants have been uttered by her to the kids-in-danger of the first movie, and her own son in Halloween H20. Here, it appears as a voicemail to granddaughter Allyson: "We’re all gonna be together. Now do as I say!"
12. Creepy Bedsheets
Fans of the original Halloween movie will remember that Michael wore a bed sheet while killing babysitter Lynda, a fun nod to the time-honored Halloween costume tradition. This time around, Michael covers up his only babysitter kill by draping a bed sheet over the murdered Vicky, for Officer Hawkins to find.
11. Michael Pins Another Boyfriend To The Wall
Vicky's boyfriend, Dave, with his timely, new tattoo of Halloween's calendar date for that year finds a similar fate as a character from the first movie - stabbed with such viciousness that he ends up pinned to the wall. In the original 1978 film, it earns a curious head tilt from The Shape, hammering home that killing is an impulse that needs to be experienced for the killer. As Dave's body is found already murdered, audiences will never know if Michael continues to do his curious mannerism in the face of his own brutality.
Page 4 of 5: Laurie & Michael Myers Are Creatures Of Habit
10. Halloween 5's Comedy Cops
Anyone wondering what two comedy relief characters like the two cops sat watching the road outside Laurie Strode's stronghold are actually doing in this overwhelmingly dark and brutal slasher movie, are welcome to go back and watch Halloween 5, which featured two similar characters. The characters also bring to mind two similarly bumbling policemen from Wes Craven's cult classic, The Last House on the Left, as well as Scream 4. At least they left out the Benny Hill-esque musical stylings this time around, as with Halloween 5.
Read More: 20 Wild Details Behind The Making Of The Halloween Movies
9. Laurie Loves Red Wine
In Halloween: H20, there's a hilarious moment where Jamie Lee Curtis gulps back a large glass of red wine, in order to settle her nerves in the face of Michael's inevitable return. Here, after watching Michael board his bus transfer, she visits the restaurant where her family is celebrating Allyson's consignment to the honor roll. Almost the first thing she does is chug son-in-law Ray's glass of wine to calm her PTSD.
8. The Shape, Spoken Aloud
Originally credited as The Shape in 1978's classic, Michael Myers is finally referred to as such here, uttered aloud by Laurie prior to downing Ray's wine in order to calm her nerves. "I saw him, The Shape," she says. It's a moment longtime fans have hoped for, and the line is delivered with a suitable amount of dread by Jamie Lee Curtis.
7. The Strodes Aren't The Only Multi-Generational Family
Allyson's boyfriend, Cameron, is notably referred to as coming from a trouble-making family. Toby Huss' Ray even goes as far to tell Cameron he used to do drugs in the woods with his old man, given the name Lonnie Elam, embarrassing the boy at dinner.
Eagle-eyed and bat-eared fans will recognize the name as belonging to the bully who torments Laurie's babysitting charge, Tommy Doyle, in the first movie. It's a fun callback, giving character to the citizens and community history of small-town Haddonfield.
6. Laurie Mimics Michael
Laurie Strode ominously standing outside Allyson's school, watching her, mirrors Michael in the same position watching Laurie in her classroom in Carpenter's film. The scene lends credence to the movie's motif of hunted becoming the hunter, prey becoming predator, as willingly or not, Laurie has become a paranoid, dangerous monster in her own right.
Related: Every New Horror Movie In Theaters This Halloween
The off-screen teacher lecturing Allyson about fate - much like Laurie was receiving a lesson about the philosophy of fate in the original - is voiced by PJ Soles, who fans will recognize as playing Lynda in the original film.
Page 5 of 5: Familiar Halloween Scenes & Michael Myers' Death
5. Laurie Thinks Like Michael Myers (Again)
John Carpenter's original Halloween features an iconic scene where Laurie hides from the menacing Michael in a closet with slatted doors, unsuccessfully - as Michael bursts through the doors to get to her. This time around, Laurie is forced to face a mirror image of her tormented memory, as she searches in a similar closet for The Shape.
In a fun turnaround, seeing as Michael actually is not hiding within, but he has successfully (and very swiftly, apparently) stuffed a body in there. It's much like the original, where a body stuffed by Michael into a closet flops out, surprising the viewer. Only this time, it's Ray.
The scene works as a combination of homages to the original, and considering how many references to Carpenter's movie are contained in this film, it's no surprise that the filmmakers ended up folding a couple into each other - folded just like a body in a closet.
4. Disappearing Act
When Laurie falls off the roof of her fortress home, Michael goes to check on her body laying on the ground below - except, in true horror movie fashion, the body is gone. This is a fun reversal of the slasher trope, originated by Halloween. In the original movie, it's Dr. Loomis who goes to check on Michael's body, having shot him off it - only to discover nothing below. This sequel is full of fun reversals of scenes from the 1978 installment, further illustrating Laurie's transformation into a Boogeyman of her own creation.
3. Halloween Loves Sheets
The sheets hanging outside Laurie’s home to dry can be seen as a subtle reference to the first movie, where Michael hides among a similar scene, watching Laurie from outside her bedroom window. This time, Laurie knows he's coming, so all the ineffective obscuring of drying laundry in the world won't help Michael as he edges closer to his goal of murdering her.
2. Laurie Mimics Michael In the Shadows
Laurie’s face emerging from the shadows as her daughter Karen shoots Michael mirrors the killer doing the same emergence behind his prey in the original, signifying the final turning of the tables between killer and victim. Whether Michael felt the same fear that Laurie did in 1978 remains to be seen, but probably not.
Related: Halloween 2018's After-Credits Sequel Tease Explained
1. Ashes to Ashes
Following the shooting by Karen, tumbling down into what viewers thought of initially as a panic room, the final twist is revealed; it wasn't a panic room at all, but a trap. Flames ignite all around Micheal, consigning him to hell, as Laurie makes the transition from the prey to predator. Michael dies (a Halloween sequel is, after all, already being discussed), consumed by flames, just like in the denouement of Halloween II, and the franchise comes full circle.