To See or Not to See: Halloween Ends

It’s that time of year again! With the leaves red and yellow, pumpkins ripe and plump, there’s another new entry in the Halloween series arriving in your local theater: Halloween Ends. Reprising their roles are Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie), Andi Matichak (Allyson), Will Patton (Deputy Hawkins), and James Jude Courtney (behind the mask again as Michael Myers). Rohan Campbell also joins the cast as Corey Cunningham, a young babysitter that oversaw an unfortunate fatal accident, and Allyson’s love interest.

Of the returning cast, Andi Matichak’s character, Allyson, is given the second-most screen time and the worst character subplot of the film. It’s almost Halloween, and Allyson doesn’t have anyone to bring to the Halloween party, so Laurie decides to set her up with Corey. Allyson falls for Corey in the most plot-contrived way possible. There is barely any chemistry between the two throughout Halloween Ends, and their quick hookup is hand-waved away as them bonding over past trauma. It feels like the movie had certain scenes and plot points to hit, and this relationship was written in a way to support those beats.

In fact, Micheal Myers himself is a victim of the plot. Halloween Ends retcons, yet again, the abilities of Michael, portraying him now as a weak old man that vanished since the last movie, Halloween Kills, only to end up living in a sewer pipe for four years. That’s right! I, too, was surprised and confused when this was initially revealed. My boy, Big Mike, a supernatural entity terrorizing people for over forty years, a staple of the horror genre, has been reduced to a geriatric sewer rat. Apparently, there had not been any killings or sightings of Michael since he’d vanished four years prior, so the audience is led to believe that he’s been hanging out in a fecal stew, with a mask on, for four years doing absolutely nothing. Right.

Once we get through the outrageously laughable first act, which sets up the shoe-string plot, the rest of the film brings it all together quite well. Though the kill count and violence are lacking compared to the previous installment, but it should be enough to satisfy fans of the franchise while also providing a definitive end to the franchise, as the name of the movie implies.

★ ★ out of 4

Halloween Ends is in theaters now. Also streaming on Peacock.

Photo Credit: Peacock