Halloween Ends (2022) Review – A Brilliant Final Chapter

David Gordon Green brought Michael Myers back in 2018 and gave us one of the best Halloween movies. He then followed it up with the relentless and brutal Halloween Kills which saw Michael cause absolute carnage in Haddonfield. How do you follow up two amazing movies and wrap up a 44-year story? By doing something completely unexpected. Halloween Ends takes a very different approach, and whilst it has divided opinions, I loved it.

The movie begins 4 years after the events of Halloween Kills. Michael Myers has gone missing and Haddonfield is struggling to recover from the damage he has caused. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is trying to rebuild her life with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). However, the town is still filled with sadness, hate and anger, and a young man named Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) is about to be pulled into Michael’s darkness.

What I love about this movie is that it isn’t just another Michael Myers thriller. It’s a story about trauma, hate, love and the effects of evil. David Gordon Green takes a massive risk with this movie and it pays off.

The opening scene is one of the best parts of the movie. We meet Corey Cunningham, a shy young man who is babysitting a boy named Jeremy on Halloween night in 2019. Jeremy decides to play a cruel joke on Corey by sneaking around the house and scaring him. He then locks him in a room upstairs.

We get a great build up of tension as Corey panics. As it is a Halloween movie we expect Michael Myers to pop up somewhere in the house. Everything is set up for us to expect the iconic masked villain to show his face.

However, Corey panics and kicks the door open. In doing so he knocks Jeremy over the banister and he falls to his death. The camera work during this scene is so shocking. It really took me by surprise. We rarely see children die in this franchise and it was so brutal.

This accident has ruined Corey’s life. He is now seen as a child killer and bullied and shunned by the townspeople. I immediately felt for him. He was just a normal young man who panicked and his whole future has changed because of one bad moment. We can tell this is going to take him down a dark path.

Rohan Campbell is absolutely brilliant in this role. One of the main reasons I loved this movie was because we got to see Corey Cunningham change throughout the movie. He starts off as a shy, awkward character who has been treated badly by the community. However, throughout the movie his whole personality changes. He stands up taller, becomes more confident and has a really creepy vibe. There are moments where you can see the darkness take over his eyes.

After being attacked by a group of bullies Corey falls off a bridge. He is injured and unconscious and dragged into a tunnel in the sewers where Michael Myers has been hiding.

I loved this scene. We get a great shot of Michael approaching Corey from the shadows and dragging him further into the tunnel. When Corey wakes up Michael grabs him by the throat and looks him in his eyes. However, he doesn’t kill him.

I think Michael can see something in Corey. Maybe the trauma, anger or darkness that has built up inside him. There is a strange bond between the two characters and Corey becomes fascinated with Michael.

I actually preferred to watch the longer version of this scene in the deleted scenes. Michael is much more aggressive in this scene. He throws Corey around and is panting. We can see how weak he has become. Corey manages to escape through the tunnels and we see some skeletons which suggests Michael may have continued killing whilst he was hiding. The novelisation also gives us more information about Michael’s time in the tunnels and I found this fascinating.

The music during Corey’s encounters with Michael is incredible. The music theme ‘Corey and Michael’ is one of my favourites in the trilogy.

Corey’s relationship with Michael becomes more interesting when he lures Officer Doug Mulaney into the sewers. Doug has been bullying Corey and making him feel awful about Jeremy’s death. He has also dated Allyson in the past. Corey intentionally lures him into Michael’s territory.

When Michael appears from the shadows he is clearly not as unstoppable as we saw in Halloween Kills. He is older, injured and clearly weaker. However, when he attacks Doug something incredible happens. Michael becomes more aggressive and when he kills Doug his body seems to twitch and convulse as if he is gaining strength from killing.

This is an incredible and creepy scene. Is Michael gaining strength from killing? Is the evil inside him getting stronger? We are never given a clear answer to this which I love. Most importantly Corey has crossed a line. He is no longer fascinated with Michael Myers he is actively taking part in murder.

The scene with Dr. Mathis and Nurse Deb is another highlight. Corey kills Mathis and Michael appears to murder Deb. Michael looks really scary in this scene. Even though he is weak James Jude Courtney still gives him a menacing presence. It was incredible to see the two killers working together, something I didn’t expect from this franchise.

Eventually Corey becomes so obsessed with his new darkness that he confronts Michael in the sewers and takes his mask. This was a brave moment but considering Corey’s change I thought it made sense. Michael is weak and Corey has become more aggressive and confident.

Once Corey puts on the mask absolute chaos ensues. The radio station massacre was one of the grossest moments in the movie. The suffers a horrific jaw injury. I guess he did speak to much. The revenge on his bullies was also nasty, especially the blowtorch in the mouth. His murders had a real aggressive edge to them almost like he had the monstrous strength Michael had.

I really like how Haddonfield has changed throughout David Gordon Green’s trilogy. In Halloween (2018) it is a celebration. Everyone is trick or treating and enjoying their time with their families. However, in Halloween Kills the town is filled with fear, panic and mass hysteria. The townspeople have become a violent mob due to Michael’s rampage. The whole town is in chaos.

In Halloween Ends 4 years have passed and Haddonfield has not recovered. The town seems to be stuck in a constant state of anger, sadness and resentment. Everyone is blaming Laurie for Michael’s actions. Corey is seen as a monster due to the accident and families are still suffering from previous events.

Even though Michael has gone missing the effects of his evil are everywhere. This is why Corey’s story works so well. He is a victim of the cruelty in Haddonfield but eventually becomes another source of violence. Almost as if the darkness in Michael has spread throughout the town and infected the way people treat each other. Whether this is due to something supernatural is up for debate but I think thematically it is brilliant.

I also loved how Corey and Allyson’s relationship developed. Andi Matichak finally gets to explore Allyson’s character in more depth. She is older, more independent and is desperately trying to move on with her life.

Corey gives Allyson something she hasn’t had in a while. Someone who understands what it is like to be judged, isolated and damaged by Haddonfield. Their relationship starts off with genuine affection. Corey clearly cares about Allyson and Allyson can see the good in him. However, as Corey’s violent instincts grow their relationship becomes more tragic.

It is almost like a horror version of Romeo and Juliet. Two broken young people find happiness together but their darkness ruins everything.

I also loved how they went to the radio station and the tower became a prominent part of the background. It was a nice touch especially considering there was so much speculation about the tower and its link to Michael Myers.

Corey’s overbearing mother adds to his troubled life. I also liked how there was discussion around her death. In the novelisation it was Michael who killed her but in the movie it was Corey. I preferred Corey to be the killer as it shows how far he has fallen.

Jamie Lee Curtis is brilliant once again. I loved seeing a completely different side to Laurie Strode. In Halloween (2018) Laurie was paranoid, isolated and always preparing for Michael’s return. In Halloween Kills she spent most of the movie recovering in hospital. However, in Halloween Ends she is finally trying to live her life.

She is writing her memoir, spending time with Allyson and trying to become the person she was before that horrible Halloween in 1978. She is still suffering from the scars she has received but she is no longer letting Michael Myers control her life. It was refreshing to see.

Her relationship with Frank Hawkins (Will Patton) was a lovely touch. We saw their relationship develop in the previous movie so it felt natural. Thankfully it wasn’t overbearing.

Laurie’s suspicion of Corey creates some of the best character moments. She starts to realise the darkness in him but Allyson refuses to believe her. From Allyson’s point of view her grandmother is once again getting in the way of her happiness.

It was frustrating to watch but we know Laurie is right. However, we can understand why Allyson isn’t listening. She is desperate to move on and Corey represents a new future for her. Jamie Lee Curtis and Andi Matichak handled this beautifully.

James Jude Courtney returns to play his final role as Michael Myers. Although his screen time has been reduced I loved what he brought to the role. This is a completely different Michael to the previous two movies. He is weak, injured and can no longer tear through everyone with ease. However, he is still scary.

James Jude Courtney is still my favourite portrayal of Michael Myers. Even in his weakened state his movements and presence were incredible.

The movie opens with Corey arriving at Laurie’s house wearing Michael’s mask. However, Laurie is prepared and outsmarts him. Corey ends up stabbing himself and when Michael arrives to get his mask back he finishes him off.

We finally get to see the confrontation.

I loved how this final battle wasn’t a big flashy scene. There was no long chase through Haddonfield or another huge killing spree. It was simply Laurie Strode vs Michael Myers in her house.

This time Laurie wasn’t running.

She stood her ground and had a brutal fight with Michael. Every hit felt brutal and due to Michael being weak Laurie was able to overpower him. She managed to pin him down and give him the injuries which ended his reign of terror.

It was personal, violent and surprisingly intimate to finish off such an epic franchise. However, they didn’t stop there. Michael’s body was wheeled around Haddonfield so everyone could see the end of their nightmare. Laurie and Allyson then disposed of him in an industrial shredder.

That was it! There was no mystery around where he went. No suggestion he may have escaped. No confusion around whether he would return. Laurie Strode has finally beaten the man who has destroyed so much of her life after 44 years.

I thought this was a fitting and conclusive ending.

I often wonder how this movie would have turned out if they had continued directly from Halloween Kills. I would have loved to have seen a third movie set on the same Halloween night. Michael would have escaped Haddonfield injured after another rampage. The novelisation gives us a fascinating insight into this wit how Michael escaped the end of Kills that is.

We could have seen a fourth movie focusing on Corey Cunningham’s story and the long term effects of Michael’s violence. However, I am genuinely happy with what we got. I also liked how they referenced Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Another movie that dared to take the franchise in a different direction.

Halloween Ends was always going to be a divisive movie. After the relentless brutality of Halloween Kills many fans expected another Michael Myers focused slasher. We expected to see the masked villain take over the screen until his final battle with Laurie.

David Gordon Green gave us a character driven story about trauma, sadness, love and how evil has spread through an already broken community. I loved it.

Rohan Campbell was brilliant as Corey Cunningham. He had one of the most interesting character developments in the franchise. Andi Matichak gave Allyson more depth and Jamie Lee Curtis gave Laurie Strode an incredible ending to her journey. James Jude Courtney was still an incredible Michael Myers even with less screen time.

The cinematography was incredible, the killings were beautifully gross and John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies created an incredible soundtrack. This is one of my favourite soundtracks in the whole Halloween series.

Most importantly I loved how the trilogy told three very different stories. Halloween (2018) brought Michael and Laurie back, Halloween Kills showed us the fear and hysteria Michael caused and Halloween Ends showed us the damage that had been done.

Laurie’s story came full circle. We saw her as a scared teenager, a traumatised survivor, a mother and grandmother. However, after decades of living in Michael’s shadow she finally has her life back.

Jamie Lee Curtis has earned her title as the ultimate scream queen and I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to her Laurie Strode.

Halloween Ends was brave, brutal, emotional and incredibly different. Whilst it may not be the ending everyone wanted it was an incredible ending to David Gordon Green’s trilogy.