I have not been a big fan of the more recent Halloween movies. Halloween (2018) was decent although I am not a fan of movies being sequels to the original movie and ignoring all other sequels. Halloween Kills, on the other hand, was silly and did not make a lot of sense. Still, I was hoping Halloween Ends would stick the landing. No such luck though. It’s the worst of the bunch.
And it’s not so much that Halloween Ends is an awful movie, it’s just very confused. It’s billed as the final showdown between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. Of course, that is in the movie, but it feels tacked on. In fact, Michael Myers is barely in the movie. It is really about the other characters and dealing with trauma. I wonder if the filmmakers even wanted to make a Halloween trilogy. I think perhaps they just wanted to make Halloween (2018), be done with Michael Myers, and then move on to other stories (but possibly in the same universe). They don’t even bother to build on the mythology shown at the ending of Halloween Kills, where Michael becomes even more powerful. Here, several years after the end of Halloween Kills and not having been seen since, he is weak and in hiding. When he is in the movie, he frankly seems to be more of a mentor to a new killer than an evil killing machine himself. There’s an ad for internship that I would have liked to see.
‘Wanted! Enterprising young person to carry on legacy of murder and mayhem. Does not need to be embodiment of evil as I am willing to train. A little evil in your heart is preferred though. Must be willing to work nights and must supply your own knives. Competitive benefits package offered. If interested, send your resume to Mike, c/o the seventh circle of hell.’
There’s an interesting movie in here somewhere, but the need to force Michael into the story weakens everything and makes it a jumbled mess. It does touch on some interesting themes and could have been the start of an interesting new direction for the franchise. However, Halloween Ends doesn’t let any of the story play out fully as it eventually needs to rush to the final showdown between Michael and Laurie. Everything the movie had been about just gets dropped for the final act.
Of course, a final showdown was inevitable and needed to provide some closure. That should have been its own movie. One that built on the previous two installments, bringing Michael and Laurie together for one final face off, with all the slasher thrills that should bring. Instead, Halloween Ends elects to carve out a new path while shoehorning in a climactic battle that has little to do with the rest of the movie. In doing so, Halloween Ends becomes a series of missed opportunities and does not seem to line up with the other movies. The ending is just ridiculous, and this ends up as another disappointing entry in the Halloween franchise.
Hopefully, as the title would suggest, this is the end of the Halloween franchise. But I doubt it. Expect to see a new movie in a few years titled something like ‘Halloween Begins Again’, or ‘Halloween: Fooled You, it wasn’t the End’. And while I will probably see that one as well, I don’t recommend you see this one unless you’ve seen the previous 2 and need to know how it ends.
Have you seen Halloween Ends? Are you planning to? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.