Editorials
5 ‘Halloween’ Sequels That Almost Happened
It took 8 months and about 80 drafts for David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, and Jeff Fradley to nail the script for 2018’s most anticipated horror movie, Halloween. A direct continuation of John Carpenter’s beloved 1978 classic, the screenwriters boldly opted to ignore all subsequent sequels to go back to the roots of what made The Shape so scary. Considering just how off the rails the continuity got between seven sequels and two Rob Zombie remakes, it’s a clever choice. And that doesn’t even count the many scripts that went unused, which would’ve taken the franchise into much stranger territory. While we wait for Laurie Strode’s final battle with Michael Myers, we look back at five Halloween sequels that almost came to pass.
Halloween 666: The Origin
The initial script for the sixth entry in the Halloween series was rumored to have angered Moustapha Akkad so badly that he threw it across the room. Perhaps a large part of that was due to this iteration of Michael Myers being a homeless hobo squatting at the local Haddonfield homeless shelter. Tommy Doyle is still present in this version, but news reporter Dana takes center stage as the protagonist and long-lost sibling to Michael Myers. As for the cult of Thorn? It didn’t exist in this draft.
Halloween 3D
This almost sequel would have picked up right at the end of Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, well, more like 5 minutes before it ended, layering in new events from that fateful night and then skipping ahead to one year later. Written by Todd Farmer (Jason X, Drive Angry), Halloween 3D was meant to bridge Zombie’s take on Michael Myers back to Carpenter’s original vision. As the title suggests, this sequel would have included 3D elements like Drive Angry and My Bloody Valentine 3D, both directed by Farmer collaborator Patrick Lussier. Farmer completed the script in 2009, and it came close to getting made but never quite found the financing and time needed.
Halloween IV
After being tapped by John Carpenter and Debra Hill to write the novelizations for Halloween II and Halloween III, writer Dennis Etchison was asked by the pair to pen the script for Halloween IV. Etchison’s script was set 10 years after the events of Halloween II and would follow teens Lindsay Wallace and Tommy Doyle, the two children in Laurie Strode’s care from the first film. Haddonfield had long since banned Halloween as a holiday, with repression a central theme in the story. This version of the sequel wasn’t made, though, as Carpenter and Hill sold their interests in the franchise with Etchison’s script not part of their final deal.
Halloween 5: The Revenge of…Jamie Lloyd?
Halloween 5 was rushed into production without a completed script, thanks to the surprise success of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. There were several rejected pitches, including one by director Dominique Othenin-Girard’s friend Robert Harders, who wanted to make Michael Myers a sympathetic Frankenstein’s creature-like character. The first actual draft was written by Shem Bitterman, who wrote a continuation of the cliffhanger ending of part 4. In other words, the focus of this sequel was on Jamie Lloyd and her new lust for murder after stabbing her adoptive mother in the previous film. Even Donald Pleasance and Danielle Harris thought this was where the story would head, but producer Moustapha Akkad and Ohtenin-Girard scrapped the script and brought in Michael Jacobs to write a new script.
Halloween vs Hellraiser
Two years ago, an interview with Pinhead actor Doug Bradley revealed that we very nearly received a Michael Myers meets Cenobites crossover event. Right around the time Freddy vs Jason was in production, Dimension Films was presented with not one but two scripts for the proposed feature. They rejected both, predicting Freddy vs Jason would bomb. When it didn’t, they quickly changed their mind. The only problem? Akkad regained rights to the Halloween sequels and put an end to the crossover. It also likely didn’t help that fan reception for the concept was negative.
A new month means a new guide as titles are added (and dropped) from streaming services. Let’s unpack the most exciting titles that are available to watch on Tubi in July 2026.
New to Tubi July Horror Films
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
- Premise: Searching for a cure to Alzheimer’s disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.
- Why Watch It? Let’s be frank: Director Renny Harlin has made some absolute dogs in the last few years (the less said about The Strangers trilogy the better, though this year’s Deep Water was actually ok). Deep Blue Sea remains one of the Finnish director’s best contemporary efforts, though. Between the great cast (Samuel L. Jackson, Saffron Burrows, Stellan Skarsgård, Michael Rapaport, LL Cool J, Thomas Jane, and Jane’s sleeveless wetsuit), the ridiculous premise, and that damn/dumb song (“My hat is like a shark’s fin”), you basically can’t go wrong with Deep Blue Sea. It’s one of two great shark films gliding onto Tubi this month, so why not stay out of the water and watch this instead?
- Streaming: July 1
Exorcist II: Heretic (1977)
- Premise: Reagan (Linda Blair), a girl once possessed by a demon, finds that it still lurks within her. Meanwhile, Father Lamont (Richard Burton) investigates the death of the priest who performed her exorcism.
- Why Watch It? August sees the release of documentary Boorman and the Devil, which is about the troubled production of this sequel. The notoriety surrounding Heretic has undoubtedly kept plenty of horror fans away from the sequel, but this truly is a “seeing is believing” kind of film. Real talk: it’s undeniably a disaster, but the John Boorman film has also become a minor cult film. Don’t you want to see it to make up your own mind?
- Streaming: July 1
Hostel: Part III (2011)
- Premise: Four men attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas fall prey to the Elite Hunting Club, who are hosting a gruesome game show of torture.
- Why Watch It? What does Hostel look like without Eli Roth? Part III kinda answers the question. Technically Roth is still a writer, but he hands over the directorial reins to Scott Spiegel (best known for acting in Evil Dead films). The result is a film with a terrible pedigree; it’s also the first (and last) entry to skip theatres before the franchise was permanently shelved (until that TV show with Paul Giamatti shows up?). For some horror fans, however, there’s something exciting about a bad low-budget sequel. Just bear in mind that the Hostel: Part III‘s biggest star is Kip Pardue…so adjust your expectations accordingly before hitting play.
- Streaming: July 1
Insidious 1-3 (2010/2013/2015)
- Premise: A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
- Why Watch It? It’s hard to believe that the sixth (!) Insidious movie is coming out in a month and a half, but James Wan and Leigh Whannell‘s other horror franchise has been steadily chugging along for sixteen years. It’s a shame that Tubi doesn’t have all five films available to watch, but in terms of quality, you can do far worse than the original trio. The first film is iconic, and the second is basically an extended coda (with some admittedly problematic stuff going on). I’ll go to bat for Whannell’s 2015 directorial debut, though: there’s a few banger sequences in that film that people slept on.
- Streaming: July 1
Man Finds Tape (2025)
- Premise: After finding mysterious video clips, siblings investigate the strange recordings and uncover a disturbing secret spreading through their Texas town.
- Why Watch It? Writer/directors Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall‘s well-received found footage film did an extensive tour of the festival circuit, so now is a great time to check out one of the most contemporary titles debuting on Tubi this month. Surely a title that hails from producers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Spring and The Endless) is worth a free look?
- Streaming: July 2
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
- Premise: A depressed musician Adam (Tom Hiddleston) reunites with his lover Eve (Tilda Swinton). However, their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska).
- Why Watch It? This beautiful, melancholy vampire film is courtesy of writer/director Jim Jarmusch, who doesn’t often dabble in genre fare. As always, some will quibble if this artsy drama qualifies as horror, but the existential ennui of an eternal life certainly qualifies (bonus: there’s also something inherently sexy about watching Hiddleston and Swinton just lay about). Plus: if Leviticus has you hankering for more Wasikowska, this is an under the radar pick.
- Streaming: July 1
The Shallows (2016)
- Premise:A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
- Why Watch It? What better time to watch a shark movie than July? The temperatures are soaring and the idea of escaping into the water is so tantalizing. This tight, contained thriller features a great performance by Lively (and that damn seagull!), but it’s the direction from genre fave Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan; the House of Wax remake) that keeps the movie clicking along like clockwork. At 86 minutes, this is a perfect summer flick.
- Streaming: July 1
Vacancy (2007)
- Premise: Stranded in an isolated motel, a couple (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) become the unsuspecting subjects of a snuff film.
- Why Watch It? I’m not going to pretend that this Nimród Antal-directed home invasion film is high art, but it is a good time. You’ll likely wish there were deeper characterizations for Wilson and Beckinsale’s David and Amy in Mark L. Smith‘s screenplay, but this mid-aughts thriller is tense, exciting, and just the right amount of grimy. Plus: another short runtime, clocking in at an expeditious 85 minutes!
- Streaming: July 1
July Tubi Originals
The One Next Door (2026)
- Premise: When a mysterious stranger moves in next door to Robert and Tabitha, boundaries are tested, loyalty is questioned, and danger comes for all.
- Streaming: July 10
I Know Where You Live (2026)
- Premise: Sarah thinks she’s found “the one” until his flaws emerge. When she pulls away, chilling threats suggest he’s watching her from inside her own home.
- Streaming: July 24
What’s your favorite from the list above? Will you check out the new Original? Sound off in the comments below
You must be logged in to post a comment.