HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: HALLOWEEN ENDS (2022)

HALLOWEEN ENDS (2022)

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Sequel to Halloween 2018 and Halloween Kills picks up a year later with the specter of the now vanished Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) still hovering over Haddonfield. An unfortunate series of events on Halloween night leads to a babysitter named Cory (Rohan Campbell) being involved in the death of the little boy he is watching. The film then jumps three years later with Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) now having bought a house, writing a book and trying to move on. Granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) lives with her now and works at Haddonfield Hospital. Allyson meets and becomes involved with the emotionally troubled Cory, while Cory’s increasing inner turmoil catches the attention of a certain someone who has been lurking in Haddonfield’s sewer system waiting to make his return. Somehow this convoluted mess leads to Michael and Laurie having their final showdown.

Halloween Ends is again directed by David Gordon Green from a nonsensical script by he along with Paul Brad Logan, Danny McBride and Chris Bernier. It is a mess that basically makes Michael Myers an extended guest appearance in his own franchise finale, as the film chooses to focus on Allyson and Cory, who appears to be willing to take the torch. Laurie, meanwhile, sees his serial killer potential and tries to warn Allyson who refuses to listen. Cory is so creepy and weird it’s hard to understand why it seems like love at first sight with Allyson, and all this melodrama turns the whole Laurie vs Michael round three into almost an afterthought. When Myers does resurface, he is seen sporadically and even seems to accept Cory as an equal or protégée. If the math is correct, Cory even has the bigger body count here. WTF? The flick doesn’t even feel like it’s part of the last two movies and seems like ninety minutes of filler till all this psycho love story drama finally brings Laurie and Michael together for their last match. That in itself is over far too quickly and how it resolves will piss off a lot of fans. There are a few good kills…again, most of them Cory’s…and Carpenter provides this trilogy’s best score along with son Cody and Daniel Davies. Otherwise there really is little to recommend with this vastly disappointing “final” meeting of Laurie Strode and Michael Myers that will have you scratching your head at some of the awful dialogue, more than anything else.

The cast are a bit disappointing too. Curtis seems like she’s phoning it in this time and it’s sad to see the character go out in such a disappointing manner. Matichak seems to be playing a different person here. The death of Allyson’s parents has affected her, true, but it’s simply not written well. Rohan Campbell is actually good as Cory. The actor makes him sympathetic at first, as someone the town reviles, and then very creepy as he spirals to the dark side and gives in to his inner rage. Returning is Omar J Dorsey as Sheriff Barker, Will Patton as Hawkins, Kyle Richards returning in a do-nothing part as Lindsey and James Jude Courtney is once again imposing as Michael Myers, in what little screen time he has.

Overall, this is a really disappointing finale to one of the most celebrated and long running horror franchises. It has iconic serial killer Michael Myers take a back seat to a newcomer in a film that should have focused on him more than ever. The whole Laurie/Michael final confrontation build-up seems to be more of a subplot and the plot contrivances that bring them together in the last act barely work or make sense. The film focuses on the relationship between Allyson and Cory, and once Cory goes off the rails and starts racking up a body count, it’s almost laughable that Allyson is so oblivious to what he is turning into. A messy, bewildering and basically heartbreaking end to one of the greatest horror franchises of all-time and its iconic characters.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 2 (out of 4) carving knives. Happy Halloween 🎃!

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