Spoiler & Content Warning: This list contains mentions of violence and plot spoilers for Halloween Kills.
The continuity of the Halloween franchise is a confusing one at times. The main thing to remember is that 1978's Halloween is officially followed by 2018's Halloween and now 2021's Halloween Kills works as the third installment. It manages to bring characters from both films together for an all-out fight.
Of course, some of these characters were better fleshed out than others in this entry. For example, the iconic Laurie Strode takes something of a backseat due to injury, while returning characters from the 1978 original step up in her place.
Marion Chambers
Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens) is the first of several characters with a history in the influential franchise to return. She was Dr. Loomis's assistant who both were first to discover that Michael had escaped incarceration back in 1978. Here, she's one of a handful of survivors.
When word gets out that Michael is on the loose, Marion is one of the many characters who want to fight back against evil. She brings a gun and even comes face to face with Michael, delivering a pretty good line about doing this for Dr. Loomis. Unfortunately, she was out of bullets so Michael stabs her to death.
Lonnie Elam
Another returning character, Lonnie Elam (Robert Longstreet) was just a child when the initial Michael Myers attack happened. He continued to hang out with other survivors, having looked Michael in the eyes back then. In this installment, he helped look out for Allyson and his son Cameron.
Of course, despite his welcome attempts at bravery, there was almost no way that Lonnie could truly stand up to Michael Myers. He is killed and stuffed into the attic but does manage to have a few memorable scenes and lines before going out, including gaining sympathy for being bullied as a kid.
Cameron Elam
In the 2018 film, Cameron Elam (Dylan Arnold) went from someone the audience liked to someone they rooted against. He kissed another girl despite being in a relationship with Allyson and then got mad at her, tossing her phone into food. However, he manages to redeem himself a bit in this installment.
The first time audiences see Cameron in Halloween Kills, he rushes to Allyson's side to check on her. He also gets right into the action, bringing Allyson along to fight against Michael. Although he ultimately gets brutally killed by Michael in the end, he goes out fighting alongside the girl he wronged, who he treated better this time around.
Lindsey Wallace
Back to returning characters, Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards) was also just a kid during the 1978 massacre. Her babysitter was one of the people Michael killed and like many others in Haddonfield, Lindsey is right there to try and go up against the serial killer.
She gets some added points over some of her partners since she was the one brave enough to exit the car and send the kids to safety when she spotted Michael. Lindsey also manages to survive that encounter and remains alive as far as the audience can tell when the film comes to an end.
Tommy Doyle
Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall) is famously the kid who Laurie babysat during the events of 1978's Halloween. In this film, he's all grown up and unlike some of his fellow town residents, he's right at the forefront of the fight against Michael, carrying his trusty bat into battle with him.
Tommy is the one who gets a weapon and goes to confront Michael first and he's the one who rallies everyone at the hospital. A lot of this movie is Tommy basically on a warpath as he attempts to protect Laurie after she protected him in the past. He's even the last member of the mob who Michael ultimately kills.
Laurie Strode
It's pretty surprising to see that Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) wasn't used more in this film. Her lifelong obsession with Michael and training to kill him made her more interesting than ever in the 2018 version. At the end of that movie, Laurie got stabbed and since this takes place immediately after that, she is too hurt to really get in on the action.
Still, Laurie manages to make an impact on the story. She has some great interactions with her daughter and with Frank Hawkins while stuck in the hospital. She even gets to take down a guy in the hallway, though it hurts her, and she is determined to be the one to put down Michael. It seems like a final showdown is set up for Halloween Ends.
Michael Myers
It's often hard to even consider Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney/Nick Castle) a character these days because he's actually more of an entity. If anything, he's the personification of evil and Laurie's explanation of how every kill makes him less of a man and more of something else is appropriate.
Michael does get to play an even bigger part this time, as it seems like he's on screen more than in other films. He delivers some of his most brutal kills and the scene where he powers up from a mob beating and murders them one by one should become the stuff of legend. Considering how the film ends, this is also the rare installment where Michael wins.
Allyson Nelson
In 2018, Laurie's granddaughter Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak) was a highlight of the film. She was likable for wanting a relationship with her grandmother, even if everyone else wrote off Laurie. Though she was rightfully scared, she also was one of the characters to fight back against Michael.
In Halloween Kills, Allyson takes that to the next level. As soon as she finds out that Michael is alive, she heads out to try and kill him, looking to avenge her family, including her fallen father. Allyson also shows no fear in Michael's face, daring him to kill her when they come face to face and ultimately surviving again.
Frank Hawkins
This movie opening with a flashback to 1978 was unexpected but actually worked out really well. The 2018 film explained that Michael was captured by police, led by Deputy Frank Hawkins and audiences got to actually see it this time around. Hawkins helped take Michael in but made mistakes along the way.
He accidentally shot his own partner and he stopped Dr. Loomis from killing Michael. Frank survived the attack from the previous film but spent this movie as a man filled with regret, blaming himself for Michael still being around. It added layers to someone who you might not have expected it from.
Karen Nelson
In the eyes of many fans, the best moment of 2018's Halloween was when Karen Nelson (Judy Greer) feigned being able to shoot Michael, only to goad him in as she fired off the gun. It showcased that while Karen resented her mother Laurie for the way she raised her, she hadn't forgotten the lessons.
She starts this film as the concerned daughter and mother, trying to protect Laurie and Allyson. When the time comes, she shows up in the nick of time, saving Allyson by stabbing Michael with a pitchfork. She also again goads him, taking his mask and leading him to the beating by the mob, which she punctuates by stabbing him. That makes her apparent death at the end hurt that much more.