The upcoming Halloween Kills is about to tie an important franchise record with Friday the 13th. Both of these long-running slasher franchises have been frightening and entertaining audiences for over four decades, and have become equally as beloved among horror aficionados. However, there is one claim to fame Friday the 13th has always had over Halloween, but that's about to go away.
Halloween was released in 1978 and went on to become one of the most successful independent movies ever made. Although the film wasn't the first true slasher, its success kicked off a genre that would come to proliferate throughout the 1980s. Friday the 13th was one of the first films to ride on Halloween's coattails, and its own unexpected success transformed the simple story of a summer camp being terrorized by a mysterious killer into one of the decade's most famous horror series. Both Halloween and Friday the 13th would continue into the 1990s and would see remakes produced during the late 2000s.
By the time 2009's Friday the 13th remake was released, the series sat at an impressive 12 feature films. At that same time, the Halloween series had petered out after Rob Zombie's remake duology, ending at ten installments spread out over four different continuities. However, thanks to stalled sequel production due to a protracted legal battle over the rights to Friday the 13th, Michael Myers is poised to tie Jason's record this year with the release of Halloween Kills, which will be the twelfth overall Halloween film.
In 2018, director David Gordon Green teamed up with the low-budget horror masters at Blumhouse to revive Halloween. The result was a sequel that, despite bearing the original's name, acted as a direct followup to 1978's Halloween from 1978, ignoring all the previous Halloween movie sequels, reboots, and remakes. The film was the eleventh entry in the series, and when plans for two further sequels were announced, it became obvious Halloween would not only tie with Friday the 13th's record but surpass it with thirteen total installments.
However, while Halloween Kills and 2022's Halloween Ends will dethrone Friday the 13th, this feat still won't make it the longest-running slasher series. That distinction goes to Full Moon Productions' Puppet Master, which has been going strong in the direct-to-video market for decades. After releasing its first entry in 1989, the Puppet Master franchise has gone on to include fourteen feature films, with more planned for the future. Despite this, Halloween's successful revival has positioned it as the soon-to-be frontrunner for mainstream theatrical slashers and given Friday the 13th's current rights issues, Michael Myers will likely hold onto this record for many years to come.
