Halloween Ends (2022) | Film Review

We have arrived…again. It’s the end of Laurie Strode’s story…again. Halloween Ends…again. Ever since 1978, Halloween as a franchise has ended more times than the Lord of the Rings epilogue. Even Laurie Strode has had a few endings, having died twice (once offscreen), before being reborn for this latest trio of films. With all of the starts and stops, does that mean these David Gordon Green films are effectively a trilogy in the Laurie Strode Multiverse? Doesn’t the original film count? Why does no one ever move the hell out of Haddonfield?! It’s all too complicated to wade into, so let’s look at how these latest three films chose to conclude the latest extension of the Halloween universe.

Halloween Ends takes two time leaps after the events of Halloween and Halloween Kills. First, we open – rather fantastically – one year after the 2018 Michael Myers attacks with the knowledge that Myers has officially disappeared. Corey (Rohan Campbell, selling his arc with aplomb) is a nerdy babysitter charged with the care of an absolute douchebag of a kid, and tragedy ensues. These events leave many in Haddonfield to cast suspicious eyes Corey’s way.

We then jump ahead to the timeline of the current film in 2022. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak, once again criminally underutilized), have effectively moved on from the Myers attack and loss of Laurie’s daughter Karen. Allyson has devoted herself to nursing others, while Laurie has turned her sights to writing a book detailing the effects of trauma on herself and the residents of her beloved Haddonfield. Laurie also enjoys a rather flirtatious relationship with Frank (Will Patton). Both Laurie and Allyson have apparently put Michael Myers firmly in their review mirror. Again, why does no one in Haddonfield just MOVE AWAY?! I digress.

Laurie notices Corey being bullied by some locals in a parking lot and wants to help him find acceptance through her granddaughter. After introducing Allyson and Corey, elements that deserve to remain unspoiled occur, and once again the town of Haddonfield find themselves under the threat of the return of Michael Myers on Halloween night.

You may be sitting there thinking: I haven’t heard much about Michael Myers? This IS the concluding chapter of this reinvented series of films that will obviously see Jamie Lee Curtis playing cat-and-mouse for 2 hours as Michael Myers butchers everyone in Haddonfield he hasn’t murdered yet…right? Well, that is where David Gordon Green and his team of writers cue the maniacal laughter. And where I am sure many die-hard fans start throwing their popcorn and William Shatner masks.

Halloween Ends is not a Michael Myers movie. Period. Hard stop. Is he in it? Absolutely. But does he play a prominent role? Not really. For the first 90 minutes or so, he is barely a blip on Haddonfield’s radar. While you will get a Laurie vs. Michael showdown of sorts, it unfolds nothing like what you are expecting. It’s almost as if the Halloween Ends crew decided to slash the metaphoric throat of nostalgia and leave predictable sequels bleeding in the street. Instead, this is a movie devoted to the survivors of Haddonfield.

Does this bold step to make the much-hyped finale more of a character study on trauma and grief than a typical slasher flick ultimately deliver for the audience? Yes and no. The love story between Allyson and Corey makes some sense, but the pace of it is so rapid and rabid that it defies reason even more so than a 60-something year-old homicidal maniac with catlike reflexes. As a large portion of this story hinges on this relationship, it does neuter the intended result to a degree.

Also, while all three films spend a lot of time alluding to the concept that Michael Myers is not the boogeyman, but rather just a man of flesh and bone, the specifics of the first two films would say otherwise. The guy has been burned, shot, and beat to shit. If there was no supernatural element, then at the very least his old-ass heart would’ve given out.

The one element of this series that is handled quite well is the anguish suffered by those who escape Michael’s grasp, and how it changes their own lifelines. As well as how the public treats those at the base of that suffering, the fierce judgment others distribute from their own echo chambers. Both Laurie and Corey have lived differing traumatic scenarios, yet they are treated completely different, for better and worse. Halloween Ends makes much of these differences and fuels the final film with a completely different aesthetic than any typical Halloween fan is going to expect. That is a plus for me as a critic and a fan of the franchise, but I can also see devotees becoming extremely irate with this direction. Audiences can be as predatory as Myers, and if they do not get what they want, there will be digital bloodshed.

As with every film in this franchise, the best performance is Jamie Lee Curtis. Even in the Halloween films she’s not present for, you wish she was. Curtis is the star and lifeblood of this franchise, just as much as Michael himself. While I personally enjoyed H20 more as a sendoff of Laurie Strode’s storyline, there is no denying Curtis’ performance in these latest films elevated the franchise, and her portrayal in Halloween Ends as a woman coping with both tragedy and joy is pitch-perfect every step of the way. It is difficult to rave about many performances in a slasher flick, but Jamie Lee Curtis continues to showcase how talent and ferociousness can elevate any project to higher levels.

There is a lot to discover in Halloween Ends, and most of what I would dissect would ruin the film for others, so just go in knowing this: it is not the film you think it will be. Director David Gordon Green takes a Sam Raimi-level swing at the Halloween franchise, and he doesn’t have any interest in giving fans a predictable slash-and-dash. There are memorable kills for sure, but at the heart of this film – and the recent trilogy as a whole – is the effect of trauma on survivors. If you reach the conclusion on the other side of my opinion and find yourself unimpressed with Green’s attempt to reinvent the sequel, ease yourself by remembering that no matter what the title implies, Halloween as a franchise never truly ends.