In 2018, the Halloween franchise was revitalized with a modern-day, Halloween, reboot, breaking box office records. The film holds a lot of nostalgia for me as it was a great return to my favorite movie and it was the first Halloween movie I saw in theaters. Then, Halloween Kills, came out in 2021, which for me was a disappointing follow-up to such a success. What felt like a messy turnout with a lack of story, it saddened me because it didn’t stay true to the original storyline. I was very skeptical about Halloween Ends. Thankfully…I was surprised.

Halloween Ends tells the story of Laurie Strode and her granddaughter Allyson who are living a much happier life together. While Allyson spends her days caring for people as a nurse, Laurie is writing memoirs of her haunting past. As Allyson dates a boy with a tragic past, Cory Cunningham, Laurie senses Michael’s evil presence rise once again. 

I was grabbed by the very first scene because the writers throw the audience’s expectations for a loop, which really carries on throughout the film. Of course, we go in expecting to see Michael Myers lurk and kill but that’s not the case. If I was to hear prior to watching that Michael is sidelined, I would’ve thought I’d hate it. But the movie works just as well without Michael being front and center since his presence is always there. Don’t get me wrong, he has his moments. Halloween Ends is being promoted as a final confrontation between Laurie and Michael, but that isn’t even the case. 

If you come into this expecting a big finale to this trilogy, you will be disappointed. But, if you go in expecting to see an original idea that has never been put to screen before I can guarantee you will be satisfied. The last film, Halloween Kills, did not progress the story which only meant the writers had to start fresh.

What I love most about the movie is that risks are taken and we aren’t given the same thing we’ve seen plenty of times before. The characters are more likable and their motives are more believable. Laurie spending her time writing about her tragedies was genius. She was able to speak of Michael in a way that works since she is writing as a sense of therapy and recovery. It feels the most like the original in terms of the fall atmosphere where a twenty-one year old holds dark intentions. 

Having Michael in the shadows, literally, seems like a shock but it is also refreshing at the same time. His age and his injuries are very present which I loved because it adds to his character. Then again, with Cory taking the lead, we are able to see a different side to the evil nature of Michael as they share a dark connection. His character arc is always engaging and no matter what he does, you can’t help but feel for him based on everything he’s endured in recent years. His image is reckoned with, which makes him fight his demons with society. But this also makes him face terms with the image that Haddonfield has of the word ‘evil’ and how that has affected the town’s history. 

After my first watch, I couldn’t get the movie out of my mind. With such an abrupt ending we are left thinking about the true meaning of the line “evil doesn’t die, it changes shape”. After my second watch, I was more appreciative of the direction the story was taken which made me love it. The execution is perfect and doesn’t hold back. 

I also feel this movie takes itself the most seriously out of the other two in the trilogy and makes you feel nostalgic about the original Halloween. On some level, it is even emotional, which I wasn’t expecting. Trying to critique the film was difficult because everything was presented so well. But then again, the only thing I have mixed feelings on is the ending. There is no true build up to Laurie and Michael’s final fight, in my opinion. But, they are brought together in a way that makes sense according to how other events are played out. The ending is very quick, but it fits with the tone that the whole movie pursues. While I am watching certain things happen that I do not necessarily want to see happen in a Halloween movie, it is a fitting conclusion to the darkness of Michael and how he terrorizes Laurie throughout her life.

Also, the music is perfect. A Halloween movie isn’t complete without John Carpenter’s phenomenal Halloween score. I’d also be doing myself and this movie a disservice if I didn’t praise the song that plays in the end credits.

Overall, Halloween Ends, delivers on being an original and exciting standalone entry that unlike many of the others, expands on the mythology of Michael Myers. I’d give this movie a nine out of ten. While Halloween Kills is a movie I have no desire to watch again, Halloween Ends is a movie that made me want to watch it again immediately after I viewed it the first time. In fact, I will probably love the film more after I watch it for the third time. If you walk into this movie with no expectations, you will be thoroughly entertained.