Dr. Loomis’ Complete Halloween Timeline Explained: Full History & All Retcons

The Halloween franchise has gone through different retcons and thus has branched out to different timelines, but one character who has been part of all of them one way or another (aside from Michael Myers, of course) is Dr. Samuel Loomis, and his story has also been retconned. The horror genre has seen various franchises, some more successful than others, and one of the most popular ones is Halloween. It all began in 1978 with John Carpenter’s slasher movie Halloween, which ended up spawning a franchise with 13 movies (including Halloween Ends) as well as comic books and novels.

Halloween introduced viewers to slasher Michael Myers, who on Halloween night 1963, when he was six years old, murdered his older sister, Judith, for no apparent reason. As a result, Michael was sent to Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, where he stayed for over a decade and never said a word, becoming the subject of many studies and the patient of Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence). Fifteen years later, on October 30, 1978, Michael escaped and returned to his hometown Haddonfield, Illinois, where he began to stalk Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. This was the beginning of the legend of Michael Myers and final girl Laurie Strode, but with time, the Halloween universe went through major changes that ended up creating different timelines and omitting characters (of which some were later brought back).

Although Laurie is recognized as the final girl in the Halloween franchise, she hasn’t always been Michael’s main target. As Curtis didn’t return for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, her daughter, Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), was introduced and turned into Michael’s main victim. The Halloween universe went through another retcon in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, which brought Laurie back, got rid of Jamie, and introduced Laurie’s son John Tate (Josh Hartnett) instead. The next big changes were two remakes by Rob Zombie and finally, the reboot trilogy, which is a direct continuation of Carpenter’s movie and ignores the rest of the sequels – and through all these changes, there’s one character who has been present in different ways: Dr. Loomis. Here’s his Halloween history and how it has been retconned.

Dr. Loomis in Halloween (1978)

Dr. Loomis made his debut in the very first Halloween movie back in 1978, where he was assigned as the psychiatrist to six-year-old killer Michael Myers when he arrived at Smith’s Grove. Loomis dedicated years to studying Michael and trying to reach him as he wouldn’t say a word nor did he show any type of emotion, and so he ultimately concluded that Michael Myers is “purely and simply evil”. Loomis spent the next years trying to keep Michael locked up because he knew he was dangerous, and on October 30, 1978, Loomis, accompanied by nurse Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens), was tasked with escorting Michael to court for a hearing.

Michael escaped from Smith’s Grove, stole Loomis and Chambers’ car, and headed back to Haddonfield, where he terrorized Laurie and friends. Loomis, knowing well how dangerous Michael is and what he’s capable of, arrived in Haddonfield to search for him and found out that Judith’s tombstone was missing. He then went to the Myers house as he believed Michael could be on his way back home, but later, on Halloween night, he heard Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews) and Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards) screaming on the street and looking for help, which led him to the Doyles’ house, where Michael was attacking Laurie. Loomis shot Michael six times, knocking him off the balcony, but when he looked down, “The Boogeyman” was gone.

Dr. Loomis & The Cult of Thorn

Dr. Loomis returned in Halloween II, which picks up moments after the end of the first movie. While Laurie was taken to the hospital, Loomis and Sheriff Brackett (Charles Cyphers) continued the search for Michael, and Loomis found evidence that connected Michael to the occult practice of Samhain, which could offer an explanation to his murder sprees and invulnerability. His investigation was interrupted when Marion Chambers arrived to tell Loomis the governor ordered him to return to Smith’s Grove accompanied by a US Marshal, and also told him that a sealed file revealed Laurie is Michael’s youngest sister. Loomis then forced the Marshal to drive to the hospital to stop Michael, where he was stabbed by his former patient. As Laurie escaped after she filled the room with oxygen and ether, Loomis provoked an explosion that should have killed him and Michael, but they both survived and returned in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, and Loomis’ obsession with Michael grew more and more with each subsequent appearance.

Halloween 4 introduced Jamie Lloyd and saw the return of Michael, who spent 10 years in a coma after the explosion in Halloween II. After learning of Michael’s awakening, escape, and return to Haddonfield, Loomis also returned to stop him and protect Jamie. Loomis warned Sheriff Meeker and town residents about Michael’s return, and a mob was formed by the town’s men to go after The Boogeyman. Michael was shot multiple times and believed to be dead, and so Jamie and her foster sister Rachel were taken back home, where they were later joined by Meeker and Loomis. However, Jamie touched Michael’s hand before he was shot, awakening a psychic connection between them, which led Jamie to stab her foster mother. Loomis, horrified, tried to shoot Jamie but was stopped by Meeker. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers took place a year later, with Loomis now assigned to Jamie at the Haddonfield Children’s Clinic. Jamie was mute as a consequence of trauma, and Loomis pressured her to talk to him about Michael’s whereabouts. Loomis ended up setting a trap for Michael at the Myers’ home using Jamie as bait, and after some trouble, it worked. Loomis then weakened Michael with a tranquilizer gun and beat him unconscious, suffering a stroke at the end.

Loomis’ obsession with Michael continued and took a major turn in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, set six years after the events of Halloween 5. At the beginning of the movie, Loomis had retired and was living on the outskirts of Haddonfield, and one day, he was visited by old colleague Dr. Terence Wynn, who tried to convince him to return to Smith’s Grove. Loomis then heard Jamie’s voice on the radio asking him for help, as after being kidnapped by the Man in Black at the end of Halloween 5, she was impregnated by the Cult of Thorn and escaped with her baby. Jamie was killed by Michael, but she hid her baby to keep him safe, and he was found by Tommy Doyle (Paul Rudd). Loomis and Tommy learned that Michael was under the control of a curse from the Cult of Thorn, led by Wynn. When Tommy, along with Jamie’s baby, Kara Strode, and her son Danny escaped from Michael and the cult, Loomis stayed behind as he had unfinished business with Michael, and the ending was left ambiguous as he’s heard screaming – however, in the producer’s cut of Halloween 6, the role of leader of the cult was passed on to Loomis without his consent, and he was last seen screaming in terror.

What Happened To Dr. Loomis in the Halloween H20 Timeline?

Halloween H20 was the first to ignore some of the sequels and serves as a continuation of Halloween II. Now, Halloween 6 was Donald Pleasence’s final Halloween movie as he passed away in 1995 – however, H20 didn’t forget about Dr. Loomis, and his fate was addressed at the beginning. Halloween H20 ignored all events of Halloween 4, 5, and 6, and brought Laurie back by explaining she faked her death and had been living under a new identity – Keri Tate – for two decades. As for Loomis, following the fire at the hospital in Halloween II, he was under the care of Marion Chambers at his house, where he eventually passed away before the events of H20. At the beginning of the movie, Michael, who had been missing for 20 years, burglarized Loomis’ retirement house and killed Chambers, but not without finding the files with all the information on Laurie’s new life.

Dr. Loomis in Rob Zombie’s Halloween Remakes

Of course, there couldn’t be a Halloween remake without Dr. Loomis, and he was played by Malcolm McDowell. Rob Zombie’s Halloween followed the same basic premise of Carpenter’s movie but with some major changes and additions, such as a deep look at Michael’s time at Smith’s Grove and his relationship with Loomis. In this version, Loomis and Michael met before his Halloween killing spree when he was called by the authorities of Michael’s school to talk to his mother, Deborah, about Michael’s behavior, as he had been torturing and killing animals. Following the Halloween night murders, Loomis was assigned as Michael’s doctor, and while he got to talk to his patient a couple of times, Michael became dissociative and more aggressive with time. Loomis wrote a best-selling book titled The Devil’s Eyes based on his experience treating Michael, and the rest of his story in this version of Halloween went as in the original movie, but with more violence.

In Halloween II, Loomis went through a major character change that sets him apart from Pleasence’s version. Loomis became a greedy and arrogant man profiting from the murders of Michael Myers, going on tour to promote his new book and becoming annoyed when asked about Michael’s survival. When he finally accepted that Michael was alive and still killing, he realized how much he changed and tried to save Laurie. As he tried to reason with Michael, his former patient stabbed him to death, and that was the end of Dr. Loomis in Rob Zombie’s Halloween remakes.

What Happened To Dr. Loomis In The Halloween Reboot Timeline?

Halloween’s reboot timeline is a direct continuation to Carpenter’s 1978 movie, ignoring every single movie that came after it – sequels, retcons, and remakes. Set 40 years after that traumatic Halloween night, David Gordon Green’s Halloween saw Michael Myers escaping again and returning to Haddonfield, and while it also revealed that Loomis passed away years ago, it still found a way to include him in the story. Loomis appeared in courtroom sketches and his voice was heard thanks to tapes from the trials and more, in which he advocated for Michael’s execution and immediate cremation, even stating that he wanted to witness Michael’s death to make sure he was really dead and destroyed, and reassured his conclusion that Michael is the incarnation of evil. Loomis returned in Halloween Kills in flashbacks to Halloween night 1978, where he came across officer Hawkins at the Myers house, where Michael was arrested, but as he attempted to shoot his former patient, Hawkins stopped him.

Through the Halloween franchise, Dr. Loomis has gone from concerned psychiatrist to obsessed man, leader of a cult (against his will), egocentric doctor-turned-author obsessed with fame, to once again a concerned doctor who was willing to go to extremes to keep a town safe from The Boogeyman. Loomis is one of the most important characters in Halloween, and as such he has been present in different ways in every timeline, but just like Michael and Laurie, he has suffered the consequences of all the retcons.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
(3273 Articles Published)

Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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