Halloween Ends (2022) Review

"Michael Myers was pure evil,"

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Ever since the release of Halloween Kills (2021), I have been looking forward to the final instalment of this iconic franchise and to say I was satisfied would be a lie, but I wouldn't necessarily say I was disappointed either.

Halloween Ends took some very unexpected and creative choices, mostly shown through the story of Corey Cunningham (portrayed by Rohan Campbell), whose story begins at the beginning of the movie. I was particularly interested in the use of surprise with this opening scene, where you expect it to be a classic 'Michael Myers murders a babysitter' scene but instead, you see the babysitter accidentally murder the kid he was sitting. This idea was so unforeseen that it immediately captures the attention of the audience as you sit in shock at such a morbid opening, thus creating a greatly sadistic tone for the rest of the movie.

However, as the movie proceeded, I noticed that it lacked the essence of the previous additions to the Halloween franchise, whether that was through lack of gore and murder, or through a lack of the iconic horror villain, Michael Myers, himself. Jamie Lee Curtis, playing the lead role of Laurie Strode, carries this movie through all her scenes as she effortlessly portrays a woman riddled with guilt, paranoia and grief due to living such a traumatic lifestyle. Her emotions are further conveyed through the constant riduculing and blame she receives from those around her for what occurred between Haddonfield and Michael, through scenes where teenagers call her a "freakshow" and the scene where the neighbour we are led to believes died in Halloween Kills is seen as someone who has lost all ability to function after her attack. The idea that this town sees her as the enemy rather than a survivor relates back to what Laurie writes of in her unfinished book - that Haddonfield is always searching for a new enemy.

Jamie Lee Curtis' amazing acting is matched by Andi Matichak, who plays her granddaughter Allyson. This is another character who is shown to deal with the trauma given to her from Michael Myers, who was the reason she lost her friends and parents all in one night, as she begins to find comfort in the new mysterious man her grandmother introduces her to - Corey. Allyson and Corey have a classic love story of 'opposites attract', as one tries to move on from the past while the other falls into a spiral of murder and corruption after being introduced to Michael Myers (who he begins to see as some form of mentor).

The concept of Michael Myers becoming this mentor figure for this troubled boy is what gave me so many mixed feelings for this movie. The Michael Myers we have come to know is often portrayed as ruthless and thoughtless, with no care for other people, just driven by his need to kill, so I found it so hard to believe that he would be so willing to help some random guy out even if his injuries and old age meant it was so difficult for him to go out on a murder spree.

Despite this odd choice for a story, I found that the final 'fight' scene really pulled it all together. First of all, Corey's idea to get Allyson to blame her grandmother for his death and believe he was innocent was so unsympathetically cruel that it fit his character perfectly, and would've worked how he wanted if he had not angered Michael previously. Then, the final stand-off between Laurie and Michael was excellent - from the tension to the fear and desire for Laurie to live, this was a scene that really entraps the audience. Although it is weirdly sad to see such an iconic horror icon meet his end, the way it was executed was done better than I could imagine, with both the secret and personal closure for Laurie through a tender hand-hold as Michael took his final breath, to the closure for the whole of Haddonfield as they watched this monster's body be destroyed, allowing them to finally find peace in the knowledge that this murderer could no longer harm them or the ones they loved. This ending was handled wonderfully, and made the ending of the Halloween franchise painfully bittersweet.

So overall, although this movie was not what I was looking for, I would not say it was disappointing either. David Gordon Green took this franchise, and allowed it to finish in a beautifully complex way - something that is required when you have a character as serpentine as Michael Myers.