After 44 years, Halloween Ends officially ends the saga of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode in a different yet satisfying way.
Four years after her last encounter with masked killer Michael Myers, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is living with her granddaughter (Andi Matichak) and trying to finish her memoir. Myers hasn’t been seen since, and Laurie finally decides to liberate herself from rage and fear and embrace life. However, when a young man (Rohan Campbell) is accused of murdering a boy he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror that forces Laurie to confront the evil she can’t control.
Fan of the series knows the original theme of the series, and it’s back once again. This slight touch of respect for this franchise is always welcoming and the haunting opening always dominates the movie. Eventually, the music gets used to help elevate the film and that subtle device is fantastic for the horror element.
Now, I wouldn’t say there are any Oscar winners here, but this movie does show that you can have great acting in a horror film and it not be a college slasher film. The supporting cast work right into the DNA of the movie and the main cast are just as great. James Jude Courtney is fantastic as “The Shape” and does his job perfectly. This primarily focuses on just walking around, physical acting, and some impressive stunt work. Andi Matichak is quite an interesting character, engaging on one level and then spooky on another which gives the typical generation of new female horror leads some edge and attitude, but also provides another side that balances it out quite well. Newcomer Rohan Campbell is a standout in this film as his character has such a wide range. He’s fun and empathetic at first but then goes in a completely different direction that adds more mystery and fun to the mix.
Then comes Jamie lee Curtis, who is the star once again. Even though she is not dodging, killing, or fighting as much as times before, Curtis still dominates the fiery spirit of the protagonist with the attitude to match. She’s funny, engaging, and carries the role so well as she handles so many things in the “quaint” little town. Curtis really does a great job with the direction of the character and has the best delivery lines, chemistry, and just the balance of a horror hero.
It was a real surprise to see how much more engaging the story was compared to the usual slasher story. Halloween Ends tried to “elevate” the genre of slasher by integrating a lot more throughout the story. The town’s mentality is a big part of the story, as it focuses a lot on who they pin the blame on for their troubles. It’s a massive poke into today’s society, but again it works really well and helps try to expand the black-and-white mindset. Characters get more fleshed out, there is more expansion on life, which were some great elements to help raise the bar of a slasher cast having more levels.
Overall, Halloween used to be a franchise that might have gotten stale, but always delivered the slasher element for die-hard fans. This new trilogy seems to be trying something new to make it great and I did enjoy that as it gave the Halloween franchise more substance. The story elements were stronger to an extent, with performances, music, and camera work coming together to make that element really strong. It still has those pieces of the original in it, foundations that work at times and are still cult favorites. Yet, the elevation of the movie seemed to get in the way, coming too late in the trilogy to have the full killing blow it wanted. However you want to look at it, Halloween Ends did deliver on the final battle between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode and delivered a satisfying conclusion.
Halloween Ends is now playing in theaters and streaming only on PeacockTV.
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