HALLOWEEN FINALLY SAYS DIE
It's gore galore as the horror franchise finally comes to an end
Is it over? It's not an inconsequential ask of a horror franchise, especially one that has lasted for more than 40 years and delivered 13 films, three of them called simply Halloween.
But Halloween Ends does appear to deliver on its promise, with director David Gordon Green wrapping up his sequel-trilogy that began in 2018 with Halloween, and continued with last year's Halloween Kills. Barring a reboot, foreign-language remake, 3D high-framerate re-release, or — you know what? I'm not going to predict that Michael Myers will never return. But if he doesn't, this is as good a time as any to say goodbye.
Oh, and here's a fun fact: You can watch the trailer for Halloween Ends with little fear of spoilers.
At least a quarter of the footage and dialogue in the ads doesn't show up in the finished feature. Whether by accident or design, it's a welcome change from those tell-us-everything previews.
The film opens on All Hallows' Eve 2019 with a gruesome killing that leaves local babysitter Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), traumatized and broken.
We then skip forward three years, neatly avoiding the darkest days of the pandemic.
Fictional Haddonfield, Ill., has moved on from the Michael Myers killings, but post-traumatic stress continues to ricochet through the community, and nowhere less than in the home of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak).
Allyson is working as a nurse in the local hospital, which is where she meets and falls for (way too quickly, I have to say) Corey.
Misery loves company I guess. The two bond over shared experiences of no-one-gets-me, although for a while it seems as though their romance is going to turn into a kind of comic-book villain origin story.
Michael Myers, meanwhile, doesn't even show his, er, mask until a good 45 minutes into the movie.
So while the trailers seemed to promise two hours of smackdown between the killer and Curtis, the reality is more varied in tone and pacing, thank heavens. There are even a few laugh-outloud moments, not surprising when you recall that the writing credits include one from comic actor Danny Mcbride.
Not that there isn't also plenty of gore to go around.
Between bullying, retribution, vigilantism and straight-up serial killing, we get an assortment of mangled bodies, stabbed faces and one de-tonguing. (Also, for reasons unknown, a Halloween party with music and strobe lights of such intensity they should really come with a health warning.)
After a recent screening of Halloween Ends, I spoke to three audience members, one of whom was not a fan, while the others had bounced between admiration and disapproval several times during the show, and were still uncertain where they ended up.
And sure, the movie has its problems.
The trope of character-withheadphones-can't-hear-danger is probably too tired to be used once, let alone twice as in this film.
John Carpenter's original score, wonderful though it is, gets overused here, and is often the obvious first sign of approaching danger.
On the other hand, I liked the homage to Psycho, with a shower head shot that warns all Hitchcock fans: Trouble's coming!
And Curtis gets some great lines, as when she tells Allyson that sometimes you have to show grief your tits and say: Let's go! (No, she does not act on that expression.)
Ultimately, if you've been following Halloween since the beginning (or at least since the latest three-film arc), you owe it to yourself to see how it plays out.
If you're new to the franchise, this is not the place to start: Go back and watch the 1978 original, which still holds up nicely.
For everyone else, mileage may vary. Cynics may declare it a trick, while fans might just receive a treat.