The End of an Era: “Halloween Ends”

Michael Myers returned to theaters for the final installment in the “Halloween” franchise. “Halloween Ends” depicts the final showdown between notorious serial killer, Michael Myers and his arch nemesis, Laurie Strode (portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis). 

“Halloween Ends” was released in theaters on October 14th and was hit with negative reviews from critics and audiences. The film sits at 5/10 on IMDB and received a 40% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

The opening scene of “Halloween Ends” was promising, but the film struggles to establish itself after the fantastic opening scene. David Gordon Green, who is the director of “Halloween Ends” had a variety of interesting ideas for the story, but none of them were told in a coherent style. It seems like they plastered a bunch of scenes on a wall and decided to turn what they had into a movie. 

Jamie Lee Curtis’s character was sidelined for most of “Halloween Ends” to leave room for potential future faces of the franchise. Some of these faces include Rohan Campell, who played one of the protagonists in the film, and Andi Matichak, who also played a key role in the final chapter of the franchise. They left enough crumbs for audiences to believe that there may be more “Halloween” films in the future, but “Halloween Ends” failed to provide a stable set-up for them. 

Audiences come to a “Halloween” movie to see Michael Meyers brutally murder people, but “Halloween Ends” presented Michael Meyers as an outdated serial killer. He was mostly out of the picture for most of the film and was referenced a few times in certain scenes. Corey Cunningham (portrayed by Roham Campell) was given the spotlight for the first half, then the film did a complete 180 and turned its focus to Laurie and Michael. 

If you’re planning on seeing “Halloween Ends,” I suggest you see it in the Dolby Cinema to get the best theater experience. “Halloween Ends” is a mixed bag because there are some solid elements of storytelling, but it was bombarded with a lot of shaky ones, which prevented the movie from being a well-crafted horror flick.