Ive been binge watching the Halloween movies in order, along catching up with Friday the 13th for the past few weeks, and they're an interesting watch, historically.
I love Halloween, and I still think the first two are the best, but I think the series lost its way by part 4 and 5, because of the new kids on the block...Jason-V and Fredrick Kruger.
Those two really tapped into 80's culture, with the style, music, and trends, whereas Halloween has always been reserved, simple and quiet. Not to say that Halloween didn't have its share of sex and violence, but nothing as 80's bonkers as Friday the 13th, which has a slight John Hughes/teen comedy influence on the characters.
Meanwhile, Halloween 4 and 5 felt like they wanted to go down that route, but wanted to have it both ways.
It wasn't until H20 when Halloween finally caught up, but found its own organic footing. and by then, both Jason and Friday were inactive. Then Zombie's Halloween came along and totally went the extreme route.