Halloween Ends: Film Review
I thought the first instalment in the Halloween trilogy was fantastic but was sorely disappointed by the disastrous sequel so I had no idea what to expect with the concluding chapter, Halloween Ends.
*MILD SPOILERS*
After the events of the first two films, which were set in 2018, serial killer Michael Myers vanished. Haddonfield has lived in peace for the past four years, but in horror movie rules, that cannot last, and he once again makes his return on Halloween night – but he’s not alone.
David Gordon Green takes a big bold swing with this film by bringing in another evil presence in addition to Michael. It is a totally different film from what I was expecting and very different from the previous two – it’s not just Michael against Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) and the residents of Haddonfield. I prefer that simple but classic formula but I guess Green had no choice but to do this because Michael was so damaged by the events of Halloween Kills and there was no feasible way for him to appear in the whole of Ends.
But that means the majority of the film is spent getting to know this new evil person – Laurie takes a backseat and there isn’t much Michael. It’s baffling that they decided to end a trilogy (and a whole franchise) by going the Halloween III: Season of the Witch route and bringing in someone new instead of focusing on the returning stars. It’s just more filler in this trilogy, which only had enough substantial content for two films instead of three.
The horror aspect doesn’t really come into play in Halloween Ends until about halfway through. I kept waiting for it to get going and turned into the slasher we recognise but it takes its time. However, when it finally clicks into horror gear, the kills are just as grisly and gruesome as Halloween Kills. A couple of them are properly disgusting and made the audience audibly cringe.
But, thankfully, Green nails the third act and gives the fans what they’ve been waiting for. The final 30 minutes are amazing and we finally get a satisfying payoff. The well-executed showdown is brutal and bloody and exactly as it should be – no complaints about that.
Laurie still isn’t in this as much as I would like but at least she has more to do than in Kills. I don’t think she’s particularly well-written here though and some of her lines felt off. I really like Matichak as Allyson but she got way too much screen time and her character has changed a lot (maybe too much?) in the past four years.
Halloween Ends is an improvement on Kills and delivers the conclusion fans will absolutely love – it’s such a shame we have to sit through 70 minutes of filler to get there.
In cinemas from Friday 14th October