Directed By David Gordon Green

Starring – Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Kyle Richards

The Plot – Four years after the events of Halloween Kills, Laurie (Curtis) is living with her granddaughter Allyson (Matichak) and is finishing writing her memoir. Michael Myers hasn’t been seen since. Laurie, after allowing the specter of Michael to determine and drive her reality for decades, has decided to liberate herself from fear and rage and embrace life. But when a young man, Corey Cunningham, is accused of killing a boy he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror that will force Laurie to finally confront the evil she can’t control, once and for all.

Rated R for bloody horror violence and gore, adult language throughout and some sexual references.

Halloween Ends – The Final Trailer – YouTube

POSITIVES

For the first time in my experience with Green’s trilogy, I’m met mostly with satisfaction and intrigue, which stems from the measures of creativity deposited to this very experimental screenplay. This aspect alone won’t win everyone over, but for my money transcribes something uniquely ambitious within the measurements of its characters and their many avenues of exploration, making this feel like one of the rare examples in the entire Halloween franchise where it didn’t play by the rules of a predictable formula that we’ve come to expect from these movies. Instead, it unravels an intriguing character study through the eyes of a newly established protagonist, and one that brings with it the materialization of the many themes and consequences of fear that were birthed during “Halloween Kills”, but only executed here with evil’s many shape-shifting forms. On top of this, the “Ends” in “Halloween Ends” is indisputably realized, with a riveting final twenty minutes of the film that not only serves as the culminating pay-off throughout nearly 45 years with the Michael Myers and Laurie Strode characters, but also one that garners with it the humanity and vulnerability of the established world, with the kind of brutality waged by one of horror’s most impactful protagonists. On the subject of that gore, the film is very meticulous in its usage during the first hour, instead depositing its time towards the aforementioned character narrative to flesh out their evolutionary arc, but when it does start flowing during the climactic third act, leads to blows of devastation so bluntly registered and ruthlessly deposited that I couldn’t help but shriek at the malevolence that was continuously on display throughout its increasing devastation. A lot of the reason for its effectiveness is once again the film’s usage of practicality in the special effects department, which bring with it a believability in dissected anatomy, and an indulgence for color that takes the film and its many physical conflicts to ten, with little to no warning along the way. “Halloween Ends” is also the most technically sound film of the entire trilogy, with a quality to presentation that immediately once more triggers the familiarity and ominously foreboding nature of Haddonfield as the stage for our inevitable showdown. The cinematography once more from Michael Simmonds commands versatility and range in the many angles and movements that adorn his various shot selections, and the color correction this time feels more sedated and in line with the authenticity of fall in the Midwest, complete with the many colors of leafs and the Halloween season that trigger atmospheric ambiance in what we appreciate about that one day a year. Finally, while the entirety of the ensemble brings their best to the occasion, it’s Curtis who after 44 years is still the pulse of this franchise that makes it feel important, even after 13 films in the franchise. Thankfully subdued this time are Jamie’s prophetic rants during “Halloween Kills”, which wiped away the heart and humanity of the character, and here are replaced with the weathered resiliency of a survivor in motion, complete with the cunning intelligence and endearing ruthlessness of the character that serve as the perfect opposition to Michael’s madness. Jamie still feels invigorated by her involvement of the franchise, emitting more than a few welcome moments of levity between the mayhem that prove Laurie still has a personality underneath it all despite everything that she’s lost, and considering this is in fact her final turn as the iconic heroine, it was nice to see Jamie rise to the occasion once more to close up the chapter that has defined a majority of her career.

NEGATIVES

Though the film is brave enough to attempt various directions that afford this third chapter the ability to stand out from its predecessors, it’s not without fault in ways that simultaneously weigh down the integrity of what was promised. Because the film spends so much time fleshing out this newfound character, the Michael and Laurie rivalry basically takes a backseat until the final twenty minutes of the movie. The aforementioned climax is riveting and satisfying in every way you can imagine, but for anyone looking to capitalize on the way “Halloween Kills” promised an inevitable confrontation, the lag time in getting there may prove to be too testing and underwhelming for those who have only ever defined the franchise as one thing, especially in the manipulation of its marketing that never even hinted at a newly established character taking up a majority of the focus from the more compelling Laurie and Michael dynamic. This aspect alone makes “Halloween Ends” feel like an anthology TV show where every story takes place in Haddonfield, but never with the characters you expect to see in the world that was promised. In addition to this, some of the aspects of the film lack believability or merit in the way they’re conjured then fleshed out. Without spoiling anything, I will say that a love story between two characters doesn’t feel warranted in either the lack of chemistry between the two actors, nor the sudden materializing of its influence, which comes out of nowhere. Because of such, Allyson’s characterization and arc across three films is nonchalantly sacrificed, this time making her feel naive and even bubbly in instances where experience with death should flesh out a greater sense of knowledge in her past. In addition to this, aspects about Myers also prove problematic the longer you think about them. Aspects like him disappearing for four years or interacting kindly with a certain character whose dynamic is never truly defined, are a stretch at the most and downright silly at the least, leading to more of a suspension of disbelief in their elements than I would prefer, especially considering the trilogy has had three films and nearly six hours between them to build everything to perfection at this point. With there being four screenwriters on this script, it’s easy to interpret that disjointed sense of focus and creativity with the film, leaving me appreciative for the ambition to instill something fresh to the franchise, but never in ways that feel necessary to the confines of a trilogy that laid the groundwork in the first two films, and really just needed this one to set it into cruise control for the duration of its remaining journey. Finally, while the dialogue is improved from “Halloween Kills”, especially in the idea of never having to hear “Evil dies tonight” or any of Laurie’s book of prophets’ deposits, the lines here can sometimes feel as consequential to the integrity of a sequence demanding shock and horror, but instead conjuring comedy for the occasion. This is especially the case once more for Madichak’s Allyson, who not only feels on autopilot for much of her performance, but also is wrapped these terrible lines of dialogue that make her feel like an angsty love-sick teenager, and one that feels irredeemable by the film’s third act. When the script is attempting humor, personality deposits like these work with a tacky sentiment, but when these characters are attempting something vulgar and vitriolic to their various integrities, it undercuts the momentum, the captivation and frankly the likeability of their designs, in turn grating on the ears in ways that would make Donald Pleasance roll over in his grave.

OVERALL
As an entertaining piece of seasonal escapism, “Halloween Ends” packs enough brutal violence, technical merit and deviation in concept that keeps it from feeling like another uninspired sequel. However, the imbalance of time between characters, bewildering lapses in logic, and nauseating dialogue keep it from being a monumental final chapter, and one that never feels remotely as important as the nearly 45 years of cinema that led up to it, leaving Green’s trilogy gasping by the weight of responsibility attained from picking up the mask once more.

My Grade: 6/10 or C+