Halloween Ends – movie review
Although the title of this film is Halloween Ends, after 13 instalments (three since the reboot) you have to ask whether Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) will ever die? I’m not going to say, but I can say his blood lust hasn’t dissipated in this chilling finale of the slasher franchise. Blood be spilled as the body count mounts. Surely, no horror fan would expect anything else – and why should they?
Set in Haddonfield, Illinois, Halloween Ends starts out on Halloween night in 2019. 21-year-old Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) is baby-sitting a youngster who pays him no respect and something bad happens. Next, we cut to Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) whose life has been consumed by the masked serial killer and who is finishing her memoir detailing her experiences. Strode has built a trusting friendship with fellow survivor Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards), with whom she has built a trusting friendship.
It is four years after the events of Halloween Kills (2021). Strode has bought a house in Haddonfield, where she has settled with her adult granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), a nurse. Although Allyson has survived an onslaught from the mass murderer, her parents did not. Allyson hooks up with outcast Corey Cunningham, both of whom are living with and dealing with their respective traumas. But theirs is hardly a conventional courtship. Both continue to be picked on, Cunningham in particular … and the pathological killer reappears in Haddonfield. In trying to protect her granddaughter, Strode merely succeeds in alienating her.
It is great to see Jamie Lee Curtis back fighting the good fight against resident evil. She has on that “don’t mess with me” look. I also appreciated Andi Matichak’s characterisation of her granddaughter, desperate to leave the past in the past and move on with her life. Rohan Campbell does much of the heavy lifting, as Cunningham goes through a metamorphosis from withdrawn to empowered. Also reappearing in a smaller role is Will Patton as Officer Frank Hawkins.
The engaging screenplay comes from director David Gordon Green (who has been at the helm of and has co-written all three films since the franchise restarted in 2018), Paul Brad Logan, Chris Bernier and Danny McBride. It allows for a quick stocktake of all Strode has gone through, before heading toward yet another confrontation with Myers. The director of photography, production designer, make up designer, editor, costume designer and composers from the earlier reboots also return.
That consistency helps orchestrate a “satisfying” conclusion with no shortage of violence and gore – the staples of the genre.
Alex First
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Halloween – movie review
- CLOSED: Win tickets to Halloween
- Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter – movie review
Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.