“I’ve said goodbye to my boogeyman. But the truth is, evil doesn’t die. It changes shape.”
Today is the day I can finally say, Happy Halloween! And it’s also the day we finally say goodbye to the Halloween franchise—as we know it—with Halloween Ends.
In an ending to this newest trilogy, we first meet Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), a young man with plans for college, and a bright future beckoning his name. He plans to take a year off to save for school, or so he tells the mother of the boy he’s babysitting. The boy insists on watching a scary movie after his parents leave, and spits incessant disrespect in response to Corey’s protests to turn off the inappropriate movie. The night turns horrific as the boy plays a terrible prank—the child ending up dead by nights end. Now that we have measured the generational trauma that faces the Strode Women throughout the trilogy, director David Gordon Green takes a stab (no pun intended) at another subject: paranoia. What happens when fear and anxiety consumes a person? It’s a grim idea, which I’m willing to follow.
We find our main characters four years after the events of Halloween Kills. Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Allyson (Andi Matichak) are coping with the death of Karen’s surprise murder at the hands of Michael Myers. Michael, however, evaded capture, but no one knows where he is. Because of that, a sickness has spread throughout the town of Haddonfield. The sickness is not a virus or plague invading the immune system of the towns people, but rather a disease of paranoia as they look for a new villain since Michael has never been found. That new villain is none other than Corey.
Corey’s life is in disarray as he’s not accused of murder, but that doesn’t matter to the rest of the town. He spends his days being bullied. And while he once had a bright future ahead of him, he now spends his days working as a mechanic in his father’s shop. After being bullied by a group of band nerds, who never cease to find him apparently, Corey slices his hand on a broken bottle and thus brings about his chance meeting with Laurie and Allyson. Allyson can see the pain in Corey’s eyes and believes she can “fix him,” because she too has been type-casted by the town in a role that she didn’t want, but Corey believes that there isn’t any hope for him. One evening, another incident between he and the band nerds leads Corey find a secret among the sewer pipes, and lurking among the shadows is Michael. Corey will never be the same again.
The title of the movie says it all, Halloween Ends. And while I don’t fully believe that the franchise will end here, mostly due to its reputation of bringing people back from the dead, in some way shape or form, it does seem pretty open and shut. Curtis has been playing the character of Laurie for almost 45 years, and at this point I believe she wants to hang up her hat on a job well done. I personally feel that she can hang her hat on this and be proud of what she’s accomplished. She in tandem with Matichak lead the charge to take down evil once and for all. And at times that means taking on Allyson’s boyfriend, Corey. Campbell’s mysterious demeanor fluidly drifts in and out of charmer and boy-next-door to sadistic villain.
As I said in the Halloween Kills review, I’m not looking for anything amazing when I watch these movies. It’s your typical slasher horror, and I enjoyed it. Green does his best with what he has to work with, and I give the franchise props to sticking with one director the whole way through. It’s one vision and it doesn’t have to get any murkier than it needs to by having too many cooks in the kitchen. While Halloween Ends has its flubs, and the final showdown between Laurie and Michael is not as epic as I thought it would be, it’s not the worse one from the recent trilogy. I’d have to say out of the bunch, Halloween Kills is definitely the weakest. I’d probably say it’s mostly due to Laurie being in a hospital bed the whole time, but that’s just me. That being said, if they were to revive the franchise again, without Curtis’ Laurie attached, will it be the same? Only time will tell. But until then, Happy Halloween!
Halloween Ends
Directed by: David Gordon Green
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell, James Jude Courtney, Kyle Richards, and Will Patton
Rating: C
Little Movie Reviews 
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