Halloween: Resurrection is arguably the worst film in the popular franchise, and appropriately, sports the series' worst Michael Myers retcon. Having now reinvented its continuity three times, the Halloween franchise is one of the most convoluted in horror history. For proof of that, one need only remember that lead heroine Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has been killed off three different times over the years, and may well die a fourth time before Halloween Ends' credits roll in 2021.
It's a bit hard to quantify the worst retcon in Halloween history, if only because there's been so many. For starters, Halloween 2 changed Laurie from a random target to Michael's sister, a change creator John Carpenter has always regretted. In 1995's Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers, Michael is revealed to have become evil thanks to a druid cult. 1998's Halloween H20 ignores films 4-6, undoing Laurie's first death, and erasing her daughter in favor of a son. Rob Zombie's films created their own continuity, while last year's Halloween (2018) retconned all but the original film.
When it comes to sheer disappointment though, it's hard to beat Halloween: Resurrection, a film already infamous for featuring rapper Busta Rhymes spinkicking Michael Myers and taunting him with "trick or treat, motherf***er". Topping that on the awful scale though is Resurrection's opening, which absolutely destroys the satisfying ending of Halloween H20 in order to make way for a sequel nobody ended up enjoying.
Halloween H20 Had a Perfect Ending
As with several films in the seemingly undying franchise, Halloween H20 was written as a conclusion to the Michael Myers/Laurie Strode story. After spending the film running from Michael's wrath as her murderous brother claimed more victims, Laurie decided to quit being victimized, and took the fight straight to Haddonfield's most unwanted. Michael is eventually taken away in an ambulance, but Laurie rightly knows he won't stay dead, so she follows the vehicle, and finishes Michael off for good by slicing off his head with an ax. Sadly, Hollywood couldn't leave well enough alone, and along came Halloween: Resurrection to ruin things.
Halloween: Resurrection Retconned Michael Myers' H20 Death
Since they obviously didn't want to make another Halloween 3-style sequel without Michael Myers, Halloween: Resurrection retconned H20's ending in an extremely stupid way. Resurrection revealed that somehow Michael had switched places with a paramedic, and crushed his larynx so he couldn't speak. Thus, Laurie had killed an innocent man, and spent the next few years committed to a mental asylum. Michael then shows up and kills her, marking Laurie's second death. In one fell swoop, Halloween: Resurrection undid one of the most crowdpleasing conclusions in horror history, turned Laurie Strode into a murderer, and brought Michael Myers back to suffer the indignity of killing people on a reality TV show. Thankfully, John Carpenter would eventually return to right the Halloween ship.
