“Halloween Ends” Review
Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) come together for one last fight in “Halloween Ends.”
After 44 years, the “Halloween” franchise has, for the time being, come to an end. The 1978 horror classic has resulted in a booming franchise with a confusing continuity filled with retcons, spin-offs and remakes which I don’t feel like getting into. “Halloween Ends” completes a new sequel trilogy (which retconned every other “Halloween” film other than the original) which began with “Halloween (2018)” and was continued by last year’s “Halloween Kills.” As the final film in this series, it’s a deeply uneven mess that waits for far too long to get to the fun kills and the much anticipated final confrontation between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers.
Set four years after the events of “Halloween (2018)” and “Halloween Kills,” Micheal Myers (James Jude Courtney) has disappeared after a bloody killing spree in Haddonfield, IL which resulted in him confronting Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) 40 years after their first meeting. After that terrible night, Laurie is now living with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) and trying to put the past behind her. However, when Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), a disturbed young man accused of a terrible crime, has an encounter with Michael, the town of Haddonfield is thrust back into unrelenting terror.
While this summary and the film’s trailers make it seem like Michael is coming back for one last spree which accumulates into the last battle of Michael and Laurie, the serial killer in a white William Shatner mask is hardly in “Halloween Ends.” The film’s biggest problem is that it disregards its purpose: to end the franchise in a satisfying way.
Instead of the focus being on the hero and villain, much of the film’s focus is on Corey: a brand new character whose story needs time to be explored. But Corey’s storyline has no business being in this film as he becomes more twisted, develops a kinship with Michael Myers and even strikes up a romance with Allyson which does a disservice to her character. Allyson was always a strong character who has taken on Michael Myers and lived, so to see her fall for this psycho is detrimental to her and grinds the film to a halt. The romance these two share is full of terrible dialogue and not much chemistry.
Corey Cunningham’s character, played by Rohan Campbell, does have interesting development, but it takes away from what most horror fans and fans of the “Halloween” franchise want.
“Halloween Ends” can’t decide what kind of film it is and the resulting sloppy tone feels like a combination of “Halloween,” “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Joker” with no real sense of enjoyment.
Unlike the first two films, which had a fun sense of tension, “Halloween Ends” takes forever to lunge into the slasher film that was promised. The first hour is a dull mess with too much buildup for a confrontation the film should have just jumped at. The buildup includes new characters who are either boring or just there to be killed later on, painful romantic dialogue and too much insight into everyone that isn’t Laurie. It’s not until the last act of the film where “Halloween Ends” finally delivers what was promised but it’s simply too late.
While I can’t say this film is good, there are plenty of elements that do deserve their praise. When Jamie Lee Curtis reprised her role of Laurie for the 2018 film, it was a welcomed return which showcased Curtis putting all of her accumulated talent as an actor into her first iconic role. “Halloween Ends” sees Curtis put that same level of energy into her role, resulting in a badass character of horror that I’m so glad is still around. Jamie Lee Curtis has gone on record saying that this is her last time playing Laurie and she definitely doesn’t waste this opportunity.
As for Micheal Myers, James Jude Courtney deserves a massive amount of acclaim for his impressive stunt work and intimidating presence as this icon of slasher cinema. While Michael Myers isn’t in the film much, when he does reappear for the final fight with Laurie, it’s incredibly entertaining.
Even side characters I take issue with, like Corey and Allyson, are fine for what they’ve been given. Corey’s psychological descent is a cool idea if it had been explored in one of the previous films, but at this point we just want Micheal. Anything that takes away from the finale we were promised is just going to anger fans.
The film may be dull for the first two thirds, but the final act does have plenty of gnarly kills and the promised confrontation. It’s just bogged down by characters you don’t care about taking time away from Laurie, Michael and Allyson. Seeing Michael and Laurie’s story come to an end is actually quite good but it left me with an emptiness. How can a film with such a cool ending still be so boring? Had the film kept the energy of the last 30 minutes and trimmed down the first two acts, it could have been an interesting conclusion.
Much like Rob Zombie’s “Halloween II,” the film has many interesting ideas like how trauma affects a community or how we end up creating the monsters of society, but the execution is uninteresting and detracts from the main purpose of “Halloween Ends.”
I can’t say that this new trilogy was a waste of time because I really enjoy “Halloween (2018)” and, while “Halloween Kills” is a mess of a movie, it’s a fun mess that I’ve grown to love despite its many flaws. “Halloween Ends” is just lackluster. On top of its many problems, it doesn’t even connect that well to the previous two films. While I don’t feel the need to watch every “Halloween” film during October, I do love watching several films within the franchise that have left an impact on me. The only reason I can see myself rewatching “Halloween Ends” is because it completes a trilogy and ends the saga. That’s it.
