Halloween Ends
Director: David Gordon Green
Writer: John Carpenter and Debra Hill (creators), Paul Brad Logan, Chris Bernier, Danny McBride, David Gordon Green
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Rohan Campbell, Will Patton
Reason for watching: I was a big fan of the 2018 Halloween and the original Halloween might be the best horror movie ever. Gotta watch the “end” of the franchise
Number of times I’ve watched it: first-time viewing
***
Just when I thought 5 years was enough distance between movie culture and The Last Jedi, we get Halloween Ends. The focus of this “final” entry swings so far from what once made Halloween beloved that the only accurate comparison I can make is The Last Jedi. And the polarizing reception it has garnered thus far reminds me again of that fateful Rian Johnson space opera. Liking and disliking movies is something everyone does as movie fans. But when the conversation around a movie becomes so toxic and confrontational, it greatly reduces my personal enjoyment of being a part of film world discussions. While I have yet to see anyone just outright get into verbal spats over it, I doubt it will be long before that happens. My hope is that Halloween Ends will not fill that void left by the ninth Star Wars film. But let’s get to what actually happened in the movie.
Five years after the combined events of 2018’s Halloween and Halloween Kills, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis…as if you needed a reminder) is trying to turn over a new leaf. She lives with her granddaughter Allison (Andi Matichak) and writes self help about how to get over trauma and about her personal experiences dealing with Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney). Myers himself has gone underground and has been at large for some time. However, newcomer Corey (Rohan Campbell) has become a pirah in his own right after a kid he was babysitting accidentally dies on the same night of Michael’s return in 2022. Although he ends up going out with Allison for a while, Corey’s mental state worsens when he is beaten and tossed off a short bridge by a group of teenagers. It is there where Corey meets Myers himself, who has taken refuge in the sewers. Michael spares him, and Corey begins to act similarly to the masked killer. Becoming violent towards the other town residents, Corey becomes a danger to himself and others.
Look, I could try to tell you I appreciate the positive direction the franchise is trying to take by following another character stepping into Michael’s shoes. But I’ll be honest, I hate this pathetic attempt at originality. Trying to rebuild this franchise or remake the wheel is just hilariously stupid in my mind. Michael Myers as the bad guy has not been the problem for this franchise. If anything he has been the thing keeping it going. Having some punk kid get set up as a replacement for this icon is a poor choice in my mind.
The other story choices are of no help either. The rebrand of Laurie into a badass in 2018’s Halloween is what made this return to the franchise so good. Paranoid and ready for anything, this darker portal of her was an interesting a smart take on the “final girl” trope. Now just a doting grandmother for 80% of the movie is such a strange turn that it made me upset at the use of this character. Get her a shotgun again. Have her fighting off the monster. Let her cook!!! Jamie Lee Curtis is versatile. Boxing her into the cookie-cutter grandma corner disservices her and infuriates fans.
Lacking is the best way to describe the actual horror elements of this “horror” movie. Whatever scares were in the last two Halloween entries are looooong gone. Nothing terrifying happens, and that stems again from Michael Myers being gone. Upsetting things happen. People get bullied and abused and teased, but that scary atmosphere of “anything can happen” is absent. Any time characters are in some kind of real danger it turns into a pseudo-action scene. If this was a John Wick I would be happy about that because I love those action scenes. But Laurie, Allison, Corey, and Michael are all just desperate fighters. None of them are trained killers. They are flailing and clawing at each other and none of it is capture in smooth camera movements. It cannot be a horror movie because it is not scary, and it cannot be an action movie because there is no tension. So it does not fall into either genre, and thus it is like a lost soul.
Speaking of lost, let’s talk about the acting talent here. Curtis, an all-time actor with comedic and dramatic range, seems aimless here. One minute she is doing the loving grandma, the next she is ready to get into death battle with Michael. Part of that is due to the supbar writing, but Curtis talent seems misplaced at best and eccentric at worst. Rohan Campbell is a bright spot as he captures Corey’s descent into madness, but I am still upset his character’s existence in this franchise. Redundancy trumps a breakthrough. Hopefully, he gets a shot in a superiorly-scripted movie. Matichak’s delivery of Alison’s interest in Corey is dull and lacking in heart. No one else in the cast gets enough time to really make an impact.
The facts are this movie took a swing with trying to have Corey be some kind of re-interpretation or second coming of Michael. Or trying to have Laurie turn over a new leaf. But they just did too much changing of the formula for my taste, and it lessened the quality of the movie to an almost unbearable level.
2/10
Until I see another one.