I choose to think that Carpenter´s original is a stand-alone film. Everything else is just a rehash - even the Carpenter produced sequel which he himself said he did only for the money.
Exactly. I do like Halloween II, but the original is best viewed when looked at as a stand-alone film. The sequels (not including Season Of The Witch) sort of kill the lore of the Boogeyman that is Michael Myers - turning him into another slasher film serial killer alongside Freddy, Jason, and Leatherface instead of the unstoppable shape of horror that Carpenter & Hill originally conceived. However, while the sequels aren't nearly as great as Carpenter's film, I do still enjoy watching them and Myers is my favorite cinema serial killer.
Having said that, I'm glad they (The Weinstein Company) aren't trying to pursue a sequel to Rob Zombie's films anymore. Those two films (regardless of how they are) are his story, they are done. Let's do something new. The brief synopsis for Halloween Returns sounds interesting and heading back to the original timeline could either turn out to be good or awful like Texas Chainsaw 3D. I'll see it for my love of Michael Myers, and I do like Marcus Dunstan & Patrick Melton and I'm curious to see where they take the franchise and story.