Halloween Ends is the best of the new Halloween trilogy

After successfully rebooting the franchise with 2018’s Halloween and then completely botching the sequel with 2021’s Halloween Kills, David Gordon Green returns with what is perhaps the best entry of the trilogy, Halloween Ends. I know what you’re thinking: any movie can be better than Halloween Kills, how much better are we talking?

In my opinion, the key choice that makes the difference for this movie is the daring decision to introduce the character of Cory (Rohan Campbell). The opening scene shows a 21-year-old Cory arriving at a babysitting gig. Charged with watching an enthusiastic child, the typical spooky occurrences have us thinking that Michael Myers is on the way. However, it turns out the killer had already made his entrance. An innocent prank results in the child’s gruesome demise, and Cory’s life takes a horrible turn.

This is surprising. If you saw the trailer above, or the commercials or even just posters, you know they frame Halloween Ends as an epic battle between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. You would never have thought that both of their roles, as main character and main villain, would actually be siphoned off by Cory. This might cause an uproar among fans, but personally, I thought it pays off pretty well. It felt refreshing and new.

The trouble with it, and what I suspect may be a major complaint for some audience members, is that Myers himself is not nearly as much of a presence in this film as in past entities of the Halloween series. However, I think by putting more focus on Cory, the film is actually serving the main theme Myers has always represented: the inner evil, the idea that anyone is capable of being a beast.

The movie also does a lot with Laurie. Her involvement with the life of her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) as well as with Cory gives Jamie Lee Curtis plentiful opportunities to show off her abilities as an actor. Her conversations with Cory are particularly gripping, because Cory is basically the main character. Scenes with him always move the plot forward. Laurie’s scenes… eh, not always. I don’t really care much about Laurie’s relationship with Officer Hawkins, and I can only laugh off the scenes of various townsfolk making big leaps in logic and blaming Laurie for the various crimes of Michael Myers.

Cory is the guy who carries the movie. We are introduced to him as a sympathetic man forced into unfortunate circumstances and watch him evolve into a monster. I found his descent into evil far more entertaining than I would have another Myers rampage. I even found the romance between Cory and Allyson not only bearable but actually compelling. At first I thought I’d hate it, because it so blatantly indulged in the love-at-first-sight trope so many movies lean on. But a couple scenes in I sort of started to love it, because I was getting the idea that Allyson was a psychopath herself. Why else would she suddenly become obsessed with a guy she’d only known for a couple days? Also, the fact that a majority of Cory’s victims are people that annoyed her made me think she was pointing Cory in their direction. Well, killing the cop might have been Cory’s idea, but how did he just decide to go for the chatty nurse or douche doctor? Coincidence? I think not.

Allyson definitely has a screw loose, and I liked that. I wish they had lended more into that aspect of her character, as by the end it didn’t really amount to much. And speaking of the end of Halloween Ends…

Spoilers for Halloween Ends 

If this was any other film, Cory would have been the main character through to the end. However, because this is “the final Halloween movie,” the film had to become about Laurie Strode eventually.

To set the scene: Cory, now a full-fledged killer obsessed with Allyson, goes to Laurie’s house to kill her. However, Laurie turns the tables on him, and in the end Cory commits suicide but makes it look like Laurie killed him, thus severing her relationship with Allyson, who arrives just in time to see what Cory wanted her to see. It’s established before that Allyson blames Laurie for some of the things Michael had done to their family over the years. (Again, not really sure how that’s Laurie’s fault, but I digress.)

Personally, I think I would have preferred a story that didn’t end with Cory committing suicide, because his arc begs something more; he needed a more meaningful death. But because his death leads to a change in Laurie’s relationship with her granddaughter, I was down with it.

However, after that Michael appears and has one final (very satisfying) showdown with Laurie. Allyson ends up saving Laurie, which was a total let down. It undermines the obsession Allyson was showing through the movie. I would have preferred a mixed bag ending rather than a happy one, even though I understand why they gave this to Laurie, who kills the monster who has haunted her for the majority of her life, even if her relationship with her granddaughter is ruined. The way things end, Cory and Allyson’s movie-long romance is rendered pointless.

CG kills make me ill

While I enjoyed the subversion of expectations in the script, the deaths left a lot to be desired. I’m no huge fan of slashers, but I know that part of the fun of them is the uniqueness of the killings. With some exceptions, such as the first death in the film or the killings at the scrapyard, most of the deaths are standard stabbings. To be fair, you could argue Halloween Ends is trying to be realistic. I think that works given Cory’s status as a novice murderer.

However, if you want to go down that route, I do think the murder scenes could have been crafted better. I’m sorry, but digital blood and CGI knives break my immersion. I want to feel that blade break skin and flesh. Give those scenes the slow pace and attention they deserve. Credit where it’s due: the special effects improve significantly for the climax. Laurie’s meticulous takedown of Michael is great; properly gory and wince-worthy. Just a shame that effort didn’t go into the whole of it.

Verdict

Halloween Ends is not what people will expect; it sure as hell isn’t what the ads promised, and I suspect some hardcore fans will walk out of the movie disappointed. However, I found Halloween Ends both surprising and refreshing, and much more nuanced than the goofy orgy of blood that was Halloween Kills. There were some boring scenes and hokey writing here and there, but hey, nothing that bad.

And indeed, Halloween did end. Midnight has finally rung, the morning rises on November 1st, and the film kept its promise. No more disappearances of the killer’s body, no more dead fist clutching before a cut to black, and no more post-credit scenes. Halloween has truly ended. For me, that’s the biggest achievement of Halloween Ends. It ended the story, and in a movie industry dedicated to stories that never end, that’s an accomplishment.

Will this truly be the last Hollow’s Eve to be haunted by Michael Myers? Personally, I don’t think so. Maybe 10 years, maybe just five years down the line, that white-painted William Shatner mask will return to stalk adolescents yet again in some new timeline, and it’ll probably suck. However, for now, Halloween Ends on a high note. As one of the major spooktacular releases for this October, I say it is definitely worth a watch.

Grade: B

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