Halloween Ends
After over four long decades, the Halloween franchise has come a bloody finale with Halloween Ends, the final instalment of director David Gordon Green's sequel trilogy to John Carpenter's 1978 classic.…. or at least for now until yet another director attempts to revive it.
Halloween Ends is set a few years after Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills (2021). Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode, now living with her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak) whose parents were murdered by Myers in the previous instalment.
Laurie and Allyson are attempting to live a 'normal' life, heal and move on from the trauma that Myers has inflicted over the years. Unfortunately though, it seems the town of Haddonfield has ostracised them, blaming them for Myer's reign of terror. Despite this, Allyson is working at a nurse and gunning for a new promotion while Laurie is attempting to write a book about her various run-ins with Myers. In a classic move, the film uses her book writing and an instrument for Laurie to work through her trauma and address her own 'boogieman' - like a horror version of Carrie Bradshaw's Sex in the City monologues.
Joining the surviving Strodes, is the troubled Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), a young man who is very much battling his own demons (having accidentally caused the death of a child he had been babysitting). As all loving grandmothers do, Laurie decides to set up Allyson with the troubled Corey - because why not set your granddaughter up with a guy convicted of manslaughter!
Corey's story takes up the bulk of the film as you watch him evolve from a timid, traumatised man to something more sinister. The film also focuses a lot on Allyson's rather cringey romantic subplot. As a result, the spotlight feels somewhat stolen and the audience is left craving for what we were hoping was going to be the ultimate Laurie vs Myers smack down. The final batter felt like an after thought and fell short of what should have been a glorious and gory ending to a 40 year feud. The result being a film that felt awkward and clunky.
The only true saving grace of the film is the performance delivered by Curtis. At 63, she plays an impressively badass grandmother and is a worthy match for the murderous Myers.
