Halloween Ends

This new rebooted Halloween trilogy had a lot going for it up until this and the last sequel came out. What happened here, people???

After inexplicably surviving a bloody battle against what was basically the entire town of Haddonfield in the climax of the last film, Halloween Ends begins with series antagonist, Michael Myers, holed up like a rat in a literal sewer — too weak to make his triumphant return yet too stubborn to waste away as he probably should. Following franchise alum Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), and her budding love interest, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), Haddonfield’s very own pariah and eventual Michael Myers stan, things soon take a turn for the worst for the town of Haddonfield, a town that’s no stranger to odd and violent happenings, especially when it pertains to The Shape and his murderous tendencies. What follows is a movie about a legendary boogeyman that takes this idea to its limits, all the while giving fans something to scream about in between.

I gotta be honest, I have no clue why the filmmakers of this new Halloween trilogy went the way they did with the franchise, narratively and thematically speaking. Not only did they have a solid jumping-off point in 2018’s Halloween — a movie that did far more good than bad in reintroducing Michael Myers to audiences — but despite the botching of the sequel, Halloween Kills, also had an interesting setup going for it as the idea that Michael is still on the loose with the people of Haddonfield thinking he’s now some sort of immortal being of pure evil being one worth exploring. Admittedly I care more for the metaphor in this setup than the actuality of such a thought but leave it to Halloween Ends to take that finale literally, only to pick the story up three years after the fact to boot.

Now I won’t outright spoil anything here, but to say that Halloween Ends does things differently this time around is the understatement of the year. And while I can’t condone everything that happens in this one as being something of note (though there are a few great kills sprinkled throughout), it’s at least better than the annoying, unnecessary, and ultimately pointless film that was Halloween Kills. Still, despite the odd narrative choices made (why even have Laurie in these movies anymore???), I have to applaud the filmmakers for one: trying something different and two: having the balls to see it through. And because of this, fans will no doubt be divided between outright hating the film for the perceived travesties it commits against The Shape or having wavering respect for the proceedings ala Halloween III: The Season of the Witch. Currently, I lean toward the latter but just barely, with said respect for the franchise’s more odd offerings saving this movie in a way that I might try to defend, but not with much effort.

Unfortunately, it might be a while before we get another entry in this iconic horror franchise after this one, which is a shame since the first film in this series was actually pretty good for what it was trying to accomplish further down the line. Halloween definitely deserved to end — especially after a few less than enjoyable turn of events in the sequels — it’s just that Halloween Ends shouldn’t have been the Halloween that ended anything.