Home Alone has been considered a Christmas tradition since the moment Macaulay Culkin slapped his cheeks and yelled at the top of his lungs all the way back in 1990, but seeing the John Hughes-written and Chris Columbus-directed picture develop into a franchise of straight-to-video/dvd glorified holiday specials has given the franchise the proverbial “mixed bag” of good and bad filmmaking. In this edition of Ranked, we’re looking at all 6 Home Alone movies (yes there have been 6) and judging them in terms of quality, enjoyability, critical reception and public perception to rank each from worst to best.

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6. Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002)

The fourth entry to the franchise is nothing short of a disaster.

A clear cash grab intended to capitalise on the burgeoning DVD market, this Rod Daniel (K-9) straight-to-TV feature recasts the iconic roles of Kevin McCallister (once played by Macaulay Culkin) and Marv (originally Daniel Stern) and, as if that wasn’t sacrilegious enough, takes the concept to an entirely different level of absurd. Seriously, if you thought a child defending his house from fully grown men via a series of booby traps was absurd, wait ’til you get a load of this…

In Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House, Kevin McCallister must ignore the instructions of his parents and rescue a crown prince from his old foe Marv and Marv’s wife Vera.

It truly is as bad as it seems…

5. Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012)

Home Alone 5 (The Holiday Heist) thankfully didn’t regurgitate the great characters from the first Home Alone in some lame attempt to gather an audience, but much like our previous entry did seem like a film written before the Home Alone branding was ever slapped on it.

In many ways another sorry attempt to grab cash from willing and hopeful consumers, rather than a fitting tribute or loving extension to the Home Alone franchise, The Holiday Heist did actually offer brief glimmers of being something more than that of the franchise’s previous incarnation, notably upping the casting quality to include the legendary Ed Asner (albeit in a cameo) and A Clockwork Orange actor Malcolm McDowell.

The movie was directed by Peter Hewitt, the man who helmed Bill & Ted’s Bogus Adventure just a year after the original Home Alone was released and later directed the absurd British children’s comedy Thunderpants (2002), his work on The Holiday Heist at least attempting to replicate some of the feeling of the first few movies, albeit quite poorly.

Recommended for you: I’m a 90s Kid and I Watched Home Alone for the First Time This Year

Make sure to read 10 Best Home Alone Moments before you read this article.

Alone in the most heavily populated city in the United States, Kevin encounters troublesome hotel clerks and the return of some old foes in this much beloved follow-up to one of the greatest Christmas films of all time.

In this Movie List, we at The Film Magazine are examining Chris Columbus’ iconic Christmas sequel for this, the 10 Best Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Moments.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter for updates on more articles like this one.

10. Kevin Calls Uncle Frank a Cheapskate

The film opens with a scene from a Christmas concert at Kevin’s school, the parents of the children all gathered in the audience to watch the show. Kevin’s solo is coming up.

Buzz (Devin Ratray), Kevin’s horrible older brother, plays a prank on him whilst he is singing, causing the whole auditorium to laugh at Kevin’s expense. 

Back at the house, after the event has unfolded, Buzz is apologising to the family for the prank he pulled and the embarrassment he caused his younger brother. Kevin clocks on to the insincerity of Buzz’s apology and stands up to his family, saying he doesn’t want to spend Christmas in Florida anyway. Uncle Frank (Gerry Bamman) tells him not to ruin the trip that Kevin’s father has paid a lot of money for. 

With outstanding delivery from Culkin, Kevin roasts Uncle Frank with one simple line: “I wouldn’t want to spoil your fun Mr. Cheapskate.”

Hilarious.

9. Marv Smiles for the Camera

Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci) have escaped prison and made their way to New York in an attempt to make the Big Apple their new stomping grounds. They find out about a donation drive happening at a big toy store, and when Kevin clocks on to what they’re doing, he follows them there and catches them in the act.

When he sees them robbing the store, Kevin uses his new polaroid camera to snap a shot of them for proof. He shouts, “Hey Guys! Smile!”.

With brilliant comedic timing, and his trademarked goofiness, Marv looks up at the camera and gives it a big grin. 

Written and produced by the king of 80s movies, John Hughes, Home Alone holds a special place in a lot of our hearts and is a must watch around the festive season each and every year.

Thirty years after Macaulay Culkin shot to superstardom as lonely eight year old child Kevin McCallister, we at The Film Magazine are looking back at the original movie’s very best moments for this Top List of the 10 Best Home Alone Moments.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter for updates on more articles like this one.

10. Headcount Mishap

Chaos has hit the McCallister household when, due to a power outage in the middle of the night, none of the alarm clocks in the house go off – cue the line “We overslept!” From Mr and Mrs McCallister. 

As the fourteen family children pile into the airport transport mini vans, a nosey neighbour comes over to see what all the fuss is about. As he is in the back of the mini van, he clambers over all the seats and starts rummaging through the family’s bags. Megan, the oldest McCallister child, is asked to do a “head count” and miscounts the nosey neighbour as Kevin, who is actually curled up in bed unaware of the madness going on around him.

Thinking that everyone is present and accounted for, the family leave for their vacation, resulting in Kevin being (you guessed it) left home alone.

9. Gus Gives Parental Advice

After an attempt to get on a last minute flight home from Paris, Kate McCallister (Catherine O’Hara) finds herself in Scranton, Pennsylvania and her only ride home is to join a Polka tour who have kindly offered to drop her off in Chicago. 

Gus “The Polka King of the Midwest” Polinski, played by the wonderful John Candy, keeps Kate company as they make their long journey back to the Windy City. In the back of their tour van, Gus gives Kate some much needed comfort in justifying her mistake of leaving Kevin behind and confirms to her that she is a good mother. 

Between two parents, Catherine O’Hara and John Candy share a beautiful moment of comfort and kindness.