The Timelines of Halloween: Episode 2 digs into the Thorn timeline

Our video series The Timelines of Halloween kicked off last month with an episode that took a look at the original Halloween and its direct, set-on-the-same-night sequel Halloween II, as well as the one-off Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which had nothing to do with its two predecessors. In the new episode of the series, we’re looking at what has become known as the “Thorn timeline”, consisting of Halloween 4, 5, and 6. Check it out in the embed above, and pick up the Blu-ray collection of the Halloween series HERE.

Although Halloween 4 was intended to be a follow-up to Halloween and Halloween II, disregarding Halloween III, the films that have followed have pushed 4, along with the two sequels that continued its story, off into their own corner of the franchise. The Halloween series is made up of several different timelines; sequels are made and then ignored by further sequels, remakes come and go… thus the need for The Timelines of Halloween, our attempt to help you assemble the puzzle pieces.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers was directed by Dwight H. Little from a screenplay by Alan B. McElroy. The film has the following synopsis:

The apparently comatose Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur) is being transferred from one hospital to another, but he wakes up when the ambulance crew talk about his surviving niece, Jamie (Danielle Harris). After slaughtering his attendants, Myers sets out to find his one living relative who is, fortunately, being cared for by a kind and resourceful foster sister named Rachel (Ellie Cornell). Meanwhile, the ever-cautious Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) remains on the killer’s path.

Halloween 5 (which had the marketing subtitle The Revenge of Michael Myers, but that subtitle doesn’t appear in the film) was directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard from a screenplay he wrote with Michael Jacobs and Shem Bitterman. The synopsis:

After lying in a coma for a year, Michael Myers (Donald L. Shanks) awakens and stalks his way back to his small hometown in Illinois, intent on killing his niece, Jamie (Danielle Harris), who has been confined to a mental institution since Michael’s last attempt to slay her. Suspecting a psychic link between Michael and Jamie, psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) joins forces with Sheriff Ben Meeker (Beau Starr) and attempts to stop Michael’s latest rampage.

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers was directed by Joe Chappelle from a screenplay by Daniel Farrands. That one tells the following story:

This installment marks the return of the seemingly indestructible masked murderer Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur), who is targeting Tommy Doyle (Paul Stephen Rudd), a young man tied into the legacy of the killer and his connections with the Strode family. As the supernatural elements of Michael’s macabre abilities are explored, his longtime adversary, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), is also back in yet another attempt to stop the psychopath’s brutal rampages.

This episode of The Timelines of Halloween was Written by Cody Hamman, Produced by John Fallon and Lance Vlcek, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

The previous episode of The Timelines of Halloween can be seen below, along with samples of a couple of our other series. To see more, head over to the JoBlo Horror Videos YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!